Abstract

Re-mapping Texts and Contexts / Refracting An-other Place and Time
Track: Cartography and Map Production
Authors: Stephen Benzek, Lillian Larsen

This paper will explore the way a GIS can be used to create an immersive experience that draws the viewer in - both geographically, emotionally and historically by attending to the time and place of historical events or the time and place they evoke. Through re-deploying symbology that, in previous eras, evoked an emotional response, modern map-makers can benefit from general graphic design principles that include using a visual to evoke joy, terror, wonder, etc. This paper will demonstrate conceptually how one can create, using ArcMap and Photoshop, accurate and visually pleasing modern maps of ancient or unfamiliar landscapes that take the viewer 'to a new place' by employing historical techniques, graphics, colors and imagery. Such carto- and graphic choices retain the promise of eliciting new insights, inspiring interest in a given subject by widening a map's viewing audience, or encouraging historical tourism, and with this, conservation/respect for ancient sites.