Using numerous maps of Vietnam and decades of its history to illustrate his points, Dr. Doug Heath, a professor of Geology and Geography at Northampton Community College, discussed the role mapmakers have played in shaping perceptions of political conflicts in the opening lecture of the 2014 Great Decisions Foreign Policy Lecture Series.

Imperial maps, for example, are created to reflect the views of a reigning power, not those of the indigenous people. So, before France withdrew from Vietnam in 1954, French imperial maps were labeled French Indochina, with no mention of Vietnam.

Between 1954 and 1960, Hammond maps depicted Vietnam as one country. Separate stars beside Hanoi in the north and Saigon in the south indicated that a civil war was taking place. By December 1964, a National Geographic map featured one label but two colors, pink for the north and yellow for the south.

During and after 1965, maps showed two countries in two colors, suggesting that the United State's growing intervention was justified by North Vietnam's war of aggression against South Vietnam. Heath contends that such maps were not an accurate depiction of realities in Vietnam but, rather, reflect the effort of the U.S. government to create a version of the war for public consumption. Such is the politics of cartography.

Heath gave his presentation, "Maps of Conflict and Conflicting Maps: The Cartographies of Vietnam, 1955-1975," Jan. 15 at the Northampton Community College Fowler Southside Family Center.

Heath earned his bachelor's degree at Bucknell University and a master's and Ph.D at Syracuse University.

The annual series is sponsored by the YWCA in partnership with the private, non-partisan Foreign Policy Association (FPA) in New York City, and is intended to foster an understanding of foreign policy issues.

The FPA selects the eight topics on which local experts will lecture. This year the lectures, followed by a question and answer session, will be given on eight Wednesdays from Feb. 5 to March 26.

For tickets or more information contact the YWCA at at 610-867-4669, ext. 101 or adminassist @ywcabethlehem.org.