Shading, lines, colors

Mapping ethnographic taxonomies of European Russia

Bibliographic Data

ID11048302
AuthorsCatherine Gibson (0000-0002-8564-1223, European University Institute, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume46
Issue4
Pages592-611
Publication date2018-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNationalities Papers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/00905992.2017.1364229
OpenAlexW2792225363
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited44

This article explores the role of maps in the construction and development of ethnographic taxonomies in the mid-century Russian Empire. A close reading of two ethnographic maps of “European Russia” produced by members of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, Petr Keppen (1851) and Aleksander Rittikh (1875), is used to shine a spotlight on the cartographical methods and techniques (lines, shading, color, hatching, legends, text, etc.) employed to depict, construct, and communicate these taxonomies. In doing so, this article draws our attention to how maps impacted visual and spatial thinking about the categories of ethnicity and nationality, and their application to specific contexts and political purposes within the Empire. Through an examination of Keppen's and Rittikh's maps, this article addresses the broader question of why cartography came to be regarded as such a powerful medium through which to communicate and consolidate particular visions of an ethnographic landscape

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Cartography · Construct (python library · Empire · Ethnography · Geography · Nationality · Political science · Politics · Reading (process · Sociology · Vision · Visual arts · Anthropology · Archaeological Research and Protection · Computer Science · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Law · Soviet and Russian History

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