CHANGING EXPECTATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS: AMERICAN WOMEN GEOGRAPHERS IN THE 1970S

ABSTRACT. In 1973 Wilbur Zelinsky lamented and documented the low representation of women in American academic geography. His attention reflected the climate of the times—the challenges of the women's movement, affirmative action, and feminist activism in the professions. Drawing on archives and personal narratives, this article addresses the paradoxes and politics of women's place in American academic geography in the 1970s. As increasing numbers developed new aspirations for graduate education and professional work, stereotyping, discrimination, the lack of mentoring, and the challenges of a job market whose peak had passed presented difficulties. Yet persistence, resistance, and feminist political activism worked to advance women's professional standing and visibility, especially at the national level within the Association of American Geographers and in the development of new research and teaching on the geography of women.     

ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT'S IMAGE AND INFLUENCE IN NORTH AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY, 1804–2004

ABSTRACT. Alexander von Humboldt is universally identified as a key figure in laying the foundations for modern geography. His main sites of research and scholarly production were centered on Europe, Latin America, and Russia. He drew on global sources of geographical data and knowledge in constructing and producing his voluminous works. Although he only briefly knew North America firsthand—at the outset of his career, in the late spring of 1804—he maintained a lifelong interest in the realm, especially in the United States. In turn, many North American scholars were admirers and followers of his perspectives, practices, and publications. Although geography did not emerge as an institutionally based discipline in the United States until the late nineteenth century, Humboldt's influence and impact on its antecedents were considerable. Contrary to conventional wisdom, his authority and influence in geography persisted well beyond Humboldt's death in 1859. His vision of demonstrating nature's unity in diversity and his enlightened views on social issues have continued to appeal to select sectors and actors in North American geography, especially Latin Americanists, historians of the discipline, and, more recently, proponents of an engaged, critical geography.     

“THE FARTHER REACHES OF HUMAN TIME”: RETROSPECT ON CARL SAUER AS PREHISTORIAN*

ABSTRACT. Carl Ortwin Sauer (1889–1975) is widely regarded as one of the most influential geographers of the twentieth century, admired particularly for his studies in cultural and historical geography. His contribution to the study of prehistory is less widely acknowledged, but, between 1944 and 1962, he published a series of speculative yet scholarly papers that contain many prescient insights into humanity's remote past and the relationships of our ancestors to the environments they occupied—and modified. In this essay, based on the Carl O. Sauer Memorial Lecture given at the University of California, Berkeley, in October 2001, I reflect on Sauer's contribution to the science of prehistory by examining, in the light of recent advances in knowledge, two major themes of Sauer's work: the early dispersal of Homo sapiens in the Old World, and the origins and prehistoric spread of agriculture.     

Cultural Geography: A Survey of Perceptions Held by Cultural Geography Specialty Group Members*

As of the year 2000, the Cultural Geography Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers had 465 members and ranked fourth overall in total membership within the association. Furthermore, cultural geographers had the second fastest growing specialty group between 1993 and 1998, after the Geographic Perspectives on Women specialty group. In spite of this demonstrated overwhelming appeal among geographers, to date, no one has systematically analyzed the subdiscipline of cultural geography to determine such things as its links to other aspects of the discipline, its major scholarly contributions, its most highly regarded publication outlets, its notable practitioners, and its most recognized departments. As the ranks of cultural geographers have swelled, the subdiscipline has become multifaceted. This article contextualizes and interprets the results of a survey sent to members of the 1998–1999 Cultural Geography Specialty Group. Outcomes include Louisiana State University and the University of Texas at Austin listed as offering the strongest cultural geography departments, Wilbur Zelinsky being deemed the subfield's most outstanding living practitioner, and the Annals of the Association of American Geographers named the journal that best meets cultural geographers’ needs.     

Unpopular Archives

This article explores the “unpopular” archived life of Charles P. Daly, thirty-five-year president (1864–1899) of the New York–based American Geographical Society. This one-time highly prominent judge and civic leader popularized geography among professionals and the public alike. Daly's popular geography, along with his subsequent containment within the archives, suggests explanations for his dismissal among geographical audiences of today. It is a useful and necessary exercise to trace the neglect of Daly within histories of geography and recapture him for today's audiences, not only because of his influence on post–Civil War American geography but also because his story can shed light on how “disciplinary remembering” functions in geography.     

