19-20 March, Blank space in the perception and epistemology of maps - global dis:connect

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- The Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect, funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, investigates globalisation as a dynamic process shaped by the interplay of integration, disconnection, and disintegration. Our work focuses on understanding how connections emerge, fail, or remain absent, in both historical and contemporary contexts.
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19-20 March, Blank space in the perception and epistemology of maps

Silences and absences that articulate the world

Maps often appear complete and objective, yet they also contain gaps, silences and blank spaces. This workshop explores how these absences actively shape how we perceive and understand the world, rather than simply marking what is missing or unknown. Speakers will discuss how omissions influence knowledge, power and politics across historical and contemporary contexts. Through examples from mapping and other related fields, the event shows how absence can communicate meaning just as strongly as articulated information. Participants can expect open discussions that rethink maps and other multimedia knowledge in an accessible and experimental way.

The workshop will take place on March 19-20, 2026 at the Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect in Munich.

Co-Conveners: Toby Yuen-Gen Liang, Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Camille Serchuk, Southern Connecticut State University; Filipe dos Reis, University of Groningen

Please register here until 11 March 2026. You can find the programm here.

Kindly note that the event will take place on-site (as opposed to hybrid).