NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study
FYWS Gimme Shelter: Dwelling and Telling in the American City
Essay 2: Alternative Mapping
Final Draft Due: Monday, October 26
Part 1:
For your second paper, you will be creating an alternative map of an area of New York
City in the style of the maps we looked at in Unfathomable City. As a first step toward
that assignment, draft a map and plot five labeled points on it. Then, write a 250-word
justification for your map. For this assignment, think about the ways you, or more
generally, “one,” know(s) this city—in what ways it is, or has become, “place” for you/
one, in Tuan’s terms—or how you/ one have “imaged” it, in Lynch’s.
Keep these questions in mind when writing your justification:
 What is your map plotting out?
 Why is it something usually not included on maps?
 Who is the audience of your map?
 In what way is your map important?
You can either draw your map using old fashioned paper, your hands and writing/
drawing implements (and then post a picture of the map to the blog), or you can create a
digital map using a platform like Google Maps or History Pin (and then embed the map
or, if you must, post a link to it). You may want to check out the edtech mapping tools for
Gallatin, which can be found here: https://wp.nyu.edu/digitalgallatin/tools/mapping/ .
Post your map and your justification to the course blog by 12 pm on Sunday.
Part II:
Your essay will be a 4-5 page essay based on your map. In your essay, use one or more of
the theoretical texts (Tuan, Lynch, de Certeau, Heidegger) we've discussed or will discuss
in class to explain your map. Questions to keep in mind: What does “mapping” mean in
your scheme? How does it relate to other forms/ strategies/ practices of mapping? Are
you resisting/ revising a common narrative of the city you are mapping? Are you
resisting/ revising a common definition of maps, mapping, or orientation?