University of North Carolina Department of Geography Spring

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

University of North Carolina Department of Geography Spring 2016 Geographic Thought: Seminar in the History and Philosophy of Geography M 3:30—6:30pm Carolina Hall 321 John Pickles, Earl N Phillips Distinguished Professor of International Studies The purpose of this course is to examine the historical and philosophical development of modern geography and geographical knowledge. We focus mainly on geography from the early nineteenth century to the present. The course explores the key discourses, debates, and controversies which shaped the modern discipline, and also raises questions about how developments seemingly internal to the discipline have related to broader dynamics in science and society. Each week students will be introduced to four aspects of these disciplinary histories: (i) the historical/political/social context within which claims about science and geographer emerged; (ii) philosophical arguments that emerged as central to definitions of science, explanation, understanding, and geography; (iii) sites within which such knowledge was produced (e.g., laboratory, the field, museums, botanical gardens, etc.); and (iv) selected individuals and groups that have played important roles in defining how we understand the world geographically. The seminar concludes with a survey of contemporary approaches in geography, and in discussion of the relations between natural and social sciences in geographic thought and practice. When we are finished, students should understand: 1. The theoretical and practical concerns that have molded contemporary Geography. 2. How geographers have variously understood the relationship between geographical knowledge and practice. 3. The broader epistemological and social contexts and conditions that underpin basic concepts and keywords in the discipline (nature, landscape, exploration, mapping, physical/human, determinism, diffusion, culture, space, place, positivism, eurocentricism, planetary science, empiricism, etc.). 4. The place your own research in disciplinary context. Graduate students from other programs and advanced undergraduate majors in Geography who like to read and discuss the readings are welcome with instructor’s permission. [email protected] .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Taking the Pulse of the Dead: History and Philosophy of Geography, 2008
Progress report Progress in Human Geography 34(5) 668–677 ª The Author(s) 2010 Taking the pulse of the dead: Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav History and philosophy of 10.1177/0309132509355352 geography, 2008–2009 phg.sagepub.com Trevor J. Barnes University of British Columbia, Canada Abstract The thread linking the history and philosophy of geography literature for 2008–2009 is the return of previously expired approaches, particularly quantification and Marxism. On the one hand, there has been a resurgence of quantitative techniques combined with a critical political sensibility, and, on the other, a renewed interest in Marxism but leavened by various strains of poststructuralism. Keywords archives, critical GISci, Foucault, Marxism, pragmatism, quantification I Introduction Stewart’s lecture notes accumulated as a thin layer of dust on my lap and on the sturdy writing Never having been trained in any aspect of table. Other patrons knew better. The man in archival research, I often feel like a bull in a front of me wore an apron, and the woman to china shop as I riffle through boxes of correspon- my side white gloves. dence and papers housed at special collections in Yes, I know. The physical manuscript is university libraries and public archives. My use sacred. One should never riffle through carbon- of the word ‘riffle’, of course, is an immediate copied, onion-skin paper letters, crinkled yel- giveaway about my bad habits. In May of this lowing mimeographed Departmental memos, year at the magnificent American Heritage and fading, badly typed graduate student essays Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie, por- written 75 years ago.
[Show full text]
GEOG 701, Section 001 Geographic Thought and Theory Fall 2012
GEOG 701, Section 001 Geographic Thought and Theory Fall 2012 Class meets Wednesdays from 5:35 – 8:15 in HN 1004 Instructor: Christian Siener [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesdays 3:30 – 5:30 in Room XXXX Course Overview This course examines the intellectual history and the diverse theoretical perspectives that constitute the field of American geography today. Given the breadth of the discipline, we will focus primarily on key later developments, from positivism to post-positivism, Marxism, feminism, and post-structuralism, while paying attention to the many contemporary theoretical intersections. We will read foundational texts illustrating these perspectives and engage with recent articles and books. We will discuss how these works employ key geographic concepts, such as place, space, territory, and time to understand the processes of class, race, gender and sexuality and uses of nature. By reading the literature, students will learn to differentiate between theoretical frameworks and to theoretically locate their own research. Students will lead discussions, compose weekly reaction papers, write a midterm paper and a final term paper, and present their term paper to the class. Course Requirements The class meets once per week, and sessions will consist of a short lecture on the weekly material as well as student presentations of the assigned readings. Each week, a different student will be responsible for presenting the readings and composing three discussion questions. Depending on the number of students enrolled in the course, each student may have to present more than once. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to read the assigned literature and post the reaction paper.
