Maps as Media (Paperback)

Alex Gekker

ISBN 10: 1509550135 / ISBN 13: 9781509550135

Published by Polity Press, Oxford, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. Maps have escaped from the confines of road atlases or decorative frames to being ubiquitous on our screens. Using a GPS while driving, looking for a shop on Google Maps, or tracking a food delivery all involve some form of digital maps. Rather than depicting existing reality, maps are active agents in changing it, all the while making use of personalization algorithms, content curation and other techniques that are pervasive in digital media. In doing so, maps are reorienting our geography and further fracturing shared reality into individual spaces.Maps as Media investigates digital maps as new media objects. Combining perspectives from media studies, critical cartography, and science and technology studies, the book examines the transformation of mapping from a specialized domain into a commonplace media practice. Alex Gekker argues that maps are reactive and reflective, fuelled by the ability of software to track, adapt and update. This naturalized state of digital maps allows them to become powerful tools for those wishing to exert power on their end-users. As a growing number of digital technologies integrate GPS and other spatial awareness into their core functionality, this book asks what happens when maps become media.Original and thought-provoking, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Media and Communication Studies, Geography, and Science and Technology Studies. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781509550135

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Maps as Media (Paperback)
• Publisher: Polity Press, Oxford
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1509550135
• ISBN 13: 9781509550135
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Maps have escaped from the confines of road atlases or decorative frames to being ubiquitous on our screens. Using a GPS while driving, looking for a shop on Google Maps, or tracking a food delivery – all involve some form of digital maps. Rather than depicting existing reality, maps are active agents in changing it, all the while making use of personalization algorithms, content curation and other techniques that are pervasive in digital media. In doing so, maps are reorienting our geography and further fracturing shared reality into individual spaces.

Maps as Media investigates digital maps as new media objects. Combining perspectives from media studies, critical cartography, and science and technology studies, the book examines the transformation of mapping from a specialized domain into a commonplace media practice. Alex Gekker argues that maps are reactive and reflective, fuelled by the ability of software to track, adapt and update. This naturalized state of digital maps allows them to become powerful tools for those wishing to exert power on their end-users. As a growing number of digital technologies integrate GPS and other spatial awareness into their core functionality, this book asks what happens when maps become media.

Original and thought-provoking, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Media and Communication Studies, Geography, and Science and Technology Studies.

About the Author

Alex Gekker is Assistant Professor in Digital Research Methods at the University of Amsterdam.