Compte-rendu: Atlas National du Sénégal

Summary

This is an academic review of the Atlas National du Sénégal (pedagogical dossier volume). The author first acknowledges that the atlas, designed as a tool for teachers and students to understand the national territory, successfully integrates thematic description, cartographic representation, and source analysis, with generally clear and synthetic cartography. However, several criticisms are raised: insufficient coverage of rural economic activities (agriculture, livestock, fishing); outdated statistics; inconvenient scale indications; and a tension between maps and their accompanying texts. The review further reflects on the atlas's dual positioning between research and teaching, arguing that maps are both descriptive and interpretive, and that their mode of presenting information and the definition of target audiences merit deeper consideration. It concludes with reflections on the nature of cartographic knowledge, emphasizing that maps are not neutral reproductions of objective facts.