James Richard Akerman (born October 1956) is an American geographer, director of the Newberry Library's Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography. At the Newberry he serves as Curator of Maps. He is known for his work on the

history of cartography The history of cartography refers to the development and consequences of cartography, or mapmaking technology, throughout human history. Maps have been one of the most important human inventions for millennia, allowing humans to explain and navig ...

. Akerman obtained his B.A.in Sociology from

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

in 1978, his M.A. in Geography from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1981 and his Ph.D. also in Geography from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1991.CURRICULUM VITAE; James Richard Akerman
at newberry.org. Accessed 9-5-2019. In 1985 Akerman started at the Newberry Library as acting and assistant curator of maps. In 1988 he became Assistant Director and in 1995 Acting Director. Since 1996 he has been director of the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography.

Selected publications

* Akerman, James R., and Karrow, Robert W., eds., ''Maps: Finding Our Place in the World'', Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 2007. * Akerman, James R., ed. ''The imperial map: cartography and the mastery of empire''. Vol. 15. University of Chicago Press, 2009. * Akerman, James R., ed. ''Decolonizing the Map: Cartography from Colony to Nation''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.

References

External links

Material Maps in the Digital Age
The Newberry Library faculty 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Akerman, James Richard 1956 births Living people American geographers Information visualization experts Denison University alumni University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences alumni