6 ECTS credits
175 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1001815ANR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (A) Bachelor - preliminary level.

Semester
2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
Dutch
Faculty
Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
Department
Geography
Educational team
Frank Canters (course titular)
Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
26 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
15 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

The first chapter of the course focuses on the cartographic communication process and on the basic principles of cartographic design. Essential notions such as scale, generalisation and symbolisation are introduced.

The second part includes an overview of the history of cartography, with emphasis on cartographic activity in Europe, the Southern and Northern Netherlands, and Belgium.

The third part of the course focuses on thematic cartography, with emphasis on choropleth mapping, color perception and use of color. This part of the course includes a practical introduction to thematic cartography, in which the students learn how to select a suitable representation for mapping a spatial phenomenon and how to produce a thematic map using cartographic software.

Part four of the course focuses on geodetic and cartographic reference systems and offers an introduction to map projection theory. Through a series of exercises the practical use of co-ordinate information is discussed. The student also learns how distortion characteristics of a map projection can be analysed mathematically.

 

  1. Introduction

a. What is cartography? What is a map?

b. The cartographic communication process

c. Basic principles of cartographic design

d. Scale and scale reduction

  1. History of cartography

a. Various ways of studying the history of cartography

b. Prehistoric and “primitive” cartography

c. Cartography in Classical Antiquity

d. Cartography in Medieval Europe

e. The Renaissance of Western cartography

f. The Golden Age in the Northern Netherlands

g. The new cartography in France

f. Large-scale cartography of the Belgian territory

  1. Class definition in thematic cartography

a. Equal intervals and quantiles approach

b. Mean-standard deviation method

c. Cluster-based approaches

d. The “optimal” classification method

e. Important considerations

  1. Colour perception and use of colour

a. The electromagnetic spectrum

b. Dimensions of colour

c. Theories of colour perception

d. Additive and subtractive colour mixing

e. The Munsell colour model

  1. Geodetic and cartographic reference systems

a. The physical model of the Earth: the geoid

b. Mathematical models of the Earth

c. Definition of a local geodetic datum

d. Important datums

e. Definition of a map projection

f. Classes of map projections

g. Orientation of a map projection

  1. Introduction to map projection theory

a. Properties of map projections

b. Tissot’s indicatrix

c. Some examples of map projections

d. The conformal conical projection

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Syllabus hoorcollege
Practical course material (Required) : Handleiding ArcGIS software
Handbook (Recommended) : Cartography, Visualization of Spatial Data, chapter 3: Map characteristics, Kraak, M.J. and F.J. Ormeling, 3de, Taylor and Francis, 9780273722793, 2009
Handbook (Recommended) : Elements of Cartography, chapter 2: Nature of cartography, chapter 3: History of cartography, chapter 4: Basic geodesy; chapter 5: Map projections, chapter 18: Cartographic design, Robinson, A.H., J.L. Morrison, P.C. Muehrcke, A.J. Kimerling and S.C. Guptill, 6de, BIB, 9780471555797, 1995
Handbook (Recommended) : Thematic Cartography and Geovisualization, ch. 4: Data classification, ch. 7: The Earth and its coordinate system, ch. 8: Elements of map projections, ch. 10: Principles of color, ch. 12: Cartographic design, ch. 14: Choropleth mapping, ch. 17: Proportional symbol and dot mapping, Slocum, T.A., McMaster, R.B., Kessler, F.C. and Howard, H.H., 3de, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ., 9781292040677, 2013
Digital course material (Required) : Additionele teksten geschiedenis cartografie en thematische cartografie
Additional info

For chapters 5 and 6 basic knowledge of trigonometry and calculus is recommended.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

After successful completion of this course students should:

  • have a proper understanding of important steps in the cartographic communication process (generalization, symbolization, interpretation);
  • be aware of important developments in the history of cartography, from the classical era till now.
  • be able to critically reflect on the role of cartography in society, in the past as well as today;
  • have knowledge of the basic principles of cartographic design (alternative thematic representations, classification methods, choice of colours, map legend design, map layout);
  • be able to define a suitable map representation and map design for mapping a given geographic phenomenon in an efficient way;
  • have obtained the necessary skills to produce a well-designed map product using cartographic software;
  • be able to define the major components in the definition of a cartographic reference system and explain their meaning;
  • understand the distortion pattern of major map projection classes;
  • be able to select an appropriate map projection, based on location and shape of the area to be mapped and anticipated map use;
  • be able to calculate the coordinates of any location on the Earth’s surface in a given map projection coordinate system and to calculate the distortion characteristics of the projection for that location.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 25% of the final mark.
Written Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
PRAC Practical Assignment determines 25% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • exm mondeling with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 25% of the final mark.

    Note: Mondeling examen theorie met schriftelijke voorbereiding

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • exm schriftelijk with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

    Note: Schriftelijk examen kaartprojectieleer

Within the PRAC Practical Assignment category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • wpo praktijkopdracht with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 25% of the final mark.

    Note: Practische proef kaartontwerp

Additional info regarding evaluation

Chapters 1-4 (including self study): oral exam (with written preparation)

Chapters 5-6: written exam (coordinate calculation + analysis of the distortion characteristics of map projections)

Practical assignment thematic cartography: test of map design capabilities (computer lab)

Calculation of mark:
25% oral exam + 50% written exam + 25% practical assignment map design

Partial marks for the oral exam, written exam or practical assignment, if the student obtains at least half of the score for this part, are transferred to the second session and to the next academic year.

The student can relinquish his partial mark for the oral exam, written exam or practical assignment, provided he reports this to the lecturer by e-mail not later than 15/08 (2nd session) or 1/10 (no transfer to the next academic year).

Once the student has indicated that he will abandon his partial mark, he will irrevocably lose the partial mark.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Geography: Default track (only offered in Dutch)