HIST 5316W: Canadian History Special Topics: Map and Mapping in Canadian History

Winter 2027

Professor John Walsh

Source: Archives of Ontario, RG 5, B354957, Folder 3.6, Lure Books
 
Scope & Objectives:  This course explores the political, cultural, and social histories of cartography in Canada with a particular concern to address the methodological and epistemological opportunities (and challenges) that arise when we historians encounter maps in the archive. To that end we ask a series of interconnected questions:  what historically has been a map? What mapping practices historically created and used maps? How might scholars read maps – their visuality, numeracy, and textuality – as historical evidence? How are scholars to understand the visual, numeric, and textual traces associated with mapping practices that were and are often archived separate from the maps that were published and circulated? 
 
Class Format: To answer our core questions, this is not just a course that reads and discusses readings, although there is plenty of that. It is also a course that has regular workshop elements working with historical maps and mapping archival materials. Students will reflect regularly on the connections between the literature, discussions, and workshops in semi-regular course diary entries (done on the course website) responding to prompts provided by the course instructor. Feedback will be provided for each entry as it is done, with the intent to continue our shared learning.
 
Assignments:  The course diary entries will be near-weekly for the first 6 weeks of the course and then the last months of the course will be dedicated to a research project (details to come).
 
Evaluation (tentative):
 
Weekly Engagement – 25%
Course Diary  – 35%
Research Project – 40%
 
To learn more about the course, feel free to contact the course instructor via email.