Learning GIS and Cartography in the Programming Age: A Framework for a Critical, Code­-Based Geospatial Education

Many students engaging with GIS and cartography today have little to no experience with programming. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and model building provide many of the same benefits as code-­based strategies for... [ view full abstract ]

Many students engaging with GIS and cartography today have little to no experience with programming. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and model building provide many of the same benefits as code-­based strategies for analyzing geospatial data without the need for scripting. However, these user­-friendly elements also encourage technique­-driven curricula that limit the possibility for more innovative approaches to doing GIS. With programming, students can develop custom geoprocessing tools, design and query their own geographic databases, and create interactive maps that behave in novel and unexpected ways. This research lays out a framework for a critical, code-­based geospatial education based on a semester­-length, self-instructed course. The first half of the course uses datasets from the introductory GIS course at Middlebury College to reframe common GIS techniques as problems of coding and design. This approach pushes students to craft new methodologies for interpreting and visualizing geospatial data using Python, SQL, CSS, and JavaScript. The second half of the course focuses on applying these skills to social justice research. Drawing on the aspirations of critical geographers to create "different kinds of interactions between the GIS user and GIS technology" (Kwan 2002), this research aims to promote a more imaginative, transgressive, and self­-reflexive geospatial education.