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Research title Mapping mytths: the fantastic history of the Great Southern Continent . Summary of research “Mapping Myths: the fantastic history of the Great Southern Continent”
Despite the fact that the Continent never actually existed it was represented on maps for over a thousand years. Its history is one of fantasy, something built on imagination. And I would argue that it represents a projection of, or a repository for,our hopes, dreams, desires and even fears over that millennium.
I focus on maps because they are “powerful cultural totems” or windows into different cultures and epochs as well as being “symbolic representations of space”. Today we take maps for granted and we rarely question their authority, we assume they're accurate, especially if based on aerial or satellite photography, such as Google Earth maps. We don’t always recognise them as instruments of power.
Supervisors Dr Jim Hansom
Dr Hayden Lorimer
Robert Headland SPRI
Andrew Cook British Library |
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