Overview
Speculative Mappings of an Invented Territory
This course is designed around the iterative and collective production of a “3/4 Coast Atlas.”
Throughout the quarter we will develop, refine, and compile a series of geographic drawings into a single narrative or “geo-story.” These geo-stories will be collected and curated as “chapters” into the final Atlas.
The “3/4 Coast” comprises the watery geographies of Chicago and the Great Lakes– the so-called “Third Coast” of the United States– and their conjuncture with the Mississippi River watershed– the “Fourth Coast.” By choosing this fractional (and admittedly awkward) form, we invoke its ambivalent, contingent, and always-incomplete figuration.
This geographic character points toward what we mean by an “invented territory.” On the one hand, it is “invented” in a material and historical sense: the diversion and ultimate reversal of the Chicago river (1848-1900) conjoined the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins, geoengineering a new, anthropogenic hydrography out of two previously disconnected watersheds.
On the other hand, the 3/4 Coast is invented insofar as we must break cartographic conventions to imagine it as a coherent (if always in-process) whole. The 3/4 Coast does not exist on any administrative map, even as its invented geographies shape landscapes and lives within and beyond its territories. Learning to see, trace, and reimagine the histories and spaces of 3/4 Coast opens us up to unexpected connections between different landscapes, objects, protagonists, and struggles.
In this sense, the 3/4 Coast is also a narrative device that allows us to tell different geographic stories than those constrained by more conventional territorial boundaries. These “geo-stories” not only require new maps, but experimental approaches to “mapping” broadly construed. Where mapping becomes an expansive mode of geographic storytelling, we must creatively and critically engage geospatial data alongside archival materials, alternative artistic methods, and other forms of spatial media. In so doing, we seek to explore how different kinds of bodies, places, landscapes, and geographies bring new territories into view.
Each group will produce a single “scenographic map” that combines different forms of spatial media to tell a distinct geo-story. These maps will trace varied geographic themes and events that sketch out possible versions of what an atlas of the 3/4 Coast might look like. Each atlas map will include media developed through lab- and studio-based exercises that challenge students to experiment with what count as “maps” and practices of “mapping.” Some geo-stories might be composed in more familiar cartographic forms, while others may use interactive, web-based media to construct non-linear narrative architectures. Each one will traverse the 3/4 Coast in different ways, offering a unique-- and forever partial-- perspective on this invented territory and the processes through which it remains in-formation.
This geographic character points toward what we mean by an “invented territory.” On the one hand, it is “invented” in a material and historical sense: the diversion and ultimate reversal of the Chicago river (1848-1900) conjoined the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins, geoengineering a new, anthropogenic hydrography out of two previously disconnected watersheds.
On the other hand, the 3/4 Coast is invented insofar as we must break cartographic conventions to imagine it as a coherent (if always in-process) whole. The 3/4 Coast does not exist on any administrative map, even as its invented geographies shape landscapes and lives within and beyond its territories. Learning to see, trace, and reimagine the histories and spaces of 3/4 Coast opens us up to unexpected connections between different landscapes, objects, protagonists, and struggles.
In this sense, the 3/4 Coast is also a narrative device that allows us to tell different geographic stories than those constrained by more conventional territorial boundaries. These “geo-stories” not only require new maps, but experimental approaches to “mapping” broadly construed. Where mapping becomes an expansive mode of geographic storytelling, we must creatively and critically engage geospatial data alongside archival materials, alternative artistic methods, and other forms of spatial media. In so doing, we seek to explore how different kinds of bodies, places, landscapes, and geographies bring new territories into view.
Each group will produce a single “scenographic map” that combines different forms of spatial media to tell a distinct geo-story. These maps will trace varied geographic themes and events that sketch out possible versions of what an atlas of the 3/4 Coast might look like. Each atlas map will include media developed through lab- and studio-based exercises that challenge students to experiment with what count as “maps” and practices of “mapping.” Some geo-stories might be composed in more familiar cartographic forms, while others may use interactive, web-based media to construct non-linear narrative architectures. Each one will traverse the 3/4 Coast in different ways, offering a unique-- and forever partial-- perspective on this invented territory and the processes through which it remains in-formation.
