The ambivalence of cartography

An analysis of the dualism between man and nature in digital maps using the example of the Alpine region in the canton of Glarus

The research project critically examines geodata – exemplarily that of the alpine space in the canton of Glarus – and asks for new ways of thinking and mapping that recognize the interconnectedness of human and non-human actors and thus create a more inclusive worldview. For despite cartography's efforts to represent the spatial relationships of data mathematically correctly and objectively, this location in an unmarked “view from above” is, however, in Haraway's words, "a perspective that under the guise of neutrality, or nowhere (but embracing all), hides a very specific position (male, white, heterosexual, human) and thus makes this position universal." Thus, the project aims to uncover the dualism between humans and nature inscribed in maps and asks for a form of representation in which the equal originality of nature and culture can be made visible.