Why do we draw journeys as lines on maps? Sara Caputo discusses how oceanic navigation and cartographical 'ship tracks', from the Renaissance onwards, have profoundly shaped our understanding of movement.
About the speaker
Dr Sara Caputo is a historian at the University of Cambridge, researching maritime spaces and societies. She is Senior Research Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Magdalene College, and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.
She has published two books: Foreign Jack Tars: The British Navy and Transnational Seafarers during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and Tracks on the Ocean: A History of Trailblazing, Maps and Maritime Travel (Profile Books and The University of Chicago Press, 2024).
Booking for in-person attendance is required.
About Monday night lectures
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Monday night lectures are open to Fellows and Members and are included in the cost of membership.
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Monday night lectures are held in person in the Ondaatje Theatre and the bar will be open in the Map Room before and after the lecture. Please be advised all payments are card only.
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All Fellows and Members wanting to attend in person must pre-book a free ticket.
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All Monday night lectures are livestreamed via our website so you can watch them from wherever you are.
Venue information
This event will be held in the Ondaatje Lecture Theatre at Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR.
Doors open at 5.30pm. The lecture will begin at 6.30pm.
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