Teaching the Complexities of Map Boundaries

The authoritarian perception of categorical boundary lines on maps tends to leave students with the false impression that all categorical map boundaries are more-or-less immutable. Additionally learners often perceive that such lines are based on a single, easy-to-define, geographical phenomenon and that the exact spatial location of that phenomenon is both known and recordable. Among the more important geospatial concepts geography students must learn however is that the definition of these zones of inclusion as “regions” is often based on multiple interacting phenomena requiring a geographer’s skill at both delineation and perhaps more importantly integration of often subtle but important geospatial phenomena. Regional geographers would argue that this latter skill is a hallmark of the geographer’s craft. This talk provides examples of field and discussion-based exercises from biogeography, census geography, climatology, and cultural geography that expose students to the problems, solutions, and implications of categorical boundary determination.