-------- Original Message -------- Subject: call for papers: Mercator conference, Belgium, April 2012 Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 01:29:56 +0000 From: Brendan Whyte <[log in to unmask]> To: AMC <[log in to unmask]>, IAG list <[log in to unmask]>, Carto-soc <[log in to unmask]>, mapsL <[log in to unmask]> *International conference Sint-Niklaas, Belgium 25-28 April, 2012* **Cartography in the Age of Discovery Mercator Revisited *1st Announcement – Call for papers * ** In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Gerard Mercator, we are delighted to announce the international conference /‘Mercator Revisited – Cartography in the Age of Discovery’/. The conference will take place from April 25th till 28th, 2012 in the city of Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, 15 km from the town of Rupelmonde where /Gerard de Kremer /was born on the 5th of March 1512. The conference focuses on the place of cartography in general and of Mercator in specific in the 16th century. This Age of Discovery presented mapmakers with both unprecedented opportunity and scientific obligation to collect, record and categorise the world ‘as it was’. At the same time, the greatest mapmakers of the era were also scientists, craftsmen and humanists influenced by international politics, science and philosophy. Their maps not only reflect the factual discoveries of the time but also the environments within which the maps were produced. Interest in Mercator’s work peaked with the Mercator Years of 1994 and 1995, when he was once more established as one of the most important geographers in the history of early modern cartography. Relying on information from explorers, Mercator created world maps of renowned quality and precision. In the process he developed the Mercator projection, in which lines of constant bearing are always straight, and he coined the term ‘Atlas’. Since the 1990’s, new lines of approach and research methods may have been developed that can shed a new light on the work of Mercator and his contemporaries. This conference aims to provide a forum for scholars who are interested in the exchange of these new research findings and ideas. It aims at giving a fresh impetus to interest in the subject and is open to contributors with a background in a.o. geography, historical cartography, history, art history or cultural heritage. * Topics: * The conference focuses on the following five main themes: 1. Science and technology as related to cartography in the age of Mercator: surveying instruments and techniques, trigonometry, map projections (and their implications for navigation) … 2. Mercator’s inspiration and cartographic output: his training, his resources, comparative studies with other cartographic products of his time … 3. Cartography in the Age of Discovery: impact of the expanding world view and shifting territorial boundaries on map representations, iconography of maps … 4. New ways of approaching cartographic heritage in view of new techniques, preferably related to 16th century maps and globes 5. Mercator’s entourage, world view, philosophy and cosmology In addition, contributions regarding other aspects of the life and work of Mercator may be proposed. * Submissions: * Potential contributors are invited to submit abstracts (up to 500 words, in English), describing original research. Deadline for submission of abstracts is *September 1st, 2011*. In addition to abstracts, full-paper submissions (up to 5000 words, in English) of original and unpublished research may also be submitted for international peer review. Deadline for submission of full papers is *October 1st, 2011*. All submissions must be sent electronically via the online submission system. A selection of high-quality submissions will be accepted for presentation at the conference and included in the Conference Proceedings, handed out during the event. The best peer-reviewed papers will also be considered for publication in a special issue of The Cartographic Journal centering on Mercator, to be published in late 2012. * Keynotes: * We are pleased to announce that keynote lectures will be delivered by Prof. Jerry Brotton (Queen Mary, University of London), Prof. Mark Monmonier (Syracuse University) and Dr. Thomas Horst (Universität der Bundeswehr München). * * *Contact: *[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>_ __ For more information please consult the conference website: *www.mercatorconference2012.be *