MAPS AND MAPPING IN LITERARY CRITICISM: A HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The relations between literature and mapping have long been an area of interest among researchers in social sciences and humanities. From the mid-twentieth century, in particular, technological advancements in cartography and the emergence of humanistic geography have transformed literary mapping into an enthralling interdisciplinary field: Literary Geography. In this line, this study aims to provide a critical overview of the role and increasing significance of maps and mapping in literary criticism through a humanistic perspective. The study places a special emphasis on humanistic geography and argues that, along with the notable developments in cartography, humans’ experience of space and place, as well as their distinctive navigation and cognitive skills, have contributed considerably to the development of literary geography and cognitive mapping which provide new perspectives on understanding the various ways authors, readers and critics experience, view or represent spatiality in literature and literary studies. In this respect, the article outlines a theoretical and historical approach to the growing interdisciplinary research carried out on spatiality, mapping and literature since the 1960s and presents notable examples regarding the use of maps and mapping in imaginative narratives and critical works. Furthermore, the present work contends that the progress of literary cartography and cognitive mapping in the digital era provides new opportunities for digital humanities by generating spatial/visual representations of complicated human senses, feelings and moods associated with particular real/imaginary spaces, places or landscapes used in narratives.