[Show full text]
“History and Philosophy of Geography I: the Slow, the Turbulent, and the Dissenting”
“HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF GEOGRAPHY I: THE SLOW, THE TURBULENT, AND THE DISSENTING” INNES M. KEIGHREN AUTHOR’S POST-PRINT VERSION ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION IN PROGRESS IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY DOI: 10.1177/0309132516653285 History and philosophy of geography I: The slow, the turbulent, and the dissenting Innes M Keighren Royal Holloway, University of London, UK Abstract This report takes as its prompt John K Wright’s 1925 ‘plea for the history of geography’—an early call for an inclusive account of geographical thought and practice, embracing both professional and amateur ways of knowing. In reflecting on the extent to which contemporary histories of geography realise the scope of Wright’s ambition, the paper considers how external pressures, such as neoliberalism and academia’s audit culture, function to shape and constrain the writing of those histories. The paper argues for the value of ‘slow’ scholarship as an act of political resistance and as a sine qua non of nuanced and comprehensive historiography. The report concludes by examining how biographical and genealogical approaches to narrating geography’s histories have important implications for the decisions made about inclusion and exclusion, about what and who counts in geography. Keywords biography, genealogy, geosophy, histories of geography, John K Wright, neoliberal academia, slow scholarship The history of geography is often regarded as a somewhat antiquarian and useless background to modern geography … or as the harmless hobby of collectors of old maps. (Wright, 1925a: 194) The history of geography as a whole and in its wider bearings has been neglected … or at least it has not received the attention which any enthusiast may, perhaps, be permitted to regard as its due.
[Show full text]
1 COUNTERFACTUAL GEOGRAPHIES: WORLDS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN INTRODUCTION to SPECIAL ISSUE David Gilbert and David Lambert: Geograp
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Royal Holloway Research Online COUNTERFACTUAL GEOGRAPHIES: WORLDS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE David Gilbert and David Lambert: Geography, Royal Holloway University of London Uncorrected final draft: not for quotation – please use published version. ABSTRACT This paper argues for a renewed consideration of counterfactuals within geography. Drawing upon Doreen Massey’s emphasis on notions of ‘possibility’, ‘chance’, ‘undecidability’ and ‘happenstance’, we argue for an engagement with approaches in the humanities that have addressed such issues directly. We review previous uses of counterfactual method in historical geography, particularly as related to cliometrics and the ‘new economic history’ of the 1960s, but argue that a recent upsurge of interest in other disciplines indicates alternative ways that ‘what-if’ experiments might work in the sub-discipline. Recent counterfactual work outside of geography has had a notably spatial cast, often thinking through the nature of alternative worlds, or using counterfactual strategies that are explicitly concerned with space as well as temporal causality. We set out possible agendas for counterfactual work in historical geography. These include: consideration of the historical geographies within existing counterfactual writings and analyses; suggestions for distinctive ways that historical geographers might think and write counterfactually, including experiments in geographies of happenstance, and the exploration of more-than-human possibilities; analyses of the geography of and in counterfactual writing; and study of the political, ethical and emotional demands that counterfactuals make. This discussion and framework provides an extended introduction to this special edition of the Journal of Historical Geography on counterfactual geographies.
