Sketch Mapping Workshops for Youth Teens as a Case Study in Post-Representational Cartography: Affect, Creativity, and Pedagogy.

The article examines how the process of sketch mapping influences affect, creativity, and pedagogy through a three-day workshop with youth teenagers (ages 12–14) from the Bridge–Lake Point–Waunona Neighborhood Center (BLW Center) in Madison, Wisconsin. It investigates whether sketch mapping promotes (1) a pleasant and activated affective experience enabling non-verbal emotional expression, (2) a creative, therapeutic-like activity fostering intra- and interpersonal discovery and healing, and (3) a critical pedagogical intervention empowering meaningful learning about mapping. Findings indicate that sketch mapping supported positive affective experiences, encouraged collaborative and varied artistic expression, and reduced self-consciousness by centering the process over the product. The study recommends structuring sketch mapping activities with limited free sketching, incorporating play and competition, carefully selecting artistic media, making lessons less school-like, and focusing prompts on process-oriented critical thinking to enhance engagement and empowerment among youth participants.