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The Charting of Empires - HIST 6301
Richard V. Francaviglia
University of Texas at Arlington - Fall 2002
E-mail: francaviglia@uta.edu
Instructor WWW site: http://www.uta.edu/history/transatlantic/faculty
Required Textbooks:
-Allen, Phillip, Mapmaker's Art: Five Centuries of Charting the World
(New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000)
-Burnett, D. Graham, Masters of All They Surveyed: Exploration, Geography,
and a British El Dorado (The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2000)
-Cosgrove, Denis, ed., Mappings (London: Reaktion Books, 1999)
-Dickenson, Victoria, Drawn From Life: Science and Art in the Portrayal
of the New World (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998)
-Lewis, G. Malcolm, ed., Cartographic Encounters: Perspectives on Native
American Mapmaking and Map Use, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1998)
-Myers, Amy R., and Margaret Beck, eds., Empire's Nature: Mark Catesby's
New World Vision (published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American
History and Culture & the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg,
Virginia by the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1998)
-Rice, Tony, Voyages of Discovery: Three Centuries of Natural History Exploration
(New York: Clarkson Potter, 1999)
Related books of interest (not required):
-Allen, John Logan, ed., North American Exploration (three volumes:
One - A New World Disclosed; Two - A Continent Defined; Three - A Continent
Comprehended) (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997)
-Buisseret, David, ed., From Sea Charts to Satellite Images: Interpreting
North American History Through Maps (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1990)
-Berthon, Simon and Andrew Robinson, The Shape of the World: The Mapping
and Discovery of the Earth (Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1991)
-Blaeu's The Grand Atlas of the 17th Century World (London:
Studio, 1997)
-Cosgrove, Denis, Apollo's Eye: A Cartographic Genealogy of the Earth in
the Western Imagination (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001)
-Danforth, Susan, Encountering the New World, 1493 to 1800, (Providence:
John Carter Brown Library, 1991)
-Goss, John, The Mapping of North America: Three Centuries of Map-Making,
1500 - 1800 (Secaucus, NJ: Wellfleet Press, 1990)
-Haenke, Tadeo, Tadeo Hanke: Su Obra en los Andes y la Selva Boliviana
(La Paz: Editorial Los Amigos del Libro, 1974)
-Jackson, Jack, Flags Along the Coast: Charting the Gulf of Mexico, 1519-1759:
A Reappraisal (Austin: The Book Club of Texas, 1995)
-La Expidicion Malaspina (Madrid: Ministerio de Defensa, Museo Naval,
1987)
-Mason: Peter, Infelicities: Representations of the Exotic (Baltimore:
The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998)
-The Malaspina Expedition: In the Pursuit of Knowledge (Santa Fe: Museum
of New Mexico Press, 1977)
-Reese, William S., and George A. Miles, Creating America: An Exhibition
at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University (New
Haven: Yale University Library, 1992)
-Reinhartz, Dennis, and Gerald Saxon, eds. The Mapping of the Entradas
into the Greater Southwest (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998)
-Tufte, Edward, Envisioning Information (Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press,
1990)
-Vaughan, Thomas, Voyages of enlightenment: Malaspina on the Northwest
Coast (Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1977)
-Wallace, Alfred Russell, The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-Utan
and the Bird of Paradise…. (New York: Dover Publications, 1962: original
published in 1869)
-__________________. The Geographical Distribution of Animals, With a Study
of the Relations of Living and Extinct Faunas as Elucidating the Past Changes
of the Earth's Surface (2 volumes, New York: Hafner Publishing Co., 1962;
originally published 1876)
-Winchester, Simon, The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the
Birth of Modern Geology (New York, N.Y.: Harper Collins, 2001)
Course Description: This transatlantic history colloquium examines the process by which maps and other graphic materials were used to help European powers "claim" portions of the New World from about 1500 to 1800. By studying both primary sources (such as maps and illustrated scientific reports) and secondary sources (interpretations of maps and illustrations used in discovery and exploration), we will better understand the challenges facing those who sought to depict new discoveries. Through combinations of graphics and narratives, information about the peoples and locales (including flora, fauna, geology, and landscapes) of the New World served political, economic, and scientific interests. This process was largely driven by European philosophies of expansion, but Native peoples also contributed to these endeavors.
Course Learning Goals/Objectives: To enable students to recognize
and interpret various graphic forms of communications, such as maps and scientific
illustrations, that were used in the exploration and discovery process by
European colonial powers from about 1490 to the nineteenth century. These
images are an integral element in the "Age of Discovery" and coincide
with important developments during major periods in history, including the
Enlightenment and the age of scientific discovery. Above all, this colloquium
should enable students to understand the significance of images in relation
to narratives of discovery and exploration. Through it, students will learn
or improve upon a skill - "graphicacy" - which, like literacy, is
essential for developing a fuller understanding of history.
Attendance and Drop Policy: Students are expected to attend all class
sessions; those missing class must notify instructor beforehand. Students
may drop course in accordance with instructor's policy as provided to the
History Department.
Tentative Course Schedule:
Week 1 - August 28 - An Introduction to Images of Exploration and Discovery
-- begin reading Mappings
Week 2 - September 4 - Understanding Historic Maps -- book review of Mappings
due
Week 3 - September 11 - Mapping the Unknown -- discuss Mapmaker's Art
Week 4 - September 18 - Maps as Documents -- report on an aspect of Mapmaker's
Art
Week 5 - September 25 - Maps as Icons -- begin reading Cartographic Encounters
Week 6 - October 2 - Native Americans and Discovery -- report on Cartographic
Encounters (NOTE: The 2002 Virginia Garrett Lectures in Cartographic History
are at UTA on Friday, October 4th.)
Week 7 - October 9 - The World of Natural History -- discussion of Voyages
of Discovery
Week 8 - October 16 - Images of the Natural World - NOTE: On this evening,
the class meets in UTA's Special Collections (6th Floor, Central Library),
where Cartographic Archivist Kit Goodwin will provide an introduction to the
Virginia Garrett Map Library; your report on Voyages of Discovery is due on
that date, so provide paper to Center for Greater Southwestern Studies office
in Central Library (Room 650) by 4:00 p.m. 10/16
Week 9 - October 23 - No Class (SHD Meeting in Guadalajara) - begin reading
Empire's Nature
Week 10 - October 30 - Illustration and Colonization - class discussion of/report
on Empire's Nature
Week 11 - November 6 - Words and Images - begin reading Drawn from Life
Week 12 - November 13 - Imagining and Imaging - continue reading Drawn from
Life
Week 13 - November 20 - The Power of the Image - report on Drawn from Life
Week 14 - November 27 - Cartography and Natural History Illustration - read
Masters of All They Surveyed
Week 15 - December 4 - Images and Encounters in Retrospect - a review/discussion
of all readings, including report on Masters of All They Surveyed
Specific Course Requirements: Active in-class participation based on the assigned readings; oral reports; written reviews of assigned books. Work is to be handed in on the date shown on the course schedule above.
Course Evaluation and Final Grade: Final grades in the class are based on instructor's evaluation of student's mastery of the readings and course content as demonstrated by written and oral reports. Grades are based on the following: A = excellent comprehension and interpretation of material; B = very good comprehension and interpretation of material; C = acceptable performance; D = below standard work; F = unacceptable work.
© 2002 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Created November 2002.