Maps As Media Constructs

Maps as Media Constructs

This book fills a gap in the market by taking an introductory look at cartographic representations as multimedia constructs, from theory to critique to neopragmatist perspectives and in practice. It offers an interdisciplinary analysis from the fields of media and communication studies as well as geography and cartography to examine how cartographic representations as constructions of multimedia shape our options for appropriating space and possessing space-generating qualities. Examples from current social discourses such as the COVID-19 pandemic, debates on climate change, and sustainability plus the war in Ukraine show how multimedia cartographic representations are part of the communicative negotiation processes in public media spheres. The book offers insights into the theoretical foundations, historical developments, and practical applications of cartography, with a particular focus on the critical reflection of power structures and interests. It is aimed at students, researchers, and teachers, thereby inviting each to understand maps not only as technical artifacts but also as complex multimedia constructions.

Maps As Media Constructs

Routledge Handbook of Media Geographies

This Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of media geography, focusing on a range of different media viewed through the lenses of human geography and media theory. It addresses the spatial practices and processes associated with both old and new media, considering "media" not just as technologies and infrastructures, but also as networks, systems and assemblages of things that come together to enable communication in the real world. With contributions from academics specializing in geography and media studies, the Routledge Handbook of Media Geographies summarizes the recent developments in the field and explores key questions and challenges affecting various groups, such as women, minorities, and persons with visual impairment. It considers geographical aspects of disruptive media uses such as hacking, fake news, and racism. Written in an approachable style, chapters consider geographies of users, norms, rules, laws, values, attitudes, routines, customs, markets, and power relations. They shed light on how mobile media make users vulnerable to tracking and surveillance but also facilitate innovative forms of mobility, space perception and placemaking. Structured in four distinct sections centered around "control and access to digital media," "mass media," "mobile media and surveillance" and "media and the politics of knowledge," the Handbook explores digital divides and other manifestations of the uneven geographies of power. It also includes an overview of the alternative social media universe created by the Chinese government. Media geography is a burgeoning field of study that lies at the intersections of various social sciences, including human geography, political science, sociology, anthropology, communication/media studies, urban studies, and women and gender studies. Academics and students across these fields will greatly benefit from this Handbook.