August 27: Introduction:
Key concepts and terms.
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| Topics: |
Overview of course
and introduction to cartographic resources in the Web.
Demonstrate how to access and use on-line class materials.
Introduction to the KESDA lab. Focus on key concepts
and definitions that will be used through the course.
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| Readings and
Work: |
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September 3: The big picture
on map design: Map layout and first principles of
cartographic communication.
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| Topics: |
Introduction to
thematic cartography applied to first maps. Overview of
cartography as a form of visual communication. The
importance of defining of audience and theme. Overview of
general principles for composing a map and the essential
elements of maps. |
| Readings and
Work: |
- Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Kenneth Foote and Shannon
Crum, Cartographic
Communication.
- No
Class on Monday: Labor Day Holiday
- Both labs meet together for work sessions
with TA on Wednesday from 3-5:50 PM
- Chapter 1 from: Cynthia Brewer. 2005. Designing
Better Maps: A Guide for GIS Users. Redlands,
CA: Esri Press.
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September 10: How do maps
work? The semiotics of cartography and visual
communication.
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| Topics: |
A careful
examination of how visual resources (color, pattern,
orientation, etc.) are used in map composition. Consider
the visual hierarchy of maps, foreground and background
relationships, and the use of visual resources to
highlight particular information. Experiment with point
symbols, color, and text. |
| Readings and
Work: |
- Map of Your Favorite Place
due on Friday by 5 pm.
- Sections 5, 7, and 8 of Kenneth Foote and Shannon
Crum, Cartographic
Communication .
- Tufte, Edward. 2001. Graphical
Excellence. Chapter 1 in The Visual Display of
Quantitative Information, pp. 13-51.
Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.
- Chapters 2 and 3 from: Cynthia Brewer. 2005. Designing
Better
Maps:
A Guide for GIS Users. Redlands, CA: Esri Press.
|
September 17: Where
would you campaign? Using maps and GIS to developing
a strategy for the presidential race.
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| Topics: |
Introduction to US
electoral and demographic dynamics and the way GIS and
mapping systems are being used increasingly for
campaigning and in elections. Explore ways in
spatial analysis can be applied in the next presidential
election. Develop and series of maps that explore
contemporary electoral trends. Introduction to ArcGIS data
handling and analysis functions. Contrast the advantages
and disadvantages of cartographic versus database
solutions. |
| Readings and
Work: |
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September 24: Exploratory
data
analysis and effective demographic mapping:
Issues of generalization, classification, and
symbolization.
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| Topics: |
Consider how maps
can be used to explore geospatial data. Explore different
strategies for examining patterns using descriptive
statistics and statistical mapping.. Overview of issues
relating to demographic mapping: statistical
generalization, classification, and symbolization.
Overview of problems of data classification and of
strengths and weaknesses of various methods. Perform
experiments with area patterns and further tests with
layout and color. Introduce new issues relating to verbal
content and lettering. Review of descriptive statistics. |
| Readings and
Work: |
- Section 6 of Ken Foote and Shannon Crum,
Cartographic Communication, http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/cartocom/cartocom_f.html
- Chapters 4 and 5 from: Cynthia Brewer. 2005. Designing
Better
Maps:
A Guide for GIS Users. Redlands, CA: Esri Press.
- (Optional) Coulson, Michael R.C. 1987. In the matter
of class intervals for choropleth maps: With
particular reference to the work of George F. Jenks. Cartographica 24
(2): 16-39.
- (Optional) Evans, Ian S. 1977. The selection of
class intervals. Transactions
of the Institute of British Geographers New
Series 2: 98-124.
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October 1: Classification
and symbolization strategies (continued) & Issues
in contemporary map design.
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| Topics: |
Overview of other
ways in which maps are used in current geographical
research and contemporary life.
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| Readings and
Work: |
Guest Lectures
this week:
- (Monday) Sam Smith, Mapping in the third dimension
- (Wednesday) Professor Joe Bryan, Community-based
mapping and critical cartography. Please read:
- Harley, J.B.. 1988. Maps, knowledge and power. In Cosgrove, D. and
Daniels, S., eds, The iconography of landscape. Cambridge: University of
Cambridge Press, 277-312.
