Mark Stephen Monmonier | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Pennsylvania State University Johns Hopkins University |
Spouse | Margaret Janet Kollner (m. 1965) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | German Cartographic Society's Mercator Medal (2008) American Geographical Society's Osborn Maitland Miller Medal (2001) Guggenheim Fellowship (1984) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Syracuse University |
Thesis | On the Use of Digitized Map Sampling and Measurement: An Example in Crop Ecology (September 1969) |
Doctoral advisors | George F. Deasy Anthony Williams |
Website | www |
Mark Stephen Monmonier (born February 2, 1943 [1] ) is a Distinguished Professor of Geography and the Environment at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. He specializes in toponymy, geography, and geographic information systems. [2]
Monmonier began his academic career as Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Rhode Island in 1969. He would soon after take a position at the State University of New York at Albany in 1970. [1] [3] He joined the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 1973, where he continued his career until his retirement in May 2021. [4] He is currently Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography and the Environment at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. [4]
Monmonier's research focused on the twentieth-century history of cartography, in particular, map-related inventions and patents. He also wrote extensively on the use of maps for surveillance and as analytical and persuasive tools in politics, journalism, environmental science, and public administration. [5]
The "Monmonier Algorithm", an important research tool for geographic studies in linguistics and genetics, is based on an article he published in 1973. [6] [7]
In 2008, he received the German Cartographic Society's Mercator Medal. [8]
In 2016, he was inducted into the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association's GIS Hall of fame. [9]
In 2023, the American Association of Geographers awarded Monmonier the AAG Lifetime Achievement Honors, for making "outstanding contributions to geographic research, most notably in the fields of cartography and geographic communication" as well as an "extensive record of distinctive leadership at national and international levels". [7] [10]
Monmonier has authored over 20 books, and his popular written works show a combination of serious study and a sense of humor. Most of his work is published by the University of Chicago Press. [11] He has appeared on National Public Radio interview programs.
For example, in From Squaw Tit to Whorehouse Meadow: how maps name, claim, and inflame, Monmonier discusses topics such as:
In How to Lie with Maps, Monmonier gives us a different view of maps: Different projections give vastly disparate impressions of the same "facts" or terrain.
Cartography is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.
The Gall–Peters projection is a rectangular, equal-area map projection. Like all equal-area projections, it distorts most shapes. It is a cylindrical equal-area projection with latitudes 45° north and south as the regions on the map that have no distortion. The projection is named after James Gall and Arno Peters.
Waldo Rudolph Tobler was an American-Swiss geographer and cartographer. Tobler is regarded as one of the most influential geographers and cartographers of the late 20th century and early 21st century. He is most well known for coining what has come to be referred to as Tobler's first law of geography. He also coined what has come to be referred to as Tobler's second law of geography.
The Goode homolosine projection is a pseudocylindrical, equal-area, composite map projection used for world maps. Normally it is presented with multiple interruptions. Its equal-area property makes it useful for presenting spatial distribution of phenomena.
Roger Frank Tomlinson was an English-Canadian geographer and the primary originator of modern geographic information systems (GIS), and has been acknowledged as the "father of GIS."
The history of cartography refers to the development and consequences of cartography, or mapmaking technology, throughout human history. Maps have been one of the most important human inventions for millennia, allowing humans to explain and navigate their way through the world.
Whorehouse Meadow is a meadow located on the western slope of Steens Mountain southeast of Frenchglen, Oregon, United States. It lies within the Steens Mountain Wilderness. Lewis McArthur, writing about the landmark in Oregon Geographic Names, describes it as an "accessible but secluded meadow a mile east of Fish Lake."
David Woodward was an English-born American historian of cartography and cartographer.
Cartographic propaganda is a map created with the goal of achieving a result similar to traditional propaganda. The map can be outright falsified, or created using subjectivity with the goal of persuasion. The idea that maps are subjective is not new; cartographers refer to maps as a human-subjective product and some view cartography as an "industry, which packages and markets spatial knowledge" or as a communicative device distorted by human subjectivity. However, cartographic propaganda is widely successful because maps are often presented as a miniature model of reality, and it is a rare occurrence that a map is referred to as a distorted model, which sometimes can "lie" and contain items that are completely different from reality. Because the word propaganda has become a pejorative, it has been suggested that mapmaking of this kind should be described as "persuasive cartography", defined as maps intended primarily to influence opinions or beliefs – to send a message – rather than to communicate geographic information.
The Mercator world map of 1569 is titled Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigantium Emendate Accommodata. The title shows that Gerardus Mercator aimed to present contemporary knowledge of the geography of the world and at the same time 'correct' the chart to be more useful to sailors. This 'correction', whereby constant bearing sailing courses on the sphere are mapped to straight lines on the plane map, characterizes the Mercator projection. While the map's geography has been superseded by modern knowledge, its projection proved to be one of the most significant advances in the history of cartography, inspiring the 19th century map historian Adolf Nordenskiöld to write "The master of Rupelmonde stands unsurpassed in the history of cartography since the time of Ptolemy." The projection heralded a new era in the evolution of navigation maps and charts and it is still their basis.
Cynthia Ann Brewer is an American cartographer, author, and professor of geography at Pennsylvania State University. Brewer's specialty relates to visibility and color theory in cartography. In 2023, she was awarded the International Cartographic Society's highest honor, the Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal, for her distinguished contribution to the field.
Jew Point is a headland in Monroe County, Florida.
Shitepoke Creek is a short tributary of Salmon Creek, which is a tributary of the Middle Fork Willamette River in Lane County, Oregon, in the United States. Arising between Dead Mountain and Eagle Butte in the Cascade Range, it flows south into the creek about 7 miles (11 km) east of Oakridge. Its entire course lies within the Willamette National Forest.
Shitten Creek is a stream in Lane County, Oregon, in the United States.
Coon Butt is a summit in Blount County, Tennessee, in the United States. It is located within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With an elevation of 2,326 feet (709 m), Coon Butt is the 422nd highest mountain of Tennessee.
Brilliant is an unincorporated community in Colfax County, in the U.S. state of New Mexico.
Isanaklesh Peaks, formerly known as Squaw Tits, is a summit in Maricopa County, Arizona, in the United States. with an elevation of 2,478 feet (755 m).
Susan Lynn Cutter is an American geographer and disaster researcher who is a Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography and director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. She is the author or editor of many books on disasters and disaster recovery. Her areas of expertise include the factors that make people and places susceptible to disasters, how people recover from disasters, and how to map disasters and disaster hazards. She chaired a committee of the National Research Council that in 2012 recommended more open data in disaster-monitoring systems, more research into disaster-resistant building techniques, and a greater emphasis on the ability of communities to recover from future disasters.
John Rennie Short is professor emeritus of geography and public policy in the School of Public Policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
How to Lie with Maps is a nonfiction book written by Mark Monmonier detailing issues with cartographic representation and targeted at the general public. First published in 1991 by the University of Chicago Press, it explores the various ways in which maps can be manipulated and how these distortions influence the general public's perceptions and understanding of the world. The book highlights the subjectivity involved in map-making and the potential for misuse of cartographic techniques, with a goal to "promote a healthy skepticism about maps."