Maps are not neutral. They are cultural products shaped by the politics of those who make them. Critical map studies note that cartography, geography and maps are intertwined domains. Mapping practices have historically served colonial power, but people now use counter‑maps and counter‑atlases to offer decolonial, Indigenous‑centered alternatives. Our research group, Narrating Cartography: Walking Technologies and Counter‑Mapping, builds on this critical tradition while embracing the creative possibilities of walking, art, digital storytelling, machine learning and Islamic ethics. The group is interdisciplinary: it brings together geographers, artists, computer scientists, scholars of Islamic law (Sharia) and literary critics.
Our research interests:
1. Critical cartography and decolonial counter‑mapping
Maps are powerful because they encode political and social values. Our work begins by interrogating traditional cartographic practices. Critical map studies emphasize that maps are visual representations of power and that a critical approach treats mapmaking as a historically colonial technique. Counter‑mapping challenges dominant cartographies by creating maps that decolonize space and center marginalized knowledges. We study how participatory GIS – defined as using GIS technology with community partners to make maps–empowers communities to reclaim land rights, document environmental injustices or contest state narratives. Drawing on art and literature, we also explore “deep maps" that trace connections between abstract cartographic spaces and the cultural and literary histories they represent. Our aim is to cultivate methodological approaches that value Indigenous, feminist and Black geographies, and to develop counter‑maps that are both visually compelling and ethically grounded.
2. Walking art, psychogeography and the digital flaneur
Walking art positions walking itself as an artistic process. Scholars note that it engages the body in a designed journey through a landscape and that artists use walking for mark‑making, storytelling or social practice. We explore how walking art intersects with geography and technology. The relationship between people and the spaces around them spans anthropology, psychology, history and the arts. Walking, once celebrated in Romanticism as a means to understand the city, now combines with virtual reality, mobile devices and GPS so that the contemporary flâneur can augment and modify experiences through technology. Digital media transform walkers from passive observers into participants who collect geospatial data and convert them into artistic works, giving new meaning to psychogeography. We examine walking as a method for research and storytelling, whether through participatory “walking labs," smartphone apps that trace community walks, or performances that turn footsteps into data‑driven art. This strand bridges geography, art, computer science and literature by treating embodied movement as both data and narrative.
3. Participatory mapping, spatial justice and community storytelling
Many people experience space differently due to race, gender, class or faith. Citizen mapping and collaborative mapping rely on crowd‑sourced geospatial tools and participatory GIS. We investigate how participatory mapping, counter‑mapping and digital storytelling amplify marginalized voices and pursue spatial justice. Digital storytelling (DST) is an innovative, collaborative arts‑based method that combines storytelling, teamwork and technology to create short audio‑visual narratives. DST is used for education, knowledge translation, community development and preserving cultural heritage, and its participatory nature allows participants to be active and reflective. Our research examines how DST and community mapping can document oral histories, lived experiences of urban spaces, migration stories or environmental injustices. By merging participatory GIS with arts‑based methods, we aim to develop ethical tools for storytelling that respect privacy, comply with Sharia where appropriate, and support community empowerment.
4. Narrative cartography and literary geographies
Literature often shapes how we imagine places. The developing field of literary geography studies the role of real places in literature and how physical environments are translated into textual form. Literary cartography goes further by mapping texts to interrogate them, using geographic data of place names and descriptions to produce geo‑spatial visualizations. Adding layers of historical data through cartograms and old maps yields a richer picture of a city's life across periods and its relation to literary images. We explore how GIS and story maps can analyze novels, travelogues or poetry – for example, tracing walking routes in modernist novels or mapping the symbolic landscapes of Arabic literature. We also examine geocriticism, comparing representations of the same place across cultures and eras. Such work reveals how narratives construct spatial identities and how mapping can both illuminate and challenge those constructions. This research interest bridges literature, geography and computer science by merging textual analysis with spatial data.
5. GeoAI, machine learning and cartographic innovation
Cartography is being transformed by artificial intelligence. Cartographic map generalization remains difficult to automate because of complex rules, but nowadays deep neural networks can partially automate tasks such as feature selection or simplification. There is a growing call to integrate explainable AI (XAI) into map‑making workflows so that we understand what cartographic knowledge neural networks learn. Our group investigates how machine learning can support ethical mapping: using AI to detect patterns of discrimination, generate artistic visualizations, or model environmental change, while employing XAI to maintain transparency and accountability. Collaborations between computer scientists and artists will explore generative cartography, algorithmic storytelling and novel interfaces that encourage public engagement.
6. Digital heritage, Islamic law and ethical mapping
Digital mapping plays a vital role in preserving cultural and religious heritage. The Harvard Islamic Heritage Project digitizes manuscripts from the 10th to 20th centuries covering regions from Saudi Arabia to Southeast Asia and subjects ranging from religious texts and commentaries to history, geography, law and the sciences. Our research looks at how geospatial technologies can help document mosques, shrines and historical routes, and how digital collections can integrate Sharia‑related materials alongside geographic and literary works. We also study 3D GIS platforms used to manage heritage sites as GIS delivers exact representations of heritage sites and enables spatial analysis and risk assessment. We reflect on how Sharia principles influence mapping ethics – for example, questions of privacy, modesty or the depiction of religious spaces. This interest unites geography, computer science and Islamic studies while addressing the ethics of representing sacred spaces.
7. Pilgrimage and sacred journeys
Walking is not only an artistic act but a religious practice. Pilgrimages such as the Hajj involve intricate routes and carry deep spiritual meaning. A digital history project mapping late‑Ottoman Egyptian pilgrimage routes shows how researchers used published pilgrim accounts to build a database of journey itineraries and an ArcGIS map. By mapping individual Muslims' routes to Medina and Mecca, the project reveals how pilgrims perceived places and borders before contemporary nation‑state boundaries. It also highlights that historical pilgrims often included Jerusalem in their journeys, a practice curtailed by modern politics. Our group investigates how geospatial technologies can document Hajj and Umrah routes, walking rituals during Ramadan or local pilgrimages to shrines. We analyze travelogues and diaries in Arabic, Persian and Turkish literature to understand spiritual geographies. Collaborations with scholars of Sharia explore how pilgrimage logistics intersect with legal rules, and how digital maps can assist pilgrims while respecting religious sensitivities.
8. Interdisciplinary methodologies and geocriticism
The group's work is inherently interdisciplinary. We build methodological frameworks that integrate critical theory, geocriticism, digital humanities, Sharia ethics, and computational techniques. For example, geographers and literary scholars collaborate to map comparative narratives across languages; computer scientists develop interactive story maps; and Sharia scholars advise on ethical representation of religious spaces. We embrace participatory action research, where community members co‑create knowledge through walking workshops, oral histories and counter‑mapping exercises. Our ultimate goal is to produce cartographies that are not only scientifically rigorous but also culturally sensitive and narratively rich.
By weaving together geography, art, computer science, Sharia and literature, Narrating Cartography aims to reimagine how we experience, document and represent space. Our research foregrounds walking as an embodied method, embraces technological innovation while demanding transparency and ethics, and honors the diverse narratives—historical, literary, and religious—that shape our understanding of place.