# Event Details - **Event Name**: The blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic self - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 19 Nov, 2025 at 05:00 pm – Wed, 19 Nov, 2025 at 06:30 pm - **Event Description**: Dr Claire Reddleman, University of ManchesterAbout this EventResearch Seminar - Organised by the Department of Art History and Cultural Practices, and the Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media, University of ManchesterThe blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic selfDr Claire Reddleman, Lecturer in Digital Humanities (Contemporary Art and Digital Culture), University of ManchesterAbstractIn this paper, I will offer a reading of two very influential images of our time - the famous 'pale blue dot' photograph of the Earth taken by Voyager 1 in 1990, and the map app image of the now-ubiquitous blue dot indicating the presence of the self in the map interface. I will trace an entwined trajectory of these images of world and self. The larger context is the critique of capitalist abstraction, whereby the relation to the real is always mediated via illusory forms of appearance; the more specific problematic of cartographic abstraction is brought to bear on the question of how the symbolic form of the blue dot has been collapsed from the macro-scale of the planetary to the micro-scale of the personal, via the symbolic functions of the mapping app.BiographyClaire Reddleman is Lecturer in Digital Humanities (Contemporary Art and Digital Culture) at the University of Manchester. She previously taught in the Department of Digital Humanities at King's College London, and Goldsmiths, University of London, and carried out postdoctoral research at Nottingham Trent University, on the critique of the heritage presentation of France's former penal colonies. Her monograph, Cartographic Abstraction: Seeing with Maps, critiqued cartographic 'ways of seeing' via contemporary artworks. She is currently writing about Marx's concept of personification in capitalist society, and a book of essays charting a visual history of the whole Earth. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/manchester/the-blue-dot-and-the-gps-selfie-the-critique-of-the-cartographic-self/100001659767111109 - **Event Categories**: art, fine-arts, workshops - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Manchester - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: University Place, 4.205, University of Manchester - **lat**: 53.4662776 - **long**: -2.2338159 - **full address**: University Place, 4.205, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: The blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic self - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/be2e3cd6b8f6358d57cc3dd7f9effc45a9fb7539754738c8527a80c82cb350d3-rimg-w1020-h484-dc91d2e4-gmir.jpg?v=1760088778 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is The blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic self being held? - **A:** The blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic self takes place on Wed, 19 Nov, 2025 at 05:00 pm to Wed, 19 Nov, 2025 at 06:30 pm at University Place, 4.205, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Who is organizing The blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic self? - **A:** The blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic self is organized by Department of Art History and Cultural Practices. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** The blue dot and the GPS selfie: the critique of the cartographic self is ideal for learners, working professionals, and skill-builders looking to gain hands-on knowledge and practical expertise in a focused, interactive setting. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Manchester, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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