- Krygier, John and Denis Wood. 2009. Ce
n'est past le monde. In Rethinking Maps: New
Frontiers in Cartographic Theory, eds.
Martin Dodge, Rob Kitchin, and Chris Perkins,
189-219. New York: Routledge.
- Both can be downloaded from http://www.colorado.edu/geography/foote/maps/assign/reading/
- Chapters 6 and 7 from: Cynthia Brewer. 2005. Designing
Better
Maps:
A Guide for GIS Users. Redlands, CA: Esri Press.
|
October 8: How do we record
location? The basics of locational reference and
coordinate systems.
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| Topics: |
Raise issue of
establishing and measuring location. Address issue of how
and why coordinate systems differ. Survey major issues and
terms. Introduce principle land survey and coordinate
systems employed in Colorado. Raise issues of accuracy and
precision. Raise further issues in cartographic design and
composition. |
| Readings and
Work: |
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October 15: Why map
projections matter
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| Topics: |
Overview basic
issue of map projections and compromises involved in
transferring 3-dimensional positions to 2-dimensional
surfaces. Introduce basic terminology. Consider widely
used methods, why and when they are applied, and the
compromises involved in employing each one. |
| Readings and
Work: |
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October 22: Map projections
(continued)
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| Topics: |
Practice using map projections to solve
cartographic problems.
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| Readings and
Work: |
- Finish Mapping Tectonic Hotspots by Friday
by 5 pm.
Guest lectures this week:
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October 29: GPS
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| opics: |
Discuss principles of GPS
positioning and navigation. Consider strengths and
weakness of GPS for improving location accuracy and
precision. |
| Readings and Work: |
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November 5: Error and
accuracy in maps and geospatial data & Cartography
in history and across cultures
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| Topics: |
Consider how
accuracy and precision effect spatial datasets. Examine
major sources and how they can propagate and cascade in
cartographic databases. A brief overview of the
history of cartography and the role maps have played in
various world cultures. Touch on interrelationships
between cartography and economic, social, political,
technological and cultural processes and patterns through
time. |
| Readings and
Work: |
- Ken Foote and Don Huebner, Error, Accuracy, and
Precision in Spatial Datasets,
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/error/error_f.html
- Key Moments and Maps in Cartographic History, http://www.colorado.edu/geography/foote/maps/notes/KeyMoments-Maps/KeyMoments-Maps.html
- History of Cartography, Volumes 1 & 2, Free
download, University of Chicago Press, http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/index.html
- History of Cartography Project, http://www.geography.wisc.edu/histcart/
- Aber, J.S. 1999. Brief History of Maps and
Cartography, http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/map/h_map/h_map.htm
- David Rumsey Map Collection, http://www.davidrumsey.com/index.html
- (Optional) Woods, Denis. 1992. The Power of Maps.
New York: Guilford Press.
- (Optional) Library of Congress, An Illustrated Guide
to Geography and Maps, http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/guide/gmilltoc.html
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November 12: Online mapping and map
mashups
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| opics: |
Focus on new
techniques for creating and publishing maps online.
Experiment with creating map mashups for ArcGIS online and
Google Maps. |
| Readings and
Work: |
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November 19: Fall Break and
Thanksgiving--No Class.
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November 26: How can maps be
used to lie and mislead? Ethical issues in cartography
and GIS.
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| Topics:
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Consider how maps
can be used to mislead readers either unintentionally or
intentionally. Examine how maps are sometimes used for
propaganda and how they express the values and motives of
the map makers themselves. |
| Readings and Work: |
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December 3: Economic, legal,
political and social issues
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| Topics: |
Examine
situations in which maps, GIS and information technology
intersect the law. Consider some of the ethical problems
that arise from the use and misuse of information
technology, including the issue of privacy. |
| Readings and
Work: |
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December 10: Frontiers of
cartography: Virtual reality, multimedia and interactive
mapping
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| Topics: |
Consider current
trends in cartography and some of the exciting recent
developments that link cartography, GIS, GPS, the Internet
and other information technologies. Course debriefing and
evaluation on Friday. |
| Readings and
Work: |
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Second exam: Monday, December 17th, 1:30 to 4:00 pm.
Exam is non-cumulative and covers only lecture material
since first exam. First part of exam is take-home,
second half during exam period.
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| Last revised 2012.11.24. KEF. |
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