Final Project Brief
3/4 COAST ATLAS: Final Project Brief
The final project for this course involves two components: 1) a single, synthetic drawing (“scenographic map”) and 2) an accompanying group dossier detailing the agent(s), landscape(s), forms of evidence and data, and compositional logic behind your drawing.
Project Phasing
Studio sessions are scheduled for Tuesday 2/20, Thursday 2/22, and Tuesday 2/27. Your group will be expected to post WIP on 2/22 and 2/29 as a group (no individual submissions necessary); you do not need to post any further dossiers until the final submission.
Final presentations of WIP are on Thursday, 2/29.
The final project is due on Thursday, 3/7.
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2/20: Studio 01. This session is meant to help you sort through materials everyone is bringing to the project, to sketch out the group drawing and an underlying compositional logic/structure, and make a plan for how to divide up the work.
2/22: Studio 02. Make sure your group comes with working maps/drawings to continue developing in class. To ensure each group is coming prepared, one member of your group should post something on behalf of the whole group to the WIP channel on Are.na (please label it with your group #). This is a simple “milestone” submission to make sure your group is making progress toward a final drawing, even if it's just a concept sketch at this point.
2/27: Studio 03. This is the final in-class opportunity to work on your scenographic map together, and will build on the previous two sessions.
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2/29: Presentation day! Each group will get about 18 minutes to present; your presentation should run about 5-8 minutes so that we can spend the majority of time discussing your work-in-progress as a class.
Before class, post your group work-in-progress to the WIP channel; this will be the basis for your final presentation. While you are welcome to prepare slides, you do not need to do so (as long as we can view your WIP post at a high enough resolution to discuss). If you do prepare slides, please do not rely on text! We want to see your mapping inputs, processes, and outputs. Presentation materials might include component parts or zoom-ins of the group drawing, various iterations/options/color schemes, and even failed versions. Again, your presentation is not expected to show a final, polished product; this is instead an opportunity for feedback from the whole class.
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3/7: Final Project due. Post your map and accompanying dossier to Are.na before midnight!
The final project for this course involves two components: 1) a single, synthetic drawing (“scenographic map”) and 2) an accompanying group dossier detailing the agent(s), landscape(s), forms of evidence and data, and compositional logic behind your drawing.
You will upload your final map and dossier into the ‘atlas’ channel on Are.na as two separate blocks.
Project Phasing
Studio sessions are scheduled for Tuesday 2/20, Thursday 2/22, and Tuesday 2/27. Your group will be expected to post WIP on 2/22 and 2/29 as a group (no individual submissions necessary); you do not need to post any further dossiers until the final submission.
Final presentations of WIP are on Thursday, 2/29.
The final project is due on Thursday, 3/7.
---
2/20: Studio 01. This session is meant to help you sort through materials everyone is bringing to the project, to sketch out the group drawing and an underlying compositional logic/structure, and make a plan for how to divide up the work.
2/22: Studio 02. Make sure your group comes with working maps/drawings to continue developing in class. To ensure each group is coming prepared, one member of your group should post something on behalf of the whole group to the WIP channel on Are.na (please label it with your group #). This is a simple “milestone” submission to make sure your group is making progress toward a final drawing, even if it's just a concept sketch at this point.
2/27: Studio 03. This is the final in-class opportunity to work on your scenographic map together, and will build on the previous two sessions.
---
2/29: Presentation day! Each group will get about 18 minutes to present; your presentation should run about 5-8 minutes so that we can spend the majority of time discussing your work-in-progress as a class.