[Show full text]
Introduction: Philosophy and Geography
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY HISTORY OF IDEAS 2017 Volume 6 Issue 12 Item 2 – Section 2: Articles – Introduction: Philosophy and Geography by Ernesto C. Sferrazza Papa c b a JIHI 2017 Volume 6 Issue 12 Section 1: Editorials 1. Homage to Donald Winch. Philosophy and Geography (M. Albertone, E. Pasini) Section 2: Articles. Special Issue: Philosophy and Geography 2. Introduction: Philosophy and Geography (E.C. Sfer- razza Papa) 3. Incongruent Counterparts. Four Possible Ways of Interac- tion between Geography and Philosophy (M. Tanca) 4. One Sea, One Humanity. Modeling the Man-Sea Rela- tionship in Friedrich Ratzel’s Anthropogeographical Project (C. Santini) 5. L’idée de paysage entre esthétique et géographie (M. Marano) Section 3: Notes 6. Intellectual History and the History of Economic Thought: A Personal Account (D. Winch, with an Introduction by R. Whatmore) Section 4: Reviews 7. Comme des bêtes. Essay Review (C.-O. Doron) 8. Book Reviews (D. Ragnolini, R. Soliani) . Introduction: Philosophy and Geography Ernesto C. Sferrazza Papa * This number of the Journal of Interdisciplinary History of Ideas hosts a special and thematic issue focused on the relation between philosophy and geography. It is the result of a call for papers that was launched in 2016 with the aim of answer- ing at least some of the relevant questions concerning the historical connections between philosophy and geography, while also exploring the possible theoretical intersections between them to which this history points. This Introduction intends to provide readers a general overview on the topic. This number of the Journal of Interdisciplinary History of Ideas hosts a special and thematic issue focused on the relation between philosophy and geography.
[Show full text]
Philosophical Issues in Geography—An Introduction
Philosophical Issues in Geography—An Introduction Achille C. Varzi Department of Philosophy, Columbia University New York, USA (Published in Topoi 20:2 (2001), 119– 130.) Abstract. Geography presents interesting and intricate trade-offs between empirical data and demands, on the one hand, and deep philosophical issues (from ontology to political philoso- phy), on the other. What is a geographic entity? What is the relationship between a geographic entity and a physical territory? Can a geographic entity survive without a territory or without definite borders? Can it survive radical changes in its territory? Are there clear-cut identity criteria for geographic categories? This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of Topoi whose aim is to go a first step towards a better understanding of these questions and of their implications for the theory of the geographic world. The world of geography is extraordinarily varied. It includes mountains and rivers but also states and cities and voting precincts. It includes concrete par- cels of land and water bodies as well as abstract fields of land-use and rain-fall. It includes natural topographic features such as bays, valleys, isthmuses, and promontories along with human-made artifacts such as dams, bridges, roads, railways, mountain passes. It includes naturally demarcated regions such as Australia or the island of Malta, as well as regions whose boundaries lie skew to any physical discontinuities, such as Utah and Saskatchewan; sharply de- marcated territories such as the states of the Union, as well as vaguely defined territories such as deserts and plateaus. The world of geography includes uni- tary, connected entities as well as scattered ones, such as Polynesia or the USA; it includes material entities as well as immaterial ones, like tunnels and canyons; extended objects as well as unextended ones, such as the Poles or the Equator.
[Show full text]
Introduction: Geographers at the Beach
00_Couper_BAB1407B0154_Prelims.indd 1 11/10/2014 5:09:41 PM 1 Introduction: Geographers at the Beach 1.1 Before we get there: Introducing philosophy and theory We begin in late autumn, with a geography field trip to the beach. The students climb into the bus, which then leaves the university and threads its way through the countryside towards the coast. Looking out of the bus window, Nikki says to Adam, ‘The leaves are really turning brown now.’ Nikki’s simple statement is a claim to knowledge, a claim to know something about the leaves on the trees. It is the kind of knowledge claim that we all make in our everyday lives, but it provides a good starting point for thinking about the more specialised knowledge that we develop within geography. At the broadest level of generalisation, geographers seek to know the world around us. If we want to have confidence in our knowledge – of glaciers, transport systems, flood- ing, poverty, biodiversity, pollution, inequality, landscapes and all the other things that geographers are interested in – then it is important to interrogate how we develop such knowledge. In effect, the question at the heart of this book is ‘How do we know?’ A simple response to that question is to make reference to sources of evidence. We know something because we have evidence of it; we have seen (or heard, or measured) it for ourselves, or we have read it somewhere and accept that someone else has evidence of it. We know what the weather was like yesterday because we experienced it for ourselves.
