Alternative Atlas: STL

3 units

Spatial narratives have been historically dominated by those with wealth and power. But their very wealth and power was built on the backs of an army of others, often unnamed, unmarked, and uncompensated. There is a growing effort to tell those stories and mark the physical spaces of their presence and the acts of violence and oppression enacted on their bodies and communities. If a traditional atlas claims some degree of neutrality and objectivity - clearly impossible in any mapping - the Alternative Atlas overtly exposes, decodes and displays silenced truths. Inspired by traditional tour guides, maps, signs and itineraries, this course aims to unearth and represent the deeper foundations of the complicated city of St. Louis and its immediate region. Combining uncomfortable thinking, deep research and thick mapping, the goals of the course are to spatialize this hidden palimpsest. Alternative Atlas: STL is an interdisciplinary seminar that invites a wide range of perspectives and epistemological frameworks to examine, expose, and visualize - in other words, map - this complicated American city. The mapping of St. Louis's past, present, and future is an ongoing project; this particular semester will incorporate new partnerships with artists, curators, storytellers, and technologists working to collect, capture, and represent the present future for public viewing.