Concept List-This is not an Atlas: Page 12 and 38–39

Sally Farhat

Orangotango, K. (2018). This Is Not an Atlas: A Global Collection of Counter-Cartographies. Transcript Verlag.

Atlas: The concept of an atlas was first developed in the 16th century with the aim of generating information about the world and earth. Nonetheless, given that knowledge is generated by those in power and is thus, largely linked to the concept of hegemony, this has impacted the nature of the atlas. This nature mirrors the power and “the truth” as seen by leaders, religion, and science and thus, places these at the heart of the atlas.

Nonetheless, with the rise of the modern states this power has been sort of redefined, but not completely. When people started having access to the atlas and learning geography and so on, they gained the ability to read and place themselves in relation to the maps. Nonetheless, nations and people still view atlases and read maps from the perspective of the “own.” Only after they have covered their part of the world and understood it, they start looking at and trying to understand the rest of the world. This regenerates the power structures and once again places nations with power and their authorities at the heart of the atlas. The problem is that the atlas presents itself as the only truth or a reflection of the reality of the world. This means that atlases are producing realties from the viewpoint of those in power and reinforcing power structures.

Anti-Eviction Mapping Project (AEMP): A project that documents the gentrification in San Francisco and in the nearby areas with the aim of understanding displacement from an intersectional viewpoint. The project challenges the traditional representation of hegemony in maps and create a counter-narrative. The documentation includes data analysis, data visualization, and storytelling.