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While Cartography and GIS are very related, I do not see GIS as being the
"cartography of the future."  GIS is a great tool for the creation of data to
be used in cartographic endeavors, but it is not a cartographic tool within
itself.  I have yet to see ANY product from a GIS package or house that cannot
be improved upon by taking it back into those Stone Age desk-top publishing
tools (Freehand, Illustrator, CorelDraw).  By looking in almost any magazine
that uses maps in their articles you will find that there are quite a few
shops/artists out there producing some very mediocre map/graphics that would
be more clear and aesthetically pleasing had a first year cartography student
(not a GIS student) critiqued it.
 
In school, I was always told that GIS was an off-shoot of cartography.  While
this pupil may be great at creating base data for maps or generating numbers
showing where to build a K-mart, I do not see it ever becoming cartography's
teacher and/or replacement.  Don't get me wrong.  There is a place for GIS.
It just will never be as a replacement for cartograhy.
 
 
Jim Freeman