I found “Rethinking the Power of Maps” by Denis Wood to be one of the most interesting readings I’ve done so far in this class. While I’m aware of the subjective perspective of the writer, his analysis and ironic tone make for a thought-provoking read. Firstly, I find a map of Palestine to be an extremely effective example of the power of maps, particularly in a political context. As a region that has been “a colony, a dependency, a vassalage from … way back” (Wood 235), the history of a land that has changed hands and boundaries so many times is bound to have an interesting mapping history.
The practices of counter-mapping and counter-counter mapping explored in the text are new terms applied to familiar ideas. They exist as a result of political motivations and propaganda, and provide evidence for the subjectivity of supposedly scientific documents. In a way, maps are used as weapons in the power struggle between Palestine and Israel, and each side is bound to produce dramatically different maps for the exact same area. For humans, land is not merely a geographical location, but possessions subject to history, culture, religion, belief systems, and more.
