Learning Guide

Description:

This workshop introduces an emerging field of study and practice that has significant value for community arts and cultural development work: cultural mapping. Learners will explore the working definition of cultural mapping, its purposes, roots and allied areas of practice.  Six key trajectories, two main branches, and three orientations are discussed to help learners navigate and categorize this diverse field.  A series of hands-on activities invite learners to plan for potential cultural mapping projects, and prepare them for interpreting collected data.  The workshop concludes with exercises in which learners apply theoretical concepts into short scenarios. 

Learning Outcomes:

After completing this workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the purpose of cultural mapping
  2. Explain a variety of settings in which cultural mapping is used
  3. Categorize cultural mapping through trajectories, branches, and orientations
  4. Plan a cultural mapping project
  5. Analyze cultural mapping data
  6. Create a cultural map
Topics:
  • Unit 1: What is Cultural Mapping?
  • Unit 2: Cultural Mapping History
  • Unit 3: Organizing the Field
  • Unit 4: Planning a Cultural Mapping Project
  • Unit 5: Reading and Analyzing Cultural Maps
  • Unit 5: Moving Forward/Future Directions
  • Unit 6: Exercises in Cultural Mapping
Activities:

At the end of each unit, you will be able to check your understanding through brief interactive activities.  You will also be invited to keep a reflective journal to help process key concepts, and to use for future reference.  Unit 7 presents four applied exercises to further practice the concepts learnt in the workshop.

Materials:
  • All readings, and visual and multimedia learning materials are provided on this site. 
  • For your journaling reflective practice, you will need a journal or a sketchbook, pencils or markers, color crayons, or other art supplies that you like to work with.  You may need a larger piece of paper for your final cultural map in Unit 6.  If you choose to keep an electronic journal, you may want to consider ways to add images (taking digital photographs of hand-drawn work, or using a stylus and a tablet).  Video journals are another option, or any creative medium of your choice.