GG3012:

CRITICAL APPROACHES TO GEOGRAPHY

Nick Spedding and Hayden Lorimer

Lectures: Weeks 1-12, Tuesdays, 11.00-12.00, St Mary’s 105

Website: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~geo337/crap.html

See also:

POTENTIAL EXAM QUESTIONS 2001

Exam tips: 7 simple steps to success!

Why we changed the Department name

Honours handbook entry

LECTURES

Week

1. Introduction

2. Victorian Geography: from cosmography to modern science?

3. The rise and fall of Regional Geography.

4. The ‘Quantitative Revolution’: hard science or "inconsequential claptrap"?

5. ‘Placing’ women: Geography and the gender agenda.

6. New Cultural Geography: rethinking subject, identity and space.

7. Geographical knowledges of Empire.

8. Why don’t you? Thinking, doing and writing New Cultural Geography.

9. The rise and rise of Environmental Geography?

10. Boys and their toys: post-war developments in Physical Geography.

11. Post-whatever Physical Geography: does it (or should it) exist?

12. Revison Session

Work-load

This course carries 2 credits. This implies that students should devote two-elevenths of their time to this course: i.e. several hours per week on wider reading and exam essay preparation! This is what we will assume when we mark the exam. However, although its credit-rating is equal to two-thirds of an option course, GG3012 (as with GG3515 and GG3518/9 after Christmas) carries a full mark into the final Honours assessment: i.e. its weighting is equivalent to a Third Year option. Thus GG3012 accounts for one-ninth of your Third Year marks, and one twenty-seventh of your Final marks. You may also wish to note that external examiners tend to pay particular attention to core course work when considering borderline cases. You have been warned!

 Assessment

The course is assessed by means of 2-hour examination; students to answer two questions. The exam paper will consist of four questions, to be selected by lucky dip from a wider list of six. These six questions will be made available to students before the end of Week 6. As a guide, see last year's exam questions.

Core Reading: Textbooks

No single text covers the course in full, but the following are all useful. Students are encouraged/expected to dip into these according to personal preference. We trust it is clear that students are NOT expected to read all 4,860 pages! We consider the QML’s stocks and placing of books to be adequate; however, if you experience difficulty getting hold of material please let us know. N.B.: the fastest way to get something into Heavy Demand is for three different people to place holds on it. Please be sensible, and pace your reading: students complaining that they cannot find books and articles in the week before the exam will receive zero sympathy!

Agnew, J., D. N. Livingstone and A. Rogers. 1996. Human Geography: an Essential Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell. 696 pp. 304.2 Agn (2 copies in HD, 2 on 3-day loan)

Cloke, P., P. Crang and M. Goodwin (Eds). 1999. Introducing Human Geographies. London: Arnold, 368 pp.

Cloke, P., C. Philo and D. Sadler. 1991. Approaching Human Geography: an Introduction to Contemporary Theoretical Debates. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. 240 pp. 304.2 Clo HD

Daniels, S. and R. Lee. 1996. Exploring Human Geography: a Reader. London: Arnold. 506 pp. 304.2 Dan (2 copies in HD, 2 on 3-day loan)

Gregory, D. 1994. Geographical Imaginations. Oxford: Blackwell. 442 pp. 910.01 Gre

Holt-Jensen, A. 1999. Geography: History and Concepts. Third Edition. London: Sage. 228 pp.

Johnston, R. J. 1986. Philosophy and Human Geography. 2nd edition. London: Arnold. 178 pp. 910 Joh HD

Johnston, R. J. 1997. Geography and Geographers: Anglo-American Human Geography Since 1945. 5th edition. London: Arnold. 475 pp. 910.9 Joh (1 copy in HD, 3 on 3-day loan)

Johnston, R. J., D. Gregory, G. Pratt and M. Watts (Eds). 2000. The Dictionary of Human Geography. 4th edition. Oxford: Blackwell. 958 pp. 304.2 Joh (3 copies, 2 in HD).

