Maps as Media

Join us to celebrate the publication of Maps as Media (Polity, 2026) with its author, Alex Gekker (University of Amsterdam). Maps as Media is the first book to take seriously the platformisation of maps and what it means for our understanding of media today. It offers a compelling take on what it means to understand the world through the lens of the mapping platforms that we have come to rely on so heavily.

Maps have escaped the road atlas and the decorative frame; they now sit on every screen. Using a GPS while driving, looking for a shop on Google Maps, or tracking a food delivery – all involve some form of digital maps. Rather than depicting existing reality, maps are active agents in changing it, all the while making use of personalisation algorithms, content curation and other techniques that are pervasive in digital media. Combining perspectives from media studies, critical cartography, and science and technology studies, the book examines the transformation of mapping from a specialised domain into a commonplace media practice. Digital maps exert power over their users by being reactive and reflective, fuelled by the ability of software to track, adapt and update. The book develops the notion of casual power: the quiet influence maps exert through seamlessness, habit and apparent neutrality.

The event will take the form of a book talk workshop. Following an introduction to the book, Alex will guide us through a practical activity that develops key ideas and themes from the book, followed by a discussion led by Alex and Mike Duggan.

The event is followed by a reception to celebrate the book. It is organised by the Department of Digital Humanities at King's College London.

About the Speaker: 

Alex Gekker is Assistant Professor in Digital Research Methods at the Media Studies department, University of Amsterdam. His research develops critical theoretical frameworks for understanding media platforms and infrastructures, with particular focus on spatial media, user interfaces, cloud and AI stacks, and the politics of everyday digital objects. Using technographic and interfacial approaches, his work examines how they operate as sites of power and knowledge production. He has co-edited two collected volumes on digital mapping (2016, 2018), another on playful politics (2025) and his monograph Maps as Media came out with Polity (2026).