Kären Wigen

About the Author

Kären Wigen is a distinguished historian and geographer whose scholarship illuminates the intricate interplay between space, time, and human experience. A professor emerita at Stanford University, she has devoted her career to exploring how maps and cartographic practices have shaped our understanding of the world across centuries. In her groundbreaking work, Time in Maps: From the Age of Discovery to Our Digital Era, Wigen traces the evolution of temporal representations in cartography, revealing how these visual tools have influenced everything from colonial expansions to modern digital interfaces. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from history, anthropology, and geography, her writing bridges academic rigor with accessible prose, inviting readers to reconsider the hidden narratives embedded in the lines and symbols of our maps. Wigen's contributions continue to inspire scholars and enthusiasts alike in rethinking the dynamic relationship between past and present through the lens of spatial imagination.