Livingstone, D. N. 1992. The Geographical Tradition. Oxford: Blackwell. 434 pp. 910.9 Liv (2 copies in HD, 2 on 3-day loan)

Stoddart, D. R. 1986. On Geography. Oxford: Blackwell. 335 pp. 910.9 HD Ref

NOTES. Livingstone’s book covers the relevant period (c. 1859 to 1997) in full, and is widely reckoned to be the best single history of Geography presently available ("a bloody good read!": H. Lorimer). However, it is perhaps too brief on developments post-1970. The books by Johnston (1986 and 1997 - make sure you get the fifth edition here!) and Cloke et al. are better on these; the latter is especially good on the different theoretical debates. The D of H G is excellent, and well-worth the money (£19.99) if you intend to specialise in Human Geography. Stoddart is particularly strong on nineteenth century Geography. The two anthologies (Agnew et al. and Daniels and Lee) support important papers with useful editorial commentaries which enlarge on the articles’ wider context and significance. Both are very good: the volume by Agnew et al. highlights the history of different ideas; that by Daniels and Lee includes recent papers which demonstrate how different ideas are put into practice. Derek Gregory is one of the most innovative and influential geographers of recent times; his book is not easy, but it does examine several important contemporary debates, and is well worth the effort.

Few suitable texts exist which deal specifically with Physical Geography. The paucity of textbooks that discuss different ideas in Physical Geography reflects a different culture to that which tends to characterise Human Geography: the explosion of ideas in the social sciences after c. 1970 was ignored or dismissed by the vast majority of ‘hard’ scientists. However, prior to c. 1970 Physical and Human Geography largely share a common history, so students should find the list of books given above useful. The best book covering recent developments is

Gregory, K. J. 2000. The Changing Nature of Physical Geography. London: Arnold. 368 pp. 910.03 Gre (2 copies, soon to be placed in HD).

This has just been published, and Nick has not yet had the chance to read it. However, his first impression is that it looks like a worthwhile purchase (£16.99) for students wishing to focus on physical geography. Also useful:

Haines-Young, R. H. and J. R. Petch. 1986. Physical Geography: its Nature and Methods. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. 230 pp. 551.4 Hai (3 copies)

Rhoads, B. L. and C. E. Thorn (Eds). 1996. The Scientific Nature of Geomorphology. Chichester: Wiley. 481 pp. 551.4 Rho HD Selected chapters available online at:

http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~b-rhoads/book/book.htm

The state of geography as an academic discipline, whether in the past, or at present, cannot be understood purely in intellectual terms. We cannot define what geography is, nor can we say what is the correct way to ‘do’ Geography simply by appeal to rational thought. This is because the academic discipline of Geography is NOT an abstract phenomenon divorced from the real world; it is an active and ongoing practice which is always and everywhere ‘situated’ in the real world. This means that its exponents (myself, Hayden, Professor Mather and all of YOU to name but a few) take up a position which reflects wider social, political and cultural influences and prejudices. When particularly strong and widespread influences cause lots of people to take up similar views, distinct schools of thought - sometimes called PARADIGMS - tend to emerge. The popularity of competing paradigms changes as things change in the outside world. Because of this, geography has a varied - and exciting (?!) - history made up of many different episodes and ideas. This is the story we wish to tell...

Big word of the week:

PARADIGM.

Put simply: a point of view, a way of doing things, or a certain tradition. Some people like to separate the idea of the paradigm into two parts:

1. The paradigm itself: an exemplary solution to a particular problem. This refers to the basic laws and procedures of science we might use to interpret and explain the real world: e.g. we might see fundamental laws of economics such as cost-distance relationships (as embodied in the locational models of Christaller, Von Thünen and Weber for instance) as the key to explaining surface patterns.

2. The disciplinary matrix. This is the shared set of beliefs which define a scientific community, and which lead it to accept a particular paradigm: e.g. the reasons why geographers might form into a large research (and teaching!) group which identifies ‘best-practice’ with ideas of economic laws which define spatial patterns. The idea of the disciplinary matrix is important because it highlights the existence of a sociology of science which permeates the logic/rules/methods/theories we use to do science. This illustrates the link between the internal practice of science, and its external relationships with the outside world - something we are keen to stress in this course.