The Legacy of Jedidiah Morse in Early American Geography Education: Forgotten and/or Forgettable Geographer?

Despite numerous and significant writings by historians of geography and biographers from other disciplines, and his authorship of the first geography textbooks written in and for the new American republic, most geographers are largely unaware of the contributions of Jedidiah Morse in academic geography. Writings about Morse suggest that he had alienated himself from many of his contemporaries early in his career through his authoritarian brand of Calvinistic republicanism, a perceived contradiction of that style with his entrepreneurial ambitions, his role in the controversial Bavarian Illuminati, and a dispute with a noted New England historian. But subsequent, broader intellectual movements sealed Morse's fate as a forgotten geographer (to most), including the end of the Second Great Awakening, Transcendentalism, Darwinism, and the “new,” process‐based geographical thinking inspired by Carl Ritter, Alexander von Humboldt, and Arnold Guyot. Regardless of the reasons for Morse's lost legacy, his contributions to geographical education are important and should be remembered.     

Prelude to Brazil: Leo Waibel's American Career as a Displaced Scholar

Beyond Germany, Leo Waibel (1888–1951) built a distinguished reputation for his work in Africa and the Americas. Today he is remembered especially in Brazil, where he boosted the development of geography as a research discipline in the years 1946–1950. During his tenure of the chair in geography at Bonn (1929–1937), Waibel's main research preoccupation became the role of the tropics in the world economy. In early 1937, he sought research leave to make an extended field trip to Brazil. Stripped on political grounds in the same year of his chair, Waibel came to the United States, where he became the only geographer to receive help from the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars. He would eventually serve as one of the very limited core staff on President Franklin Roosevelt's “M” Project on migration and settlement. This paper reconstructs the context of his work in the United States, clarifying especially the nature of his collaborations with Isaiah Bowman, widely regarded at the time as the leading geographer within the United States. Waibel's correspondence from the United States, and later from Brazil, reveals an international career marked by contradictions.     

INSPIRATIONS FROM THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW: JEAN GOTTMANN'S “WHY THE SKYSCRAPER?”

Editors' note: Larry lost his battle against pancreatic cancer in September 2009. When we invited him, some months before his death, to prepare this essay he eagerly agreed, despite his worsening health. We acknowledge with gratitude his longtime service as a member of the Geographical Review Editorial Board, as a Councilor of the American Geographical Society, and as a professor of geography at San Diego State University. In many ways he was himself an inspiration.     

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOCIETIES

SUMMARY

The greatest deficiency in American geography is substantive research leading to scholarly publication. By comparison, teaching much more adequately developed so that the need for improvement there is not so urgent. I am convinced however that a majority American geographers respect scholarship and are eager to see improved in quantity and quality.

One of the chief obstacles to the initiation of active research programs by many geographers is a poor development of a sense of problem.

An important stimulation to the development of personal research programs would be the organization of geographical meetings of relatively small size in which active rsesearch workers reported on their progress and findings. Emphasis could be on exchange of ideas, debating of controversial issues and the development of research programs rather than upon the reading of formal papers. Instructors in small colleges and high schools could be inspired to undertake local research problems so that they become expert on heir local areas. This was characteristic of such teachers in Japan.

Our national professional organization, including i t s annual meetings, has become so large that such a n intimate program involving ritical discussion is difficult to attain.

Up to the present time the regional divisions have not developed a consistently distinctive and important function in the national organization. Their usefulness is not comonensurate with the degree of representation which they at present have on the Council of the AAG.

It is my hope that the regional divisions may see fit to undertake this function of stimulating personal and group research as t heir main function and plan their annual meetings accordingly. I do not propose to blueprint these meetings too precisely, but I will go so far as to say that in my judgment they should be occasions for mental stretching. They shoufd be pitched at a high level so that they will attract mature minds and seriousscholars. The total effect of such meetings should be to toughen intellectually those in attendance through providing opportunities for professional debate and discussion. I would make every effort to encourage participation in these programs by both youngsters and old sters, by alert high school teachers and those in college and university faculties so that the lifting effects of the regional meetings would be felt throughout all ranks and ages. I would favor the development of field excursions provided they are planned with genuine professional values in mind; values not limited to observation alone but focused so as to stimulate controversy and healthy debate.     