[Show full text]
An Historical and Cultural Geography of the Journal Contemporary Issues in Geography and Education (CIGE) (1983-1991)
Norcup, Joanne (2015) Awkward geographies? An historical and cultural geography of the journal Contemporary Issues in Geography and Education (CIGE) (1983-1991). PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6849/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Awkward Geographies? An historical and cultural geography of the journal Contemporary Issues in Geography and Education (CIGE) (1983-1991) Joanne Norcup Thesis submitted for award of PhD in Geography, School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, University of Glasgow: July 2015. Abstract This thesis concerns itself with the excavation of the historical and cultural geographies of the production, circulation, and reception of a grassroots-initiated geography education journal, and of the lives of the people and movement that contributed to its existence. Contemporary Issues in Geography and Education (CIGE) was the journal of the Association of Curriculum Development in Geography (ACDG): a pan-institutional collective of school geography teachers, authors, artists, activists and academics who desired a vision of school geography informed from the political Left, to enable the voices of those excluded from power to be explored and heard, and to offer up an alternative version of disciplinary geographical knowledge-making.
[Show full text]
2001 Annual Meeting Program Committee
9 7 t h A N N U A L M E E T I N G The Association of AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS PROGRAM February 27 - March 3, 2001 New York, NY {AGS: insert photo of Empire State Building from the preliminary program. do not print frame line} photo provided by NYC & Company 1 {AGS: insert NASA ad on disk} 2 The Association of American Geographers P R O G R A M 97th Annual Meeting New York, New York February 27 - March 3, 2001 The Association of American Geographers 1710 Sixteenth Street NW Washington, DC 20009-3198 Voice 202-234-1450 Fax 202-234-2744 Email [email protected] www.aag.org 3 AAG 2001 LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE Mary Lynn Bird, American Geographical Society Margaret Boorstein, C.W. Post College Timothy Calabrese, Hunter College Thomas Cooke, University of Connecticut Harvey Flad, Vassar College Brian Godfrey, Vassar College Charles Heatwole, Hunter College Amy Jeu, University of Minnesota Cindi Katz, CUNY Wei Li, University of Connecticut Scott Loomer, U.S. Military Academy Sara McLafferty, Hunter College Ines Miyares, Hunter College , Chair Jeffrey Osleeb, Hunter College Mark Pires, C.W. Post College Gregory Pope, Montclair College Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Hofstra University Grant Saff, Hofstra University Christopher Smith, SUNY Albany AAG 2001 ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM COMMITTEE Margaret Boorstein, C.W. Post College Harvey Flad, Vassar College Francis Galgano, U.S. Military Academy Brian Godfrey, Vassar College Dean Hanink, University of Connecticut Robert Hordon, Rutgers University Cindi Katz, CUNY Wei Li, University of Connecticut Sara McLafferty, Hunter College Michael Medler, Rutgers University Ken Mitchell, Rutgers University Ines Miyares, Hunter College Jeffrey Osleeb, Hunter College Neil Smith, CUNY 4 AAG OFFICERS, COUNCILORS, AND STAFF Executive Committee Susan L.
[Show full text]
Materialism, Idealism and the Onto- Epistemological Roots of Geography
ISSN: 2446-6549 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18764/2446-6549.v3n9p07-26 MATERIALISM, IDEALISM AND THE ONTO- EPISTEMOLOGICAL ROOTS OF GEOGRAPHY MATERIALISMO, IDEALISMO E AS RAÍZES ONTO-EPISTEMOLÓGICAS DA GEOGRAFIA MATERIALISMO, IDEALISMO E LAS RAÍCES ONTO-EPISTEMOLÓGICAS DE LA GEOGRAFÍA Mikhael Lemos Paiva Graduando em Ciências Sociais pela Faculdade de Ciências e Letras da Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – FFC/UNESP/Marília. [email protected] Recebido para avaliação em 25/02/2017; Aceito para publicação em 17/04/2017. ABSTRACT The present article has as proposal the discussion of the philosophical categories of Idealism and Materialism in the Geographical thought. Starting from the assumption that the knowledge is a fact, we explicit our onto-epistemological basis by a dialog between the main representatives of each Philosophy pole, from Democritus to Hegel, exposing after the sublation to the metaphysics done by the dialectical materialism. Using a bridge to the hard core of the Critical Geography (Lefebvre, Harvey and Quaini), we transmute the philosophical debate to the geographical field showing the often ignored roots, logic and addictions of the Modern Geography. Retaking in the end the duel between Idealism and Materialism, we present our thesis in which the Crisis of Geography is, in fact, just the result of a process originated from its incapacity as a discipline to overcome the limiter vestige of its birth: the Metaphysics. Keywords: Philosophy of Geography; Lefebvre; Historical Materialism; Geography‟s Crisis. RESUMO O presente artigo tem como proposta a discussão das categorias filosóficas de idealismo e materialismo no pensamento Geográfico. Partindo do pressuposto de que o conhecimento é um fato, explicitamos a nossa base onto-epistemológica por meio de um diálogo entre os principais representantes de cada polo da Filosofia, de Demócrito à Hegel, expondo logo após a suprassunção à metafísica realizada pelo materialismo dialético.