The idea of the paradigm was popularised by T. S. Kuhn in his 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn identified two phases of scientific activity:

1. ‘Normal science’, in which a paradigm works well, and is widely accepted by the relevant scientific community;

2. ‘Scientific revolutions’, in which paradigm A is abandoned, and paradigm B accepted in its place. Such revolutions occur when a) normal science persistently fails to answer specific problems, and b) some bright spark thinks up an alternative which appears to answer these problems successfully. E.g. the mismatch between the irregular spatial patterns of the real world, and the regular distributions predicted by the economic models of Christaller, Von Thünen, Weber, etc. can be explained, in part, if we abandon the concept of rational, economic man, and accept that people tend to act in peculiar ways: i.e. the paradigm of locational analysis is replaced by the paradigm of behavioural geography.

Kuhn’s model has been widely criticised. Perhaps the most important of these criticisms are:

• Kuhn saw change as the product of an internal sense of dissatisfaction with the existing paradigm. He under-valued the influence external factors exert on the practice of science. E.g. if he were a geographer (which he isn’t!) Kuhn would probably argue that the paradigm of locational analysis fell from favour because the idea of economic man was shown to be wrong. However, others would argue that it fell from favour not just because the idea of economic man was itself wrong, but because what the idea stood for (a world of inequality ‘justified’ by the supposedly ‘natural’ laws of capitalism, in which people were reduced to next-to-nothing) became morally reprehensible in the eyes of a large number of geographers. This returns us to the idea that wider social, political and cultural factors have a huge effect on the way we choose to do science.

• Kuhn thought that only one paradigm exists at any time. He saw the history of science as a succession of dominant ideas. Scientific revolutions within a specific discipline such as geography involve complete rejection of paradigm A, and complete take-up of paradigm B. This model works reasonably well with geography prior to c. 1970, but after this it is impossible to identify a single dominant paradigm. Lots of different ideas co-exist, and different traditions merge and diverge without obvious signs of revolution. This is/was particularly noticeable in human geography, as the later lectures by Hayden and Nick W. will illustrate.

Why is the idea of the paradigm important?

We are not especially concerned with the technicalities of the paradigm debate. We like the idea because:

• It highlights the fact that there is more than one acceptable way to do geography.

• It shows that different schools of thought rise and fall in popularity.

• It argues that the changing fortunes of different schools of thought cannot be explained in simple terms of right and wrong, but reflect changing ideas in the wider world also.

[See also the entries on PARADIGM and SCIENCE… in The Dictionary of Human Geography.]

Lecture 1: Key Reading

Take the opportunity to flick through some of the core textbooks listed above. The sooner you can get to grips with the kind of things we will be talking about, the easier it will be for you. It is important also to try to get a feel for the type of language commonly used in books and articles at this level; we realise this is not easy, but perseverance pays off! Two useful introductory pieces are:

Stoddart, D. R. 1986. Geography and its history. Ch. 1 of On Geography, op. cit., pp. 1-27. (3 off-prints in HD)

Livingstone, D. N. 1992. Should the history of Geography be X-rated? Ch. 1 of The Geographical Tradition, op. cit., pp. 1-31.

Both written in the spirit in which we hope to teach this course - note the cunning strategy whereby we attempt to legitimate our approach by appeal to higher authority! Try not to be put off by the many references to geographers past and present: you will meet many of the key personalities in due course.

Lecture 1: Supplementary Reading

Agnew, J., D. N. Livingstone and A. Rogers. 1996. General Introduction. ALR, op. cit., pp. 1-16.

Johnston, R. J. 1978. Paradigms and revolution or evolution? Observations on human geography since the Second World War. Progress in Human Geography, 2, pp. 189-206. ALR: 2, pp. 37-54.

Harvey, D. 1984. On the history and present conditions of geography: an historical materialist manifesto. Professional Geographer, 3, pp. 1-11. ALR: 5, pp. 95-107.

N.B. ALR = Agnew et al. (1996), op. cit.

The relevance of the introduction to the ALR volume should be clear. Plus papers by two of the most influential post-war British authorities writing on the history of Geography. These provide brief substantive examples of the relationships between academic Geography and wider society, and so provide a useful lead-in to the lectures to follow. Again, do not worry overmuch about the name-dropping tendencies of all these authors.