REFLECTION PAPER | CARTOGRAPHY

By: Ralph Angelo H. Cortez BSENP 2-A

I was a serious student in college. I had my major and three minors. I only needed
one more class to complete my major, and that class was Cartography. This second
semester I had been forced by the school to take a Carto class as part of our major
subject with Ar/Enp. Ludivina Lozano. She was such an excellent instructor that I
fell in love with the field. And I fucking HATED Geography before that. But
because of her, I dove into the topic and took class after class. The only thing left
on the menu was Cartography. It was known to be a difficult class, but I was down
for the challenge. However, on the first day of class, the instructor made it known
that it was a “drawing class” as much as a map class. She gave the first assignment.
I had already taken Message Design so I had all the laptop and cellphone and
software and of course internet. I spent hours on that assignment and proudly
handed it in. I've learned a lot about this subject, and I feel great because I've
completed all of my map-making tasks flawlessly and in full. There is a lot to learn
in this subject, which is also the best and most difficult major subject we
encountered in the second semester.

There are maps all everywhere. Powerful tools include maps. Maps tell us a story.
They reveal a variety of realities and viewpoints. They convey information beyond
what is intended. They aid in the spread of knowledge. The functions of maps
include representation, illustration, communication, revelation, assurance, and
exposure. Maps are everywhere in society and are more important than people
often realize. In an earlier section of this thesis, I claimed that traditional crime
mapping shows how humans prefer a straightforward interpretation of reality to
one that is more nuanced. Given everything that maps contain, we must wonder if
they truly do offer a straightforward perspective.