Using Herman Melville's Moby-Dick to Explore Geographic Themes

Abstract

The classic American novel, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, can be used in geography and English classes at the high school and college levels to explore five themes that have a geographic component or are of interest to geography students: (1) the journey, (2) human/ environment interactions, (3) social relationships in space, (4) acquiring knowledge, and (5) ambiguities and their resolution. Included are detailed discussions of the themes with specific references to critical literature and passages in the novel, suggestions for background reading, and suggestions for classroom discussions and assignments.     

THOMAS JEFFERSON,AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS,AND THE USES OF GEOGRAPHY*

ABSTRACT. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) had a lifelong interest in geography. Except for his role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition and a few references to his Notes on the State of Virginia, however, geographers have taken a relatively slight interest in this aspect of his thought, despite his having sometimes been referred to as “one of the greatest American geographers.” This essay suggests that we need to reexamine Jefferson as a geographical thinker. Reviewing some of the more important literature thus far, it suggests where such topics may profitably be extended and points to some aspects of his geographical interests not yet incorporated into the geographical literature.     

地理环境结构的创新研究及其科学价值——纪念李春芬先生百年诞辰

李春芬(1912～1996)是我国著名的老一代地理学家,从事地理学研究和教学近60年,为我国地理学尤其是区域地理学的发展作出了重大贡献。其学术思想的最精辟之处,是关于地理环境结构的整体性和差异性、"共性"与"个性"的科学论述,并成功地将其应用于相关研究和教学工作。本文论述了李春芬学术思想的形成背景、基本内容、科学价值及现实意义。李春芬的学术思想和创新见解,对于深化资源环境规划与管理、区域可持续发展等研究与实践有重要的现实指导意义,并对拓展和深化地理学的人地关系研究有重要推动作用。     

Assessing the Value of Scholarly Book Reviews among Geographers

According to the latest data available, in 2013 a staggering 68,000 scholarly books reached print in North America alone. Book reviews have long served as an important tool to keep tabs on the content and quality of all of those books. In decades past, perusing book reviews was essential in conducting a literature review and a tool for authors to demonstrate the impact that their book has on a field of study. Most important, though, book reviews play a vital role in academic advancement by calling attention to books that successfully add to new knowledge and warn against books with defects and deficiencies. Despite their overwhelming importance, no one has systematically analyzed the value of scholarly book reviews. Moreover, in our current age of the Internet, e-mail, and social media, it is important to know the worth of book reviews. Drawing on the results of a 2018 survey sent to select members of the American Association of Geographers, this article assesses the value of scholarly book reviews among geographers. It answers these questions: Who writes and reads book reviews? What are the characteristics of a useful book review? Is writing a book review considered a valued scholarly activity? Does writing book reviews help advance a person’s career? Because geography is a microcosm of academia, this study has applicability across the social sciences and humanities. Do scholarly book reviews still matter? Key Words: human geography, monographs, promotion and tenure, scholarly book reviews.     

Tropicality,the unruly Atlantic and social utopias: the French explorer Henri Coudreau (1859 − 1899)

This paper addresses the works of Henri Coudreau, a little‐known French explorer of Guiana and Amazonia who was later forgotten by the ‘heroic’ histories of exploration because of his unruliness and nonconformist attitudes. Drawing on the literature of postcolonialism and tropicality as well as on recent studies of anti‐colonialist geographies, I address for the first time Coudreau's geography from the perspective of anarchist and critical thinking. My main argument is that Coudreau's work is a further example of the complexity and heterogeneity of the European intellectual field during the imperial age. Despite having come of age intellectually among all the European racist and ethnocentric prejudices of his day, Coudreau developed a different outlook thanks to two factors, viz., his personal experience in living for years with the indigenous communities of Amazonia, and his exposure to anarchist anti‐colonialist ideas through his collaboration with Elisée Reclus. Coudreau's tropical utopia of an independent Amazonia, and his endorsement of the stateless nature of local communities, ran counter to French imperial politics, occasioning Coudreau's dismissal from the French administration and his professional exile in Brazil at the time of the Franco‐Brazilian border dispute (1897?1900).     

