How Maps Subconciously Reinforce Orientalism
So I am going to be spitting some knowledge that has kept me from falling back asleep last night.
Now, to discuss maps I gotta refresh some of y’alls memory because geography is probably the farthest thing in the world for you right now. In fact I doubt they are teaching any of it in schools anymore since I’ve left elementary and middle school.
Longitude - Up and down line segment in degrees around the world. The main 0*0 degree longitude line is the Greenwich Meridian.
Latitude - Left and right lines that segment in degrees around the world. The Equator is the main latitude line at 0*0.
Supposedly, the Greenwich Meridian is the main point that is laid out for when we have a flat map. It’s our center point. This is shown here. Now, as you can see, the meridian crosses a few cities/areas beyond Greenwich, England. But why do we still maintain it’s Greenwich? Because white people made the maps we use today.
So with any Google search of world map, we typically get the flat map of the world that has the Greenwich Meridian as the center point. When we look at this map, NO MATTER WHAT, Asia is to the East. The “Orient” is always East. Everything is created from the center point which is wonderful (sarcasm) Europe and glorious (even more sarcasm) England. Nothing exists without this establishment.
Now, I will introduce a new word to you. Spatial reality. Spatial reality takes into account where you are in relation to the world. This is something that a world map that is found in classrooms across the globe doesn’t do. Real maps, like tactical or road maps, take into account spatial reality. Let’s imagine, if you will, we are all in California. We’re in a classroom. A map that employs spatial reality would look like this:
The red dot, obviously, signifies our location. So what is to the west of us? Asia. This is reality. What is to the East of us? Immediately, the rest of the Americas, and further East would be Europe.
Maps create this reality - again, created by white imperialist colonizers - in which everything exists in relation to it. Maps reinforce this idea and binary as well.
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I simply cannot believe that the first cartographers decided to place Greenwich at the centre because they thought white...
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We actually learnt this all in school, including the upside down. I don’t know if it’s common here or if I just had some...
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well fuck! my brain is so confused and angry.
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how dare people use 0’...maps for every different...world,...
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Whenever this conversation comes up I can’t help but think of Leo’s Big Block of Cheese Day and the Organization of...
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most interesting thing. Like, if you...at early colonial
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MEANWHILE RUSSIA IS STILL HUGE
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so fascinating, but...so bad in that class. I...mannnn it...
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