[Show full text]
University of North Carolina Department of Geography Spring 2010 Geographic Thought
University of North Carolina Department of Geography Spring 2010 Geographic Thought: Seminar in the History and Philosophy of Geography TR 4.00-6.30, 526A Greenlaw John Pickles Office Hours: Tuesday 2.00-3.30 or by appointment. Office: Saunders 327 Email: [email protected] Purpose of the Course This course explores the different bodies of thought which have shaped the character of geography from the late 19th Century to the present. This exploration crosses the traditional sub-disciplinary divisions of human geography, physical geography and GIScience, examining the ways in which all three have been woven together and pulled apart by broad intellectual trends in the discipline. To accomplish this, we will be reading work from all three sub-disciplines whenever possible. When we are finished, students should understand: 1. The theoretical and practical currents that constitute contemporary the discipline of Geography. 2. The place your own research in disciplinary context. 3. The contingent, historical nature of scientific knowledge and practices. 4. The broad outlines of spatial thought and forms of geographical imagination. Since a comprehensive approach to such a large topic would be impossible, we will concentrate instead on a number key themes, debates, and controversies that have characterized the development of modern geographical science, and at the same time, we will raise questions about how developments seemingly internal to the discipline have related to broader dynamics in science and society. The seminar concludes with a survey of several contemporary perspectives in geography and their conceptual underpinnings, as well as discussions of contemporary disciplinary identities and the relations between the social and natural sciences in geography.
[Show full text]
Incongruent Counterparts Four Possible Ways of Interaction Between Geography and Philosophy by Marcello Tanca
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY HISTORY OF IDEAS 2017 Volume 6 Issue 12 Item 3 – Section 2: Articles – Incongruent Counterparts Four Possible Ways of Interaction between Geography and Philosophy by Marcello Tanca c b a JIHI 2017 Volume 6 Issue 12 Section 1: Editorials 1. Homage to Donald Winch. Philosophy and Geography (M. Albertone, E. Pasini) Section 2: Articles. Special Issue: Philosophy and Geography 2. Introduction: Philosophy and Geography (E.C. Sfer- razza Papa) 3. Incongruent Counterparts. Four Possible Ways of Interac- tion between Geography and Philosophy (M. Tanca) 4. One Sea, One Humanity. Modeling the Man-Sea Rela- tionship in Friedrich Ratzel’s Anthropogeographical Project (C. Santini) 5. L’idée de paysage entre esthétique et géographie (M. Marano) Section 3: Notes 6. Intellectual History and the History of Economic Thought: A Personal Account (D. Winch, with an Introduction by R. Whatmore) Section 4: Reviews 7. Comme des bêtes. Essay Review (C.-O. Doron) 8. Book Reviews (D. Ragnolini, R. Soliani) . Incongruent Counterparts Four Possible Ways of Interaction between Geography and Philosophy Marcello Tanca * Geography and Philosophy, like the right hand and the left hand according to Kant, are a typical case of ‘incongruent counterparts’: similar to each other, they can never completely overlap; their asymmetry and complementarity make the attempts at trying to find some prolific joints between them interesting. This contribution explores therefore four ways of interacting between these two ‘discursive fields’: Geography of Philosophy, Philosophy of Geography, Geogra- phy in Philosophy and Philosophy in Geography. These four categories, however, are not to be taken too rigidly: they suggest a possible classification, i.e.
[Show full text]