Pow Choon-Piew's contributions to urban China studies

This commentary serves as a tribute to the late Pow, a remarkable scholar in urban geography and urban studies, summarizing his contributions to urban China studies. It aims to showcase the way in which Pow's work manoeuvred adroitly with an implicit comparative gesture—building a bridge between situated Chinese cases and wider theoretical debates in urban studies in order to enrich both domains. The essay then summarizes Pow's work in the field of urban China studies by focusing on two most emblematic topics that he delved into in great depth, i.e., gated communities and eco-city developments. The final section develops a brief quantitative analysis of the impact that Pow's work has generated. Using the software packages CiteSpace and HistCite, I unpack how his publications are cited and used by scholars, journals, and different areas of research.     

Grappling with Geography's Existential Dilemma: The Legacy of William Torrey Harris

Geography's existence as a school or college subject has never been a given. While geographers make cases for geography's importance, acceptance of those cases rests not on impassioned rhetoric but on the social and intellectual contexts into which disciplines fit. Contexts are contested and they change. From a seemingly secure position at the beginning of the twentieth century, geography's role in American schools has been eroded and diminished by corrosive forces. Geographers need convincing answers to the existential question lest the subject disappear entirely. Geography's enviable position was in large measure the work of William Torrey Harris. Harris made a compelling existential case for geography and his vision, its implementation, its rejection, and its fate offer a model from which geographers can learn. Understanding how to respond to a social and intellectual context is crucial to geography's future.     

吴传钧院士对发展中国农业地理学的贡献

吴传钧先生是杰出的地理学家、地理教育家。他热衷于农业地理学研究,是中国现代农业地理学的带头人。在70多年的科学研究与教育生涯中,农业地理学既是先生科学研究的起点,也是他科研工作的重点。先生在农业地理学领域的研究工作及其贡献可简要归纳为3个方面:①缘于深厚的农业地理情结,率先开展农业资源调查、农业区划的理论与方法探索;②结合国家重大项目研究,精心组织和深入开展农业地理学理论的系统研究与总结;③基于人地关系地域系统理论,率先研究提出中国不同类型区域的农业与农村发展问题、机制和方向。这些开创性的学术研究及成就,为建立具有中国特色的现代农业地理学理论与方法体系做出了重要贡献。     

"超级机制"与文化地理学研究

超级机制或超机体概念是人类学家提出的概念,后被美国伯克莱地理学派引入到文化地理学研究中。尽管该概念自引入之初起,就伴随着学术讨论,但是它在上个世纪的英美地理学中有着重要的影响。新文化地理学与传统文化地理学的分歧之一也在此概念上。本文列举了在美国和中国文化地理学研究中,超级机制的适用性和局限性,并探讨了超级机制指导下,文化地理学的研究方法在何种情况下是因果分析,何种情况下是非因果分析。进而指出,超级机制概念在分析宏观区域文化一致性上具有解释性,在分析微观尺度区域内的人地关系上也具有一定适用性。新超级机制理论在学术界的讨论过程中提出了一些修正,在分析社会文化时超级机制不适用。     

“A Royal Geographical Society for Ladies”: The Lyceum Club and Women's Geographical Frontiers in Edwardian London

This article reconstructs the history, organization, and campaigning function of the Geographical Circle of the Lyceum Club—a membership group that, under the leadership of Bessie Pullen-Burry (1858–1937), sought to promote and legitimize women's geographical work in early twentieth-century Britain. Through an examination of archival material and contemporary press coverage, I document the Geographical Circle's efforts to establish itself as a professional body for women geographers and to lobby for their admission to the Royal Geographical Society. Although considerable scholarly attention has been paid to women geographers’ individual contributions to the discipline, their cooperative, professionalizing endeavors have been comparatively neglected. In tracing the parallel history of the Circle as an example of women's self-organization, and of Pullen-Burry as an independent campaigner, I argue that a nuanced account of women's professionalization in geography demands attention to both individual and collective endeavors.     

Seedbed of Reform: Arnold Guyot and School Geography in Massachusetts, 1849–1855

Abstract

Swiss-born Arnold Henri Guyot (1807–1884) was the first professionally trained geographer to hold an academic position in the United States. After his migration to this country in 1848 he lived for several years in Massachusetts. During this period he introduced contemporary German-Swiss ideas of geography to key opinion leaders in an important series of lectures (published as Earth and Man), established a system of weather stations, and lectured on methods of teaching geography in Massachusetts teachers' institutes and normal schools. This article discusses Guyot's work in the reform of school geography in Massachusetts as the seedbed for his later, better-known work as the author of innovative textbooks and other teaching aids.