Mapping from Mexico: New Narratives for the History of Cartography

Lectures will be held in-person at the Newberry and livestreamed on Zoom. Advance registration is required.

Mapping from Mexico: New Narratives for the History of Cartography

The 2025 Nebenzahl Lectures continue to promote new thinking in map history by asking how orienting our stories from Mexico, looking out toward the rest of the world, challenges common narratives and popular assumptions in the history of mapmaking. Despite the prominent role mapping in Mexico has played, cartographic histories are often told from a European perspective. But how do the stories we tell, methodological assumptions we make, and categories we define about maps and map history change when we treat sites of production and reception in Mexico—from Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Puebla to the borderlands—with the same specificity map history has given to European centers? 

We are thrilled to welcome Raquel Urroz Kanán, professor of Geography and Anthropology at UNAM, for the keynote address. Over three days we will also hear from a variety of speakers including art historian Daniela Bleichmar, historian Guadalupe Pinzón Ríos, art historian Emmanuel Ortega, historian Alex Hidalgo, art historian Mónica A. Ramírez Bernal, and Layla Bermeo, curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. To end the weekend, the speakers will participate in a roundtable discussion, hosted by art historian Barbara Mundy.

Additional Activities

The 2025 series will feature an exciting array of events that will take place alongside the talks, including a map fair, a papermaking workshop, discussions with local artists, exhibition tours, and presentations of unique and important maps from the Newberry’s collections. 

Papel Amate Workshop and Artist Talks - Artist-led workshops and talks will run multiple times over the course of the weekend, featuring local artists with expertise in multiple types of papermaking. Participants will learn about the history of papermaking in Europe and the Americas and will gain hands-on experience working with amate bark, which was used in Indigenous-made maps of Mexico in the sixteenth century.

Presentation of Curated Collections - Experts on the history of mapping in Mexico will present maps from the Newberry’s collections. During these presentations, visitors will be able to see maps important for Mexico’s history in the Newberry’s collection up close!

Exhibition Tours - The exhibition Mapping Outside the Lines will be on-view throughout the weekend. Visitors will have the chance to hear more from the exhibition organizers about the maps of Mexico on view, as well as notable maps of Mexico in the Newberry’s collections.

Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair - A rare map, book, and autograph fair will run on the second and third day of the lecture weekend, featuring leading map, book, and autograph dealers from across the country.

Explore Chicago and Dive into Cartographic History! - Join New World Cartographic and the Chicago Maritime Museum for a one-of-a-kind evening at the Bridgeport Art Center on Wednesday, October 15. Enjoy exclusive after-hours access to the galleries at the Chicago Maritime Museum and New World Cartographic, see the skyline by night from a historic warehouse-turned-art center, and spend your evening with other map enthusiasts on the shores of Chicago's infamous Bubbly Creek.

Doors open at 6pm and CMM Curator Madeline Crispell and Sammy Berk of NWC will be in their respective galleries to walk you through two exciting temporary exhibits: CMM's Maritime Midwest Modern exhibition of architectural photography and NWC's New Land and Legal Tender: The Evolution of America Through Maps and Money. Light refreshments will be offered in both spaces and volunteers will be available to guide visitors between the two galleries. Space is limited to this exciting event! If you'd like to reserve your spot, register for a free ticket at this link: https://forms.gle/ochm3XbtHskmSVHS9

Vendors

The rare map, book, and autograph fair will include the following vendors, among others:

• Old World Auctions
• New World Cartographic
• Kurt Gippert Bookseller
• Geographicus Rare Antique Maps
• Freeman's | Hindman
• Curtis Wright Maps
• Boston Rare Maps
• Barry Ruderman Antique Maps
• Arader Galleries
• Abraham Lincoln Book Shop
• Old Map Gallery

Event Schedule

All times are US Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). Activities with limited spaces available that require pre-registration are marked in bold.

