The Map: Surveillance, Control, and Creative Resistance

Maps are not merely neutral representations of reality; they are political, visual, and spatial mechanisms that shape how we understand, navigate, and are monitored within the world. This course explores critical cartography and examines the map as a site of power dynamics, governance, and civic action.

In the first part of the course, we will analyze how state apparatuses, corporations, and modern mapping technologies (from GIS to real-time digital surveillance) are utilized to assert control, regulate spaces, and delineate borders. In the second part, we will delve into creative resistance and the practices of counter-mapping—artistic, community-based, and research methodologies that repurpose mapping as a tool to contest power structures, reveal silenced narratives, and promote spatial justice.