June 1, 2003
World-Class Map Conference Hosted at USM's Osher Map Library,
Portland Organizations Mount Maine Map Day, Map-Related Exhibitions
Can maps of sacred sites help heal boundary disputes in
South Asia and the Middle East? How did a backwoods Vermont
farmer become the first American globe maker? Why did travel-related
industries aggressively target American women in 20th century
marketing?
These will be among the diverse cultural explorations at
the 20th International Conference on the History of Cartography
(ICHC), which is being co-hosted by USM's Osher Map Library
(OML) and the Harvard Map Collection from June 15-20, 2003.
The conference, considered the most prestigious of its kind,
has been held only twice before in the U.S. The conference
opens in Cambridge, Mass., on June 15, then travels to Portland
on June 18, where it will close June 20.
The conference has attracted over 300 scholars from 30 countries
across six continents. They include geographers and cartographers,
map librarians, archivists, historians, art historians, literary
scholars, and historians of science. The portion of the conference
in Portland will feature more than 50 presentations on the
cultural, artistic, and historic significance of maps.
"It's quite an honor for the nation's youngest historic
map collection to be chosen to help host a conference of this
magnitude," said Dr. Harold L. Osher, a research fellow at
the Osher Map Library. "It has always been our hope that the
library would raise awareness of and appreciation for old
maps as historic documents and teaching resources. This raises
our sphere of influence to a whole new level. We look forward
to having this distinguished group of international scholars
visit our library and our city."
The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic
Education features more than 60,000 maps as separate sheets
or bound in atlases. The collections include the first modern
printed map -- a 1475 hand-colored map of the Holy Land --
and a 1614 map of New England by Captain John Smith. The collections
were formed from the major gifts of Harold L. and Peggy L.
Osher, of Portland, and from the late Lawrence M. C. and Eleanor
Houston Smith, summer residents of Freeport, Me.
World of Discovery 2003 formally launches on June 19, 2003,
with Maine Map Day, a public open house of exhibitions, with
special activities for children. Some venues will offer reduced
admissions.For more information see ICHC
2003 .
Highlights of presentations that may be of particular interest
to the media are printed below. Reporters are invited to attend
any, or all, of the activities associated with the conference.
For help arranging coverage, please contact me or Selby Frame
of USM Media Relations at 780-4200, caswell@usm.maine.edu, sframe@usm.maine.edu. We also can be reached at home:
839-2026 (Caswell) and 799-8094 (Frame).
>more news releases
|
