Turchi's Book, Mapping, Imagination

I am currently reading Peter Turchi’s Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, a birthday gift from daughter Danee. It captures two of my keen interests, maps and literature. Memorables: he distinguishes metaphorical map-making (symbolic regions) from scientific (realistic/geographic) map-making; he calls our sense-making activity “Tornado of the Mind” as opposed to “State of Mind,” reminds us maps omit as well as include, remarks that the size and emphasis of location on personal maps differ with individuals.

Not last, “Maps, like fiction and poetry, enable us to ‘see” what is literally too large for our vision” (p. 151).

This book joins other mapping artifacts in my collection, and all of this ties into thinking about just how technology is catapulting various forms of sense-making/mapping:

Transformation Scaffolds: Graphic Organizer Templates that can help students move from lower levels of knowledge to higher considerations: Transformation Scaffolds

Flickr’s Memory Maps Pool:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/memorymaps/pool/

My personal collection of maps from around the world, including some of my favorite bookstores and museums.

Wall maps to reinforce geographical references that come across in the media.

A book of maps about revolutions across the world.

Katherine Harmon’s You are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination.

And a book of essays in my workplace office called something like Geographies of the Imagination.

Potential List of Maps/web tours/mashups to make:
Work Map (What has been, is my work, where next?)
Maps of tech convergences related to teaching and learning engagement/demonstrations of learning
Life Map (Important Geographies or Periods and associated Personal Events )
Significant Conversation Maps (People, Content like learning and literature. the arts)
Subject Tour Maps for the Web and Second Life (kind of like brochures for walking tours..or is this just a list of links…)
Adventure Maps (ie Paris— Louise Borgoise sculpture of the hands (http://parisconnected.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/louise-bourgeois-welcoming-hands-for-you-in-paris-tuileries-garden/) as you depart from the Tuileries to walk up the Champs Elysees (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champs-%C3%89lys%C3%A9 )


Last, thought for this morning…and then there is the fact Google is mapping us.