This dissertation argues that the waters of the English Channel and North Sea constituted a coherent region of political, geographical, and human life in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It examines a large corpus of manuscript and printed maps, sea-charts, portolan charts, navigation manuals, and other works of geography to determine what the Channel was named, when, and by whom, demonstrating how nomenclature and systems of toponyms were wielded as political tools by nationalist cartographers. It traces changes in how the region was known and represented over two centuries, and how cartographic practices and sailing technology shifted along with those changes, to the benefit of domestic and overseas trade and nascent empire-building for England, France, and the Netherlands. It posits the existence of at least two ‘maritime states’ on and next to Channel waters, as the Dutch Sea Beggars and the Brittany port town of Saint-Malo sought to carve out nationhood for themselves based almost solely on the deployment of marine power. Finally, it considers how events and experiences in the Channel can inform and support current developments in the field of the ‘blue humanities.’ Many aspects of the work seek to complicate, and in some places to undermine, the common truism that ‘knowledge is power,’ asking what representations of knowledge might have produced what sort(s) of power on early modern European maps.

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Language maps provide illustrations of linguistic and cultural diversity and distribution, appearing in outlets ranging from textbooks and news articles to websites and wall maps. They are valuable visual aids that accompany discussions of our cultural climate. Despite the prevalent use of language maps as educational tools, little recent research addresses the difficult task of map construction for this fluid cultural characteristic. The display and analysis capabilities of current geographic information systems (GIS) provide a new opportunity for revisiting and challenging the issues of language mapping. In an effort to renew language mapping research and explore the potential of GIS, this dissertation is composed of three studies that collectively present a progressive work on language mapping. The first study summarizes the language mapping literature, addressing the difficulties and limitations of assigning language to space before describing contemporary language mapping projects as well as future research possibilities with current technology. In an effort to identify common language mapping practices, the second study is a map survey documenting the cartographic characteristics of existing language maps. The survey not only consistently categorizes language map symbology, it also captures unique strategies observed for handling locations with linguistic plurality as well as representing language data uncertainty. A new typology of language map symbology is compiled based on the map survey results. Finally, the third study specifically addresses two gaps in the language mapping literature: the issue of visualizing linguistic diversity and the scarcity of GIS applications in language mapping research. The study uses census data for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area to explore visualization possibilities for representing the linguistic diversity. After recreating mapping strategies already in use for showing linguistic diversity, the study applies an existing statistic (a linguistic diversity index) as a new mapping variable to generate a new visualization type: a linguistic diversity surface. The overall goal of this dissertation is to provide the impetus for continued language mapping research and contribute to the understanding and creation of language maps in education, research, politics, and other venues. / Ph. D.

Thematic tourist maps provide users with a tangible geographic route to their travel destinations and also may contain a wide variety of additional information to enhance traveler experiences. Unlike other types of maps that focus on accurate topographic representation of an area or on depiction of spatial data, tourist maps should be specifically constructed to appeal directly to the end-user. Toward that end, this research developed and implemented a model to incorporate user opinion on content, levels of detail, and labeling conventions during the process of designing and creating a wine tourism map for southwest Virginia. Over 700 (total) wine tourists completed brief questionnaires during five distinct phases of data collection and map modeling. At each point, we incorporated user input into map design for the preceding phase, and a final assessment surveyed tourist attitude of the finished product. Interestingly, surveys indicated a propensity for users to highly rank the idea of more and more detailed content data, as well as high levels of spatial detail, but when presented with the corresponding maps, they tended to favor a cleaner more simplified display. This finding underscores our conclusion that while user input is critical for developing successful tourist maps, cartographic training and skill is still required to achieve a quality product. Overall, the final map incorporating user input received overwhelmingly positive user reviews when compared to existing regional maps indicating that our iterative method of seeking user input at various stages of map development was successful, and facilitated creation of an improved product. / Master of Science

A historiografia considera os séculos XII ao XV como um momento de transição em que uma nova ordem é estabelecida. Inicia-se um processo de expansão de conhecimento sobre o Planeta Terra que permitirá ao Homem avançar na representação de sua forma através de novas técnicas de navegações, confirmando antigas teorias a respeito da forma do meio em que vive. Esse trabalho desenvolve uma pesquisa no sentido de identificar os suportes utilizados pelos humanos neste longo processo em que, ao mesmo tempo, conhecem o outro, a Natureza e se conhecem, construindo uma identidade. Mostramos a transmissão dos elementos necessários as navegações, como bússolas, astrolábios e quadrantes, que vieram do oriente junto com as técnicas de produção do papel verdadeiro. Esses instrumentos e essas técnicas, já utilizados na China, entram na Europa através do processo de expansão islâmica, junto com manuscritos de antigos gregos como Ptolomeu e Euclides, estabelecendo um momento de síntese, expresso, entre outros meios, através das representações cartográficas conhecidas como PORTULANOS, utilizados em Sagres para a navegação em alto mar. Procuramos estabelecer relações entre os produtores do conhecimento científico que possibilitou o passo Navegações e os produtores do suporte deste conhecimento, neste momento o papel, com características de produção necessárias para suprir as necessidades de um mundo em expansão, favorecendo o processo de globalização iniciado no século XV. / The historiography considers the XII to XV century a moment of transition in which a new order is established. There will begin a process of knowledge expansion about the Earth that will permit the man to prove its spherical form through the new navigation techniques, confirming the antiques theories about the shape of the world. This work develops a research in the way of identify the supports used for humans beings in this large process in which the man at the same time knows the other, the nature and himself, building a identity. We show the transmission of the necessary elements to navigation, like magnetic needle, astrolabes and quadrants. They came from Orient at the same time the production techniques of the true paper came. Those instruments and techniques, used already in China, got inside Europe through the Islamic expansions process. It also brought manuscripts of antique Greeks like Ptolomeu and Euclides, establishing a synthesis moment. This moment is expressed, between others manners, through the cartographic representations known like PORTULANOS, used in Sagres to ocean navigations. We seek to establish relationships between the scientific knowledge makers that made possible the navigations and the support makers of this knowledge, in this moment it was the paper, with the necessary productions characteristics to supply the needs of a world in expansion, favoring the globalization process.

