December 2, Slides 18-25 Flashcards
What does the native-land.ca map illustrate about borders and representation?
The native-land.ca map highlights Indigenous territories, showing how current political borders often overwrite historical and cultural boundaries. It challenges the dominant state-centric view of geography, emphasizing the diverse and overlapping claims to land.
How does the Turtle Island Mapping Project reshape our understanding of North America?
The Turtle Island Mapping Project represents North America as a patchwork of Indigenous nations rather than modern states. This perspective reframes the continent’s history and geography, centering Indigenous sovereignty and relationships to the land.
What does the “South-up” map reveal about the influence of map orientation on perceptions of the world?
The “South-up” map challenges the conventional north-up orientation, which reinforces Eurocentric and colonial power dynamics. By flipping the map, it questions the arbitrary nature of standard representations and highlights how orientation can shape perceptions of importance and hierarchy.
How does the “China-centric” map represent borders differently?
The “China-centric” map places China at the center, reflecting its cultural and geopolitical perspective. This representation contrasts with Western-centric maps, showing how centering different regions changes perceptions of global relationships and power.
Why are maps like native-land.ca and the Turtle Island Mapping Project important for understanding borders?
These maps disrupt traditional representations by highlighting Indigenous land claims and histories often ignored by political maps. They provide alternative narratives that challenge the erasure of Indigenous presence and sovereignty.
How does the “South-up” map challenge traditional notions of global geography?
By reorienting the map, it questions the arbitrary conventions of mapmaking and the dominance of northern countries in global narratives. It forces viewers to rethink spatial hierarchies and the cultural assumptions embedded in cartography.
What role do alternative map projections play in shaping reality?
Alternative projections, like the “China-centric” map or Peters projection, challenge dominant narratives by offering new perspectives on scale, importance, and relationships. They illustrate that maps are not neutral tools but reflect and reinforce cultural, political, and social priorities.
What does the Turtle Island Mapping Project teach about sovereignty and representation?
It underscores that sovereignty is deeply tied to historical and cultural claims rather than just modern political boundaries. This map invites viewers to reconsider the legitimacy of current borders in light of Indigenous histories.
How is language a form of representation?
Language represents ideas, concepts, and realities, shaping how individuals perceive and communicate their world. It functions as a tool for expressing power and asserting narratives, influencing political and social dynamics.
What does Hobbes mean by the term “sovereign definer”?
Hobbes suggests that power lies in the ability to define and control language, as definitions shape societal norms and rules. The “sovereign definer” wields authority by determining the meanings of words, thereby influencing how people think and act.
How can language be a means of resistance?
By reclaiming and redefining language, marginalized groups can challenge dominant power structures. Activism and movements often rely on creating new terms, reframing existing narratives, and amplifying alternative voices to assert their perspectives.