Thursday, October 16

• Morning Lectures
  • 9:00-10:00am: Coffee and Registration, Ruggles Hall
  • 10:00-10:15am: Welcome and Introduction, Ruggles Hall
  • 10:15-11:30am: Daniela Bleichmar, "Mapping space, mapping time: the where and when of Indigenous history in colonial Mexico," Ruggles Hall
  • 11:30-11:35am: Break
  • 11:35am-12:50pm: Guadalupe Pinzón Ríos, “The Naval Department of San Blas: A Hub for Geographic Knowledge and Navigation Experiences in the Northwest Pacific,” Ruggles Hall
• 1:00-2:30pm: Break
• Afternoon Workshops and Tours
  • 2:30-3:30pm: Building Tour
  • 2:30-4:00pm: David Weimer, A guided tour through the Newberry's collections, ITW
  • 2:30-4:30pm: Aidan Frierson, Amate Papermaking, Baskes Boardroom
  • 2:30-4:00pm: Melissa Potter and Regina Telinski, Papermaking Discussion, Ruggles Hall
  • 2:30-3:30pm: Emily Lyon, Exhibition Tour
  • 4:00-5:00pm: David Weimer, Exhibition Tour
• Evening Keynote
  • 5:00-5:30pm: Opening Remarks, Ruggles Hall
  • 5:30-7:00pm: Keynote Address, Raquel Urroz Kanán, “The Experience of the Map in Mexico: Theoretical and Cultural Dimensions, or, Representative Overview of Perspectives in and from Mexico on the History of Cartography,” Ruggles Hall

Friday, October 17

• Morning Lectures
  • 8:30am: Registration opens
  • 9:00-10:15am: Alex Hidalgo, “Urban Sound Maps of Colonial Mexico,” Ruggles Hall
  • 10:15-10:20am: Break
  • 10:20-11:35am: Mónica Ramírez Bernal, “The ‘Amerasian map’ in Independent Mexico: An ocean-bound view from Mexico,” Ruggles Hall
  • 11:40am-1:00pm: Layla Bermeo, “Numu Soko: Stephen F. Austin’s Maps of Comanche Land,” Ruggles Hall
• 1:00-2:30pm: Break
• Afternoon Workshops and Tours
  • 2:30-3:30pm Building Tour
  • 2:30-4:00pm: Emmanuel Ortega, A guided tour through the Newberry’s collections, ITW
  • 2:30-4:30pm: Aidan Frierson, Amate Papermaking, Baskes Boardroom
  • 2:30-4:00pm: Melissa Potter and Regina Telinski, Papermaking Discussion, Ruggles Hall
  • 2:30-3:30pm: David Weimer, Exhibition Tour
  • 3:30-4:30pm Emily Lyon, Exhibition Tour
• Map, Book, and Autograph Fair
  • 5:00-8:00pm: Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair Opening (Tickets $40), Rettinger Boardroom

Saturday, October 18

• Lectures
  • 9:00am: Registration opens
  • 9:30am – 10:45am Emmanuel Ortega, “Coordinates of Innocence: Franciscan Mapping in eighteenth-century New Spain Northern Frontiers,” Ruggles Hall
  • 11:00am-12:30pm: Roundtable with all speakers, Ruggles Hall

• Workshops and Tours
  • 10:00am-12:00pm: Aidan Frierson, Amate Papermaking, Baskes Boardroom
  • 1:00-2:00pm: David Weimer, Exhibition Tour
  • 2:30-3:30pm: Emily Lyon, Exhibition Tour
  • 2:00-3:30pm: Emmanuel Ortega, A guided tour through the Newberry’s collections, ITW
  • 2:00-3:30pm: Melissa Potter and Regina Telinski, Papermaking Discussion, B-94
  • 2:00-4:00pm: Aidan Frierson, Amate Papermaking, Baskes Boardroom
• Celebration of Life for Art Holzheimer
  • 4:00pm, Ruggles Hall (Please RSVP to Jan if you would like to attend at mapfolks@gmail.com or (847) 877-1330
• Map, Book, and Autograph Fair
  • 9:00am-5:00pm: Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair, Rettinger Boardroom
  • 1:30pm-2:30pm: Eliane Dotson, “Why Collect Maps,” Ruggles Hall

Cost and Registration

This program is free and open to all. Advance registration required.

Support the Newberry

Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone.

Questions?

Additional support provided by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Map Society.