Digital Archives: Rhetoricity of Maps Activity

Map 1

Atlanta City Map: Complete List of City and Suburban Routes, 1967 - Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Collection - Georgia State University Library Digital Collections

1. What is the name of the map and what year it was made?

   Atlanta City Map: Complete List of City and Suburban Routes, 1967

2. What does the map name (streets, buildings, public or private locations, etc.)

   This map names streets, and routes with some public locations.

3. Name of person or entity who created the map

   Ashburn, J. Foster

4. Any special markings, legends, interesting or notable symbols on the map

   There are red lines which denote city and suburban routes                                             

Map 2 

Atlanta, 1895 - Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Collection - Georgia State University Library Digital Collections

5. What is the name of the map and what year it was made

   Atlanta, 1895

6. What does the map name (streets, buildings, public or private locations, etc.)

   The map has some public locations and street names.

7. Name of person or entity who created the map

   George F Cram

8. Any special markings, legends, interesting or notable symbols on the map.

   N/A

Map 3

Downtown Atlanta; Buckhead; Metro Atlanta, 1998 - Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Collection - Georgia State University Library Digital Collections

9. What is the name of the map and what year it was made?

   Downtown Atlanta; Buckhead; Metro Atlanta, 1998.

10. What does the map name (streets, buildings, public or private locations, etc.)

    It has streets and public locations, also the Marta routes.

11. Name of person or entity who created the map

    GSU

12. Any special markings, legends, interesting or notable symbols on the map

    This map includes the MARTA routes and secondary roads

Compare and Contrast.

1. What do each of the maps value? Why?

   Each map has the streets with the names. I think this is important especially from older to newer maps to show the difference.

2. What do each of the maps emphasize? Why?

   The maps emphasize major street names and some routes that may be taken for those streets.

3. Why is knowing who created the map relevant or important?

   It helps us know whether the creator is a professional and if the map is correct and has everything labeled in the right spots.

4. What rhetorical elements or principles can you identify in these maps? How do these demonstrate Logos, Pathos, Ethos?

   Ethos appeals to credibility, so having actual cartographers making the maps is important and we see this in map 1. Logos are important for all of the maps and the data they display, all the maps would be an example of this.

• After analyzing and comparing the maps, write a 250-300 word blog entry about what these maps teach us about rhetoric and mapping.

Mapping is a very complex and hard thing to do. Maps have many different parts to them therefore are needed to be done by a professional. Maps are usually done by cartographers who are specialists in geographical data that is used to create the map. There are many different techniques and tools used to create a good map that includes knowing the history, laying out coordinates, geographical trends, and triangulation. From analyzing multiple maps, we can determine that many maps have rhetorical components to them, including ethos and logos.

All maps present data. The appeals to logos. Logos is the appeal to logic and reasoning in works. Things such as scales, and the general data that maps have, including the coordinates, and much more are ways maps appeal to logos. All of the maps mentioned in my work above show logos with their charts and legends explaining the data on the maps. 

Cartographers are creators of maps, and they are certified to create maps. This is Ethos. Ethos is having the credibility and authority to create said thing. All of the maps in my work above are all done by credible sources. They are either done by cartographers or a credible institution. A map being credible is very important so that there are no errors within the map and everything is accurate.

Overall, analyzing the rhetoric of maps helps us perceive them better and the decisions cartographers make when designing them. Rhetoric like ethos and logos are very important in understanding maps fully.