[id: 90]

Power in Topographic Representation: A Comparative Study of National Mapping Agency Priorities

Short description: Comparing how national agencies encode political, cultural, and institutional priorities in topographic maps.

Keywords:  Critical cartography, topographic mapping, power structures, representation, national identity

Topic at: TU Vienna

Staff involved: Georg Gartner (georg.gartner@tuwien.ac.at)  

Description:

This thesis compares the topographic maps of Austria and two additional countries to examine what features are included, emphasized, or omitted—such as military zones, heritage sites, disputed boundaries, or indigenous territories. The study analyzes how these choices reflect political priorities or cultural narratives. Semiotic analysis and interviews with mapping authorities (if possible) will reveal how supposedly objective topographic maps encode power relations and national identity.  

Literature/references:

  1. Wood, D. (2010). Rethinking the Power of Maps.
  2. Kent, A. (2017). Trust me, I’m a Cartographer.