Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Pedagogical Workshops

Vol. 35 No. 2 (2026): Revista Geografia

Creative Cartographies: worldbuilding practices at Ball State University (BSU)

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5433/2447-1747.2026v35n2p211
Submitted
April 30, 2026
Published
2026-06-25

Abstract

This article presents an experience report of the Worldbuilding and Cartography project carried out at Ball State University (BSU) in 2023, in Muncie, Indiana. The aim of the study was to analyze how the creation of fictional worlds (worldbuilding) articulates the geographic imagination and the spatial experience of individuals in order to propose diverse and original worlds. The relationship between Cartography and geographic knowledge is also expressed through artistic creation based on the mapping of invented worlds. The implementation involved drawing workshops in the Narrative Drawing course in March 2023, as well as visits to the local map collection and an exhibition. The study analyzes maps, examining the correlation between the creative process, the local visual culture (of BSU and Muncie), and the proposals developed by the university students. The works demonstrate sensitivity and diversity of techniques, highlighting the relevance of personal experience as a source of ideas for original artistic works. From the activity, it was identified that Cartography is understood and re-signified by participants as a valid and creative form of art, enabling the creation of images that present other possible worlds. A significant articulation between imagination and experience in the construction of the cartographic imaginary is observed.

References

  1. BESSE, Jean-Marc. O gosto do mundo: exercícios de paisagem. Rio de Janeiro: UERJ, 2014.
  2. BONI, Marta. Introduction. In: BONI, Marta. World building: transmedia, fans, industries. Amsterdã: Amsterdam University Press, 2017. p. 9-24.
  3. BSU - BALL STATE UNIVERSITY. Bracken library. Muncie: Ball State University, [2000]. Disponível em: https://www.bsu.edu/map/buildings/campus/bracken-library. Acesso em: 6 abr. 2026.
  4. BSU - BALL STATE UNIVERSITY. Ball State University libraries invites visitors to experience Tolkien exhibit before July close. Muncie: Ball State University, 2025. Disponível em: https://www.bsu.edu/news/press-center/archives/2025/06/university-libraries-invites-visitors-to-experience-tolkien-exhibit-before-july-close. Acesso em: 8 abr. 2026.
  5. CARVALHO, Brendo Francis. Cartografias criativas de cartógrafos ficcionais: técnica, referências e estilos. 2024. Tese (Doutorado em Geografia) – Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, 2024.
  6. CARVALHO, Márcia Siqueira de. A geografia desconhecida. Londrina: Eduel, 2006.
  7. COSGROVE, Denis. Mappings. Reino Unido: Reaktion Books, 1999.
  8. COSGROVE, Denis. Geography and vision: seeing, imagining and representing the world. London: I. B. Taurus, 2008.
  9. D’IGNAZIO, Catherine. Art and cartography. In: KITCHIN, Rob; THRIFT, Nigel (ed.). International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Oxford: Elsevier, 2009. v. 1, p. 190-206.
  10. ENGBERG-PEDERSEN, Anders. Literature and cartography: theories, histories, genres. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2017.
  11. HARLEY, John Brian. The Map and the development of the History of Cartography. In: HARLEY, John Brian; WOODWARD, David (ed.). The history of cartography: cartography in prehistoric, ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press, 1987. v. 1, p. 1-42.
  12. HARLEY, John Brian. Deconstructing the map. Cartographica, Milwaukee, v. 26, n. 2, p. 1-20, 1989.
  13. HARLEY, John Brian. A nova história da cartografia. O correio da Unesco, São Paulo, v. 19, n. 8, p. 4-9, 1991.
  14. HARMON, Katharine. The map as art: contemporary artists explore cartography. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2009.
  15. HARMON, Katherine. You are here: personal geographies and ther maps of imagination. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004.
  16. KANTOR, Iris. Usos diplomáticos da Ilha-Brasil: polêmicas cartográficas e historiográficas. Varia História, Belo Horizonte, v. 23, n. 37, p. 70-80, 2007.
  17. LANCI, Gloria. Art maps and cities: contemporary artists explores urban spaces. Bristol: Palgrave Mcmillan, 2022.
  18. LEWIS-JONES, Huw; SIBLEY, Brian. In fabled lands: literaty geographies. In: LEWIS-JONES, Huw (ed.). The writer’s map: an atlas of imaginary lands. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018. p. 39-77.
  19. TANKA, Marcello. Mappers, mapmakers and cartographers and where to find them in contemporary art (a modest proposal). JoLMA, Veneza, v. 5, n. 1, p. 93-116, 2024.
  20. TOLIA-KELLY, Divya Praful. The geographies of cultural geography II: visual culture. Progress in Human Geography, London, v. 36, n. 1, p. 135-142, 2012.
  21. TOLKIEN, John Ronald Reuel. O Senhor dos anéis. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2001.
  22. TURCHI, Peter. Maps of imagination: the writer as cartographer. San Antonio: Trinity University Press; Ann Arbor: University Michigan University Press, 2004.
  23. WOOD, Denis. Catalogue of map artists. Cartographic Perspectives, Milwaukee, n. 53, p. 61-68, 2006a.
  24. WOOD, Denis. Map Art. Cartographic Perspectives, Milwaukee, n. 53, p. 5-14, 2006b.
  25. WOOD, Denis; KRYGIER, John. Critical cartography. In: KITCHIN, Rob; THRIFT, Nigel (ed.). International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Oxford: Elsevier, 2009, v. 1, p. 340-344.
  26. WOOD, Denis. Rethinking the Power of Maps. New York: Gilford Press, 2010.
  27. WRIGHT, John K. Terrae incognitae: o lugar da imaginação na geografia. Geograficidade, Niteroi, v. 4, n. 2, p. 4-18, 2014.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.