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Online, Online
The Oxford Seminars in Cartography are a long established part of Oxford’s academic life and are open to everyone with an interest in maps and mapping. The sessions are convened by Elizabeth Baigent, Reader in Oxford’s School of Geography, and Nick Millea, the Bodleian Library’s Map Curator.

Programme

  • 27 November 2025 - Pragya Agarwal (University of Cambridge) - Mapping sense of place: Travels and Maps of May Morris
  • 14 January 2026 - Charlotta Forss (Södertörn University) - TOSCA Field Trip – Mapping the North (in-person event)
  • 12 February 2026 - Camille Serchuk (Southern Connecticut State University) in conversation with Elizabeth Baigent (University of Oxford) - Map Readings – ‘Lies of the Land: Painted maps in Late Medieval and Early Modern France’
  • 12 March 2026 - Vera Dorofeeva-Lichtmann (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) - The unique large-format print of the General Map of the Qing Empire by Li Mingche (李明徹, 1751–1832) in Göttingen: tracing its cartographical origins and journey to a German university
  • 4 June 2026 - Jean-Marc Besse (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) - Geography and Catholic censorship in Europe at the end of the sixteenth century
  • 18 June 2026 - Nick Bolton (Ordnance Survey) - Ordnance Survey: Twenty-First Century National Mapping Agency
More information and registration can be found here.

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Washington, USA
Organisation: Library of Congress
Applications for the Library of Congress Philip Lee Phillips Society Fellowship are now open for 2026. Fellows will be awarded an eight-week research residency in the Geography & Map Division at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, supported by an $11,500 research stipend.
Applications are due by September 15, 2026. More information here.

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Organisation: Imago Mundi CIO
The Trustees of Imago Mundi CIO invite applications to host the 2030 International Conference on the History of Cartography. The International Conference on the History of Cartography (ICHC) has been held biennially since 1964, with highly successful recent meetings in Bucharest (2022) and Lyon (2024). The 31st ICHC will be held in Prague, from July 7-11, 2026. The 32nd ICHC will be held in Oxford in summer, 2028. Applications should include:
  • information about the proposed conference venue(s);
  • details of the membership of the organising committee and any partner institutions;
  • suggested theme(s) for the conference;
  • an outline of the conference schedule, including any proposed exhibitions.
Informal enquiries and expressions of interest are very welcome, and should be directed to Wouter Bracke, Chair of Imago Mundi CIO.
The deadline for formal applications to host the 2030 ICHC is December 1, 2026. Applications should be sent to Wouter Bracke

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Online, Online
Organisation: Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar
This Summer Skills seminar addresses the importance of maps in medieval and early modern society in terms of their production, function, display, and their contribution to a mapping mentality. Over four days we will study different types of maps from Islamic and Christian territories in relation to their form, content, use, and context. This course will not be addressing the geographic accuracy or scientific basis of cartographic works; rather they will be assessed as material, visual, and aesthetic products and as repositories of a newly formulated system of signs that promoted novel ways of seeing. We will work here to integrate maps more fully into art historical discourses while analyzing them as ideological objects.
More information on this page.
Entry fee: $400-$1100


London, UK
Organisation: British Records Association
This year the British Records Association (BRA) annual conference will be held on the topic of records and archives which take the form of maps or geographical plans and charts. The event will take place on 24 November 2026.
Submissions are invited which link this theme to the aims of the BRA, namely the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of our recorded heritage for public benefit. Areas to be explored could include:
  • Challenges of preserving maps owing to their scale or format
  • Survival or absence of significant maps, or collections thereof
  • Little known material, whether significant for design or purpose, for example
  • Misleading maps
  • Different reasons why maps have been produced
  • Interesting discoveries or interpretations based on the study of maps
  • Maps as a tool for public engagement
  • Broadening access through digitisation, grant funded projects, or other means
  • relevant collaborations, such as between historians and collections managers
  • Changes in how maps have been created, and insights these provide, such as the rise of digital cartography
  • Whether existing map collections are under threat from technological advances

Abstracts of papers (twenty minutes) or lightning talks as part of a panel (five minutes) should be a maximum of 200 words and should be accompanied by a biography of all participants of up to 150 words. These should be submitted to the BRA Chair: chair@britishrecordsassociation.org.uk
The British Records Association is a charity which aims to promote the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of our recorded heritage for public benefit. It is open to anyone interested in records and archives whether local historians, academics, professional archivists, or custodians and owners of collections, or simply those who are curious about the record of our past. http://www.britishrecordsassociation.org.uk/

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St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
Organisation: The Society for the History of Discoveries
Throughout history, islands have functioned as both isolated laboratories of evolution and central hubs of global maritime networks. From the earliest known navigations to the European expansions in the "Age of Discovery", and contemporary deep-sea charting, the act of "discovering" an island is a complex event involving story-telling, encounters, scientific inquiry, and mapmaking.
This interdisciplinary conference seeks to examine the multifaceted history and ongoing process of island exploration. We invite scholars from history, geography, cartography, maritime studies, and related fields to submit proposals that interrogate how islands and island encounters relate to global exploration, exchange, and discovery.
More information here.


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Organisation: The Willison Foundation Charitable Trust
The Willison Foundation Charitable Trust (established in 2016 by Mr. Ian Willison) is a registered charity dedicated to the advancement of the History of the Book in the humanities. While its primary focus is book history, the Trust actively funds research into cartography—specifically the production, circulation, and consumption of maps, charts, and mass-produced graphics. The maximum grant available is £5,000.
Research focus:
  • Historical Map-Making: The Trust supports academic studies focusing on English and European map and chart-making between 1500 and 1800
  • Cartography & Diplomacy: It funds projects investigating the intersection of cartography, travel accounts, and international relations (such as map usage during the Congress of Utrecht)
  • Graphics as Text: The Trust broadly considers maps, music, and mass-produced prints as integral components of book history

More information here.


Barcelona, Spain
Organisation: ISHMap
ISHMap is delighted to welcome proposals to participate in the International Society for the History of the Map (ISHMap) Symposium and Workshop that will take place in Barcelona. The Symposium is organized in collaboration with the Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya. More information on the ISHMap webpage.

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Istanbul, Turkey
Organisation: Piri Reis University
The life, works, and era of Piri Reis, one of the most important figures in Ottoman maritime history, are re-examined from a multifaceted perspective focusing on the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean.
More information here.