Bushmanders & bullwinkles : how politicians manipulate electronic maps and census data to win elections /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Monmonier, Mark S.
Imprint:Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Description:1 online resource
Language:English
Subject:
Format: E-Resource Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11399442
Hidden Bibliographic Details
Varying Form of Title:Bushmanders and bullwinkles
ISBN:9780226159409
022615940X
0226534243
9780226534244
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter, viewed November 2, 2020).
Summary:For years Mark Monmonier, "a prose stylist of no mean ability or charm" according to the Washington Post, has delighted readers with his insightful understanding of cartography as an art and technology that is both deceptive and revealing. Now he turns his focus to the story of political cartography and the redrawing of congressional districts. His title Bushmanders and Bullwinkles combines gerrymander with the surname of the president who actively tolerated racial gerrymandering and draws attention to the ridiculously shaped congressional districts that evoke the antlers of the moose who shared the cartoon spotlight with Rocky the Flying Squirrel. Written from the perspective of a cartographer rather than a political scientist, Bushmanders and Bullwinkles examines the political tales maps tell when votes and power are at stake. Monmonier shows how redistricting committees carve out favorable election districts for themselves and their allies; how disgruntled politicians use shape to challenge alleged racial gerrymanders; and how geographic information systems can make reapportionment a controversial process with outrageous products. He also explores controversies over the proper roles of natural boundaries, media maps, census enumeration, and ethnic identity. Raising important questions about Supreme Court decisions in regulating redistricting, Monmonier asks if the focus on form rather than function may be little more than a distraction from larger issues like election reform. Characterized by the same wit and clarity as Monmonier's previous books, Bushmanders and Bullwinkles is essential background for understanding what might prove the most contentious political debate of the new decade.
Other form:Print version: Monmonier, Mark S. Bushmanders & bullwinkles. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, ©2001 0226534243 9780226534244