For the past week Boston students in the 2nd, 7th and 11th grades have been looking at the world a bit differently. Their social studies classes are now using the Peters Projection, initially unveiled in 1974 by historian Arno Peters, the map offers “depictions that more accurately portray the sizes of Earth’s continents” than the standard Mercator’s map which is ubiquitous in US schools.
The Peters projection is an attempt to better reflect the position of the equator and the size of the continents. Though a bit snug in some places, the majority of experts affirm that this newer projection conveys a more accurate depiction of the world than the Mercator projection which has been standard for the last 400 years.
“Mercator’s inaccuracies, which vastly exaggerate the size of land masses approaching the north and south poles — and in doing so, help prop up a decidedly Eurocentric worldview.”
Across the nation many school districts are reevaluating curriculum through a lens that is more inclusive to varied cultural perspectives of history.
