Philippe Rekacewicz (Le Monde Diplomatique, Paris)
Discussant: Eyal Weizman (Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths)

Maps are not the same thing as territory. At best they are only a representation of reality on the ground. Maps merely reveal what map-makers or their superiors want to show. They inevitably present a truncated, partial, even deliberately misleading picture of reality. Readers may be taken in by the final form of a map, with its mass of
details and neat precision. Merely being printed gives maps some authority, and they often bear the seal of governments or international bodies. But even the most detailed topographical maps demand considerable imaginative thought and painstaking design, each item being carefully chosen, some highlighted, others disappearing altogether. The individual or organisation producing a map is responsible for selecting objects and events, as well as deciding how they are visually represented. Their work demands imagination and creativity, but there is also scope for lies and manipulation...

Department of Sociology - Xenos Research Group

Thursday 27 May 2010 | 5-7pm
RHB 309, Goldsmiths, University of London
For further info contact:
xenos@gold.ac.uk or a.toscano@gold.ac.uk