Society of Cartographers Annual Conference - September 2010

46th Annual SoC Summer School

8-10th Sept 2010

The 2010 Society of Cartographers Summer School will be held at the University of Manchester from Wednesday 8th September 2010 to Friday 10th September 2010.


The venue in Manchester is the University’s Chancellors Conference Centre, with lectures, accommodation, meals, and social events all on a single site. The Annual Summer School is open to members and non-members and is usually held over four days in September at a different location each year. It creates an ideal opportunity to attend lectures, exhibitions, seminars and workshops, as well as to visit a broad spectrum of cartographic establishments. The friendly and relaxed atmosphere is also ideal for informal discussions with fellow cartographers and is a pleasant and stimulating way to keep up to date with new technology. It is especially beneficial for those cartographers working within small cartographic units who can perhaps remain isolated from new developments and trends within cartographic circles.

The 2010 conference themes this year will include:

• Art and everyday mapping
• OS OpenData
• Maps and geopolitics
• Transport mapping
• Mapping Manchester
• Crowd-sourcing and open data
  

The Wednesday afternoon starts off with three lectures to set the cartographic scene, focusing on the mapping history of Manchester and showcasing examples of current Manchester-based map design. This is followed by papers on the geopolitics of mapping, focusing on the changing political life of a single map, the geopolitical significance of media mapping and a new school-based mapping initiative.
On Wednesday evening the popular quiz will be held in the bar in the Conference Centre.

On Thursday morning the focus shifts towards design and practical aspects of production, with sessions on transport mapping, followed by an opportunity for delegates to share their own practical experiences in a members session. In the afternoon the programme moves on to some of the challenging ways maps are being deployed in wider social contexts. Three papers around everyday encounters with urban life chart psycho-geographical use of maps and explore the potential of community mapping initiatives. These are followed by a session on modern art and the map, including embodied and performative cartographies. The day concludes with the conference dinner in the evening.

On Friday papers focus on the twin challenges of Opensource data and crowdsourcing. Three papers explore OS Opendata, its politics, qualities and applications, before a concluding session where the wider implications of crowdsourcing are explored. A final session offers opportunities to reflect on the Summer School with panel discussions relating to issues brought up during the three days.
If you would like to become a member of the Society of Cartographers or explore the benefits of membership, please visit our website at http://www.soc.org.uk

Full Details on this event at:
http://www.soc.org.uk/manchester10/