Esta é uma das questões-chave da pesquisa: haveria um consenso que a Cartografia é a linguagem ideal para a expressão da Geografia? O que poderia ser uma óbvia resposta positiva, não o é. Não vivemos em um tempo no qual parece haver uma subtilização da Cartografia pela Geografia? Não estaríamos perdendo esse recurso sem que houvesse reação? Mas, qualquer Cartografia serve à Geografia? A verificação de qual Cartografia serviria à Geografia, um objetivo desse trabalho, leva em consideração a movimentação teórica no interior da disciplina que pode ser qualificada como de renovação. Nossa preocupação fica mais completamente expressa da seguinte maneira: haveria um desenvolvimento da Cartografia em consonância com a renovação da Geografia? Na pesquisa, inicialmente, verificamos se algumas transformações da Geografia escolar, em tese influenciadas pela renovação da Geografia, teriam alcançado a Cartografia escolar. Afinal, o segmento de renovação da Geografia que assume um viés mais epistemológico assumiu a reconstrução teórica do conceito de espaço geográfico, o que seguramente traria conseqüências para a representação cartográfica. Nesse sentido, constatamos uma ausência de novidade no campo da Geografia escolar e na Cartografia que se pratica, o que nos obrigou a dirigir nosso olhar para outros aspectos da relação Cartografia e Geografia, no mundo acadêmico, ambiente em que a renovação da Geografia estaria se desenvolvendo. Na produção acadêmica, igualmente, após análise crítica exaustiva, se constatou pouca discussão sobre a relação Cartografia e Geografia, sobre a renovação da Geografia e sobre a epistemologia da Cartografia nos trabalhos acadêmicos brasileiros. E uma adesão quase que inconsciente a uma Cartografia naturalizada, tratada como um veículo enrijecido sobre bases imutáveis. Conseqüentemente, revelam-se lacunas referentes às reflexões sobre representação e linguagem e o papel dessas na produção do conhecimento geográfico que se renova. Que elaborações, gêneros de discussão e reflexões a Cartografia em Geografia deveria considerar? O que há para atualizar nos campos em que houve novas aquisições teóricas, tal como o das reflexões sobre linguagens? Que considerações teóricas podem ser produtivas na investigação de caminhos para a constituição de uma Cartografia geográfica, que represente o espaço geográfico entendido como dimensão do social, tal como propugna a Geografia renovada? Para se responder essas questões, exige-se algum empenho em Cartografia teórica, campo no qual esse trabalho pretendeu dar uma contribuição. / Is there a consensus that Cartography is the ideal language to express Geography? This is one of the key issues of our research. However, what might deserve an obvious affirmative answer, actually does not. Are we not living in a time when Cartography seems to be subtilized by Geography? Are we not losing this resource without putting up a struggle? On the other hand, does any Cartography at all avail Geography? Ascertaining which Cartography might avail Geography, one of the aims of this paper, must take into account the theoretical movements within this discipline - movements that might be deemed a concerted effort of renewal. Perhaps our concern is better expressed as follows: Are there developments in Cartography that are consonant with the renewal of Geography? Our study initially examines if certain changes in school Geography (which, in principle, should be affected by Geography\'s renewal) have succeeded in reaching school Cartography. Indeed, the more epistemological segment of Geography\'s renewal has taken on the theoretical reconstruction of the concept of geographic space - with inevitable consequences on cartographic representations. However, we have found an absence of novelty in the realm of school Geography and of hands-on Cartography. This led us to seek other aspects of the relationship between Cartography and Geography in the academic world, the setting where Geography\'s renewal is supposedly taking place. After exhaustive critical analysis, we have likewise found in academic production only sparse discussion on the relationship between Cartography and Geography, on the renewal of Geography and on the epistemology of Cartography in Brazilian academic papers. Furthermore, we have observed an almost unconscious adherence to a naturalized sort of Cartography, seen as a rigid medium set on immutable bases. Consequently, there are certain gaps in the current thinking on representation and language - and on their role in producing renewed geographic knowledge. What sort of cogitation, what kind of discussion and reflection should Cartography as part of Geography consider? What must be brought up to date in the fields (e.g., that of reflections on languages) where new theoretical acquisitions have occurred? What theoretical considerations might be useful in investigating ways to establish a geographic Cartography that represents geographic space understood as a dimension of the social sphere - as propounded by Geography\'s renewal? To answer such questions, a certain effort in theoretical Cartography is required, the field in which this paper hopes to make a contribution.