This page attempts two things: to document what is currently being offered around the world; and, perhaps, to help create a 'virtual community' for teachers of this subject. It can thus serve as a shopping list for those seeking a course to join, while, simultaneously, helping those who are keeping the flame alive to maintain their awareness of teaching trends.

The other pages on this 'Map History' site testify to the breadth and vigour of the history of cartography as an academic and recreational subject. Yet the lack of opportunities for formal academic apprenticeship, i.e. university courses, is, if anything, getting worse.

A note on the qualifications for inclusion in this listing. Numerous Cartography and GIS courses start with a single lecture on mapping history. In other courses, maps serve a secondary, illustrative function. We hope that those concerned will understand why we have insisted here on a prominent role for non-current maps, though we are delighted to include courses given in any academic discipline.

The International Cartographic Association - Commission on Education and Training (CET) maintains a listing of Undergraduate cartography courses. This is arranged geographically and is potentially relevant, given that many history of cartography courses take place in cartography departments. However no history courses were noted. The GradSchools.com online listing was also consulted, without success. For those considering an MA, helpful guidance is provided on the Guide to Affordable Online Masters Programs site. From the same source you can consult Guide to Online History Degrees. For information about financing take a look at How to pay for Graduate School.

The future updating of this page depends on information supplied by the instructors themselves. It is not feasible to carry out a systematic revision.

Please therefore send any new or corrected information to Tony Campbell:

Course organisation and methodology

Teaching with historical maps

Individual course notes

ICA Seminars
Seminars of the International Cartographic Association (Commission on History of Cartography, and Commission on Education and Training), Teaching the History of Cartography. These were held as part of the biennial International Conferences on the History of Cartography. The proceedings of the five seminars were published (in four volumes) by the Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Utrecht University (1991-2000):

• I. Uppsala, Sweden, June 13, 1991
• II. Newberry Library, Chicago, United States, June 23, 1993
• III. Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria, September 10, 1995.
• IV. Lisbon, Portugal, July 5, 1997
• V. Athens, Greece, July 10, 1999

Other Publications

• Joel Kovarsky, 'The Roles of Old Maps: Linking Lifelong Learning to Special Collections Libraries' (in the LLI Review (Osher Lifelong Learning Institues), 3 (Fall 2008), pp.29-33; the author teaches an annual course at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Virginia)
• Richard I. Ruggles, The Teaching of the History of Cartography: a Report to the Standing Commission on the History of Cartography (Budapest: International Cartographic Association, 1989) [28 leaves]
• 'Organization of seminars on the history of cartography, as promotion for the Cartoteca de Catalunya' (by M. Carme Montaner i Garcia, 1992). For details of the eleven seminars see Books to get you into the subject, under 'Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya, Barcelona'

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Teaching with historical maps:

NB. The Newberry Library website is currently undergoing development and some of the links below may not work [June 2005]

• 'Cartographic Connections: Improving Teaching through the Use of Historic Maps' (University of Texas at Arlington)
• Professional Development Programs for Teachers (Newberry Library, Chicago)
• 'Ptolemy's Historic Map' (a broader outline than the title suggests - Deborah Smith Johnston, Lexington High School, for World History Sources, 2005?)
• ’Tutorial: History of Cartography’ (illustrated notes, arranged in eight chronological chapters, with ‘Auxiliary Studies’ and (to follow) ‘In depth studies’, available also in Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Slovakian, Spanish and Russian - University of Southern Maine (George S. Carhart); Eötvös Loránd Universität, Budapest (Zsolt Török); Universität Passau (Thomas Frenz))
• Slide Sets (from the Newberry Library, some online)
• 'Using Historic Maps in College and University Courses' (Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography, Newberry Library, Chicago)
• 'Zoom into Maps' ('Maps help us make sense of our world'; 'Analyzing a Map'; 'What can be learned from historic maps?' - introductory text accompanying the Library of Congress's 'American Memory' site, illustrated with high resolution MrSID images)
• W.G. Koch: 'Das Lehrfach "Geschichte der Kartographie" an der TU Dresden. Entwicklung, Ziele, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen'. Proceedings of the "9. Kartographiehistorisches Colloquium" Rostock (Bonn: Kirschberg - Verlag, 2002), pp. 111-116. ISBN 3 7812 1555 5
• David Stephens: 'Making Sense of Maps' ("a place for students and teachers to begin working with maps as historical evidence...an overview of the history of maps and how historians use them, a breakdown of the elements of a map, tips on what questions to ask when analyzing maps, an annotated bibliography, and a guide to finding and using maps online", with examples taken from Illinois and Pittsburgh)
• Lisa M. Zeitz: 'Landscape and Nation in Eighteenth-Century Britain' (course notes - one section entitled 'Mapping Ideas'; after 1998)
• see also Teachers: Background and general information and Teachers: Lesson materials

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Individual Course Notes:

NB. While the links below can be openly accessed (e.g. via Google) some are undoubtedly no longer current. This certainly applies to those from the Newberry Library (whose site is undergoing development, June 2005). The reading lists, for example, would need updating (on which see 'Reading Suggestions'). Their authors should be consulted before any use is made of the notes.

• Stefan Arn: 'Kartengeschichte' (a 54-page, well-illustrated, pdf document, in German, covering the history of cartography in general, with particular reference to Switzerland)
• P.P.W.J. van den Brink and P.C.J. van der Krogt: < http://cartography.geog.uu.nl/histkart.html > Bijvak Historische Kartografie (in Dutch - outline of a history of cartography course at the University of Utrecht)
• Pat Seed: 'Latitude2003: History of Cartography and Navigation: History 424' (with links, several to her 'Latitude' site) [the 2000 and 2002 syllabi are still accessible]
• Robert Summerby-Murray: < http://www.mta.ca/~rsummerb/4711outl.html > 'Cartographic Representation: Critical Perspectives on Mapping and GIS' (course notes and reading lists - the first few weeks concerned with history, 2002)
• Waldo Tobler: 'History of Cartography as Taught at UCSB' (History of Cartography Conference, Chicago, June 1993 - also 'Numerical Approaches to Map Projections')
• see also Teachers: Background and general information and Teachers: Lesson materials

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see also Teachers and Parents: Web Resources Relating to Early Maps

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