# Mapping the World

Mapping the World (French: Le Dessous des cartes) is a French programme that explains geopolitical contexts using maps as visual support. It was created in 1990 by political scientist Jean-Christophe Victor, who hosted it up until his death in 2016. The programme returned in September 2017 with Émilie Aubry as host and airs weekly on the Franco-German channel Arte.

## Programming and format

The show was first aired from 1990 to 1992, on La Sept until it stopped broadcasting, and has been on air since 1992 on the Franco-German channel Arte. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 20h00 (Paris local time, UTC+1) and rebroadcast several times a week. The format of the show has changed little since the first episode. However, the episode length expanded from 7 to 11 minutes. The transition from 11 to 26 minutes referred to by Jean-Christophe Victor in 2002 was abandoned.

## Structure of the show

In general, the show runs as follows:
* Generic top
* Introduction – the presenter introduces the topic of the show on a neutral background
* Development – maps, animations and sometimes pictures while the presenter talks.
* Conclusion – the presenter concludes the program on a neutral point of view
* Bibliography of books which served as sources and / or may give the viewer further insight into the topic
* End Credits

## Maps and visualization methods

Topographic maps are based on the Ordnance Survey Oxford Cartographers. The most commonly used map projection is that of Eckert (the Pseudo-cylindrical projection). The show also uses satellite imagery from Google Earth and the first use was in the episode named: "Nigeria, rich state poor country."

## Program production cycle

The Laboratoire d'études politiques et d'analyses cartographiques (LEPAC) produces about forty episodes a year for the channel Arte. The subjects for most episodes are decided a year in advance to allow time for production. This delay in the selection of themes allows a certain hindsight regarding the chosen topic. However, on occasion, the topic of an episode is more closely related to current events. For example, the episode "Tsunami, a natural phenomenon" aired just three months after the events in South-East Asia.

## Subjects of the show

Of the 300 programs (from March 2001 to May 2008), 210 (70%) have a geographical approach and 84 (28%) have a thematic approach. 6 issues remain unclassifiable: introspective (ex: "La Methode le Dessous des Cartes") or dreamers (ex: "A journey with Corto Maltese, Turkey to Samarkand"). For information and the geographical most commonly accepted:
* Africa (29)
* Latin America (21)
* Anglo-Saxon America (12)
* Europe (53)
* Polar worlds (11)
* Central Asia (10)
* East Asia (35)
* Middle East (36)
* Oceania (1)
Anecdote: The issue of 29 March 2000, for the week of April 1, is a parody of the show itself. The producing team of the show made what could be the episode of 1 April 3000 by offering a retrospective view of the past thousand years.

## Methods and objectives

In a special 10th birthday episode named "La méthode du Dessous des Cartes", the aims of the show were outlined:
* Give way to Geography
* Give meaning through History
* Cross disciplines
* Everything is connected
* Avoid Ethnocentrism
* Giving a try at Futures studies
* Take a stand
The main, oft repeated aim of the show is "to understand rather than to inform."

## Awards

* Prix Encyclopædia Universalis 1995
* Grand Prix Video 1996 of the Académie Charles Cros
* La Clio de l'image 1997

## Publications
### Books

* Jean-Christophe Victor, Frank Tétart and Virginie Raisson, Le Dessous des cartes : Atlas géopolitique, map of Frederick Lernoud, ed. Arte and Tallandier, 2005, (ISBN 2847342346).
* Jean-Christophe Victor, Frank Tétart and Virginie Raisson, Le Dessous des cartes 2 : Tome 2, Atlas d'un monde qui change, map of Lernoud Frederick, ed. Arte and Tallandier, 2007, (ISBN 2847344667).
* Jean-Christophe Victor, Frank Tétart and Virginie Raisson, Le Dessous des Cartes : Coffret en 2 volumes : Atlas géopolitique; Atlas d'un monde qui change, map of Lernoud Frederick, ed. Arte and Tallandier, 2008 (ISBN 284734540X).

### DVD

Each semester, Arte Video and LEPAC publish a DVD. The DVD includes 12 to 20 episodes of the show regarding a theme. DVDs released so far:
* Latin America, the other America;
* African continent;
* The unity of China;
* USA, an imperialistic geography;
* Geopolitics and Religion;
* Europe, a model geopolitics?;
* Europe as an alternative?;
* Polar worlds;
* Middle East geopolitical pivot;
* A planet in relief.

### Textbooks

* Le dessous des cartes Terminale : L’espace mondial
* Le dessous des cartes Première : L’Europe et la France
* Le dessous des cartes Seconde : Les Hommes occupent et aménagent la Terre
* Le dessous des cartes Troisième : Le Monde d’aujourd’hui