Before class, post your group work-in-progress to the WIP channel; this will be the basis for your final presentation. While you are welcome to prepare slides, you do not need to do so (as long as we can view your WIP post at a high enough resolution to discuss). If you do prepare slides, please do not rely on text! We want to see your mapping inputs, processes, and outputs. Presentation materials might include component parts or zoom-ins of the group drawing, various iterations/options/color schemes, and even failed versions. Again, your presentation is not expected to show a final, polished product; this is instead an opportunity for feedback from the whole class.
---
3/7: Final Project due. Post your map and accompanying dossier to Are.na before midnight!
Project Requirements
Scenographic Map
The scenographic map should tell a geographic story about urban, environmental, or planetary change in the ¾ Coast. Your map should clearly represent the following elements:
The imagined viewer of your map should be able to follow the narrative without the explicit guidance of your dossier; let the drawing do the work!
To help structure your geo-story spatially, your drawing should be composed according to an underlying conceptual framework (which you will explain in the dossier). This compositional logic should reflect the way you conceptualize change given the relations between agent(s) and landscape(s).
Don’t forget to choose a creative but descriptive title (and subtitle if needed)!
Technical Requirements
Map inputs:
Required outputs (based on lab exercises):
Dossier
Your group will produce a single dossier to accompany the scenographic map. The dossier is meant to be a supporting document that helps explain the various pieces of the map; the map should tell the geo-story, and the dossier should help provide contextual information. Think of it as a series of extended captions rather than as an essay.
The group dossier should follow the same guidelines we’ve been using for the weekly and midterm submissions; please refer back to assignment guidelines for more details. You should feel free to adapt, combine, synthesize, and/or expand any dossier materials the members of your group have generated thus far.
The only new requirement for your dossier is that you need to explain the compositional logic behind your drawing. You can refer to artist Feifei Zhou’s Feral Atlas essay for different ways of thinking about composing your map according to an underlying conceptual framework. Consider this as a way of helping an imagined viewer understand how to navigate your drawing.
Remember to include works cited/a bibliography; use the Chicago Manual of Style citation quick guide for formatting reference. Either Notes & Bibliography or Author-Date styles is fine.
Scenographic Map
The scenographic map should tell a geographic story about urban, environmental, or planetary change in the ¾ Coast. Your map should clearly represent the following elements:
- change agent(s) (i.e., non-human entities)
- landscape(s) (i.e., territory/habitat/region of interest)
- evidence of change (including but not limited to geospatial data)
The imagined viewer of your map should be able to follow the narrative without the explicit guidance of your dossier; let the drawing do the work!
To help structure your geo-story spatially, your drawing should be composed according to an underlying conceptual framework (which you will explain in the dossier). This compositional logic should reflect the way you conceptualize change given the relations between agent(s) and landscape(s).
Don’t forget to choose a creative but descriptive title (and subtitle if needed)!
Technical Requirements
Map inputs:
-
at least 1 raster dataset
-
at least 1 vector dataset
- historic/archival imagery/map
Required outputs (based on lab exercises):
-
synthetic/processed vector(s)
-
transect(s)
-
analytic/generative raster(s)
- textual elements where appropriate (labels, legends, integrated captions)
Dossier
Your group will produce a single dossier to accompany the scenographic map. The dossier is meant to be a supporting document that helps explain the various pieces of the map; the map should tell the geo-story, and the dossier should help provide contextual information. Think of it as a series of extended captions rather than as an essay.
The group dossier should follow the same guidelines we’ve been using for the weekly and midterm submissions; please refer back to assignment guidelines for more details. You should feel free to adapt, combine, synthesize, and/or expand any dossier materials the members of your group have generated thus far.
The only new requirement for your dossier is that you need to explain the compositional logic behind your drawing. You can refer to artist Feifei Zhou’s Feral Atlas essay for different ways of thinking about composing your map according to an underlying conceptual framework. Consider this as a way of helping an imagined viewer understand how to navigate your drawing.
Remember to include works cited/a bibliography; use the Chicago Manual of Style citation quick guide for formatting reference. Either Notes & Bibliography or Author-Date styles is fine.