On the scale of the world. Maps: a cultural, social and political object from Antiquity to the present day
À l’échelle du monde. La carte, objet culturel, social et politique, de l'Antiquité à nos jours
Published on Wednesday, July 08, 2015
Abstract
The questions arising from the study of world maps are numerous: why represent the entire world, and does the ‘world’ mean the terrestrial globe or just its inhabited part? What kind of knowledge is used to form the world image? What information is selected? What is the purpose and the audience of such maps ? What is the cultural, social and political background of these geographical images? The conference will allow historians and geographers to compare their understanding of the diversity of representations of the world throughout the ages and the use and meaning of such maps.
Announcement
Argument
The Mappa Mundi of Albi is one of the oldest extant maps of the world. It was made during the eighth century in the South of France or Northern Spain. The map is preserved in a manuscript of miscellaneous contents, which includes a scheme of the winds and other geographical texts of late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The manuscript has always formed part of the Library of the Albi Cathedral: it now belongs to the collection of the médiathèque Pierre Amalric in Albi. Despite of its importance in the history of cartography, it has never been studied in detail and within its context of production.
Recently (October 2015), the map was registered in the Register for the Memory of the World of UNESCO, acknowledging the importance of this very rare document for the history of humanity. To mark this event, the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the University of Albi and the Comité Français de Cartography (CFC), are organizing a two-day conference in Albi, on the topic of cartography “on the scale of the world” from Antiquity to the present time.
The questions arising from the study of world maps are numerous : why represent the entire world, and does the ‘world’ mean the terrestrial globe or just its inhabited part ? What kind of knowledge is used to form the world image ? What information is selected ? What is the purpose and the audience of such maps ? What is the cultural, social and political background of these geographical images ?
The conference will allow historians and geographers to compare their understanding of the diversity of representations of the world throughout the ages and the use and meaning of such maps. This event is part of a seminar organized in Paris-Sorbonne : Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris (CNRS-UMR 8589) : Geographical culture and representations of the world during the early Middle Ages (three study days : 8 et 22 January, 18 March 2016).
The conference will take place in Albi, on 17-18 October 2016. The first day will consider Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the second day will enlarge the discussion to representations of the world in modern and contemporary maps.
Submission guidelines
Please submit a paper proposal, with title, short CV and 250-300 words abstract to this address : colloquemappamundi@listes.univ-jfc.fr
Deadline : 1st February 2016.
Coordination
- Emmanuelle Vagnon,
- Sandrine Victor,
- Thibault Courcelle
Scientific committee
- Jean-Marc Besse
- Jean-Louis Biget
- Geneviève Bührer-Thierry
- Thibault Courcelle
- Jocelyne Deschaux
- Denis Eckert
- Catherine Hofmann
- Emmanuelle Vagnon
- Sandrine Victor
Subjects
Places
- Centre Universitaire Jean-François Champollion - Place de Verdun
Albi, France (81)
Date(s)
- Monday, February 01, 2016
Keywords
- mappemonde, carte, représentation, géopolitique, mappa mundi
Contact(s)
- Sandrine Victor
courriel : sandrine [dot] victor [at] univ-jfc [dot] fr - Emmanuelle Vagnon
courriel : evagnon [at] yahoo [dot] fr - Thibault Courcelle
courriel : colloquemappamundi [at] listes [dot] univ-jfc [dot] fr
Information source
- Sandrine Victor
courriel : sandrine [dot] victor [at] univ-jfc [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« On the scale of the world. Maps: a cultural, social and political object from Antiquity to the present day », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, July 08, 2015, https://doi.org/10.58079/sr9
