Maps are not only found in the atlas at school and on Google Maps. Whether political maps, world maps on the climate crisis or to determine a position in the sea rescue: Maps influence our reality! In this article you will learn about the origin of maps and what is important to consider when using them. Test your knowledge in our crossword puzzle!
Below we will introduce you to the main types of maps and why it is so difficult to capture the globe on a map. This is not only about various technical issues, but the representations of the maps also show how power is distributed around the world.
This knowledge of the inaccuracy and diversity of maps and their interpretations is important in order to quickly classify new information. Take the Mediterranean map below: Without critical contextualization, the large red arrows make it look as if a threat from Africa and Asia is entering Europe.
That is why it is important to always check the origin of media and information. Knowing that the European border police Frontex, which is known for its human rights violations and regular breaches of the law, has created this map, this way of presentation makes more sense.
Media literacy is the key word. Because the fact that the migration of people is published in a mode of representation that is normally reserved primarily for military tactics is questionable, to say the least. In any case, cartographic means are used here to create a threat scenario that would possibly not even come about through a different color scheme and design of the map.
Another example of how manipulative maps can be can be seen in our next graphic. There, the Bosnian territory was divided into regions according to ethnic affiliation. However, the fact that there are representatives of many other population groups in the regions shown in one color makes this representation largely invisible. The minorities depicted are disproportionately represented.
The example of Alarm Phone shows how civil society organizations can make use of maps.This organization provides an emergency hotline for people crossing the Mediterranean and alerts the coast guards of EU countries. By sharing the exact location of the boat and knowing who to contact and how to build pressure, so many people are saved. We have linked you a video (external link, opens in a new window) where the use of a GPS mobile phone is shown.
Enough learning about maps! Now you can test your knowledge and fill in this crossword puzzle for sure! If you want more information about a topic or don't know what to do, click on the tip. There you will often find links to more in-depth articles on the topic.
Good luck!
Then check out this website where you can move the outlines of all the countries in the world on the map and see the distortions of the projection used. Really great tool! Click here.
Want more info on critical mapping? We've teamed up with experts to release an entire atlas-sized book - in English - about the power of maps: This Is Not an Atlas brings together more than 40 counter-cartographies from around the world. The first of its kind, this collection shows how maps are created and transformed as part of political struggles, for critical research, or in art and education: From indigenous struggles in the Amazon to the anti-eviction movement in San Francisco, from defending commons in Mexico to mapping refugee camps with balloons in Lebanon....
Get the free ebook here (external link, opens in a new window)!
Many other important topics are presented in the Atlas of Migration 2022. Either continue clicking through our posts in the atlas below or download the atlas on the right and check it out in full!
Online article created by Florian Leiner, based on the original article "Maps - In the Service of the Powerful" from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation's Atlas of Migration.
The Atlas of Migration is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution -4.0 international license (CC BY 4. 0) and has original contributions by Dany Bahar, Dorothea Biaback Anong, Johanna Bussemer, Phoebe Daliani, Petra Ezzedine, Alice Fritze, Laura Goßner, Vera Hanewinkel, Thomas Hohlfeld, Florian Horn, Christian Jakob, Yuliya Kosyakova, Michaela Kreyenfeld, Stephan Liebscher, Daniela Majstorovic, Karolina Novinscak, Jochen Oltmer, Barbara Orth, Maria Oshana, Liza Pflaum, Katrin Radtke, Bentley Schieckoff, Bernard Schmid, Antonie Schmiz, Sören Schneider, Alina Schürmann, Eberhard Seidel, Miximilian Sprengholz, Federico Tomasone, Amali Tower, Zuzana Uhde, Laetitia van der Veen, Frances Webber, Bartosz Wielinski.
You can use the individual infographics of this atlas for your own purposes if the copyright notice is "Bartz/Stockmar, CC BY 4.0" near the graphic, and "Bartz/Stockmar (M), CC BY 4.0" for adaptations.
Maps used in the online article are usable under CC BY SA licenses. Images: Background crossword puzzle, Gall-Peters & angle triple projection: Tobias Jung at map-projections.net/.
Learn more about the topic of migration with the Atlas of Migration. Migration is not particular to any one society. Many societies around the world are a result of human mobility. A wide range of myths and racist imagery has emerged around migrants’ movements, often portraying them as threatening.
Cookie Notice
Please select all cookies so you can experience L!NX at its best! We deploy our video and audio content via Youtube and Soundcloud! Allow our cookies if you want to see the full content! Cookie declaration