Technology often appears as the magic cure for many present-day problems, but what actually works? And what fails? Can maps actually dissolve the barriers of privilege between rich and poor?

In “Can Particpatory Maps Save the World,” Jo Guldi will look at new map-making technologies as well as map-making as far back as 1968, when maps were first trumpeted as a way to overturn lines of class and culture.

One short, all-encompassing description for this talk is: “Maps Before and After the Smartphone: A Global History, 1968-2013.”

Jo Guldi is an assistant professor of history at Brown University who specializes in the history of capitalism, land use, and the design of computational tools for visualizing large numbers of texts, for instance, Paper Machines, released in 2012-3 with the collaboration of Christopher Johnson-Roberson.

This event is free and open to the public.

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2013
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Digital Scholarship Lab

Contact: Mark Baumer |  401-863-3642