Above the desk in my home hangs Rebecca Solnit's “City of Women” map, adapted from the New York City subway maps but with the stops renamed after iconic women from the US; it reclaims the space and uncovers herstories that the cityscape ordinarily hides. Maps are so commonplace within our environments that we rarely consider their form, content, structure, location, and use, except perhaps the collector searching the archives for a special edition. We map spaces while planning our daily commute or special outings. We map moments, like significant dates, times, locations, and the people with whom we experienced them (or would want to). We map the future by creating five- or ten-year plans. We map ourselves, our bodies, and our thoughts in our reflections and relationships and remake our inner and outer worlds based on these many maps. As we search for ourselves and others for meaning, purpose, and...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
