On Geographic and geography

New Zealand Geographic is one of a number of geographical magazines published in the English‐speaking world that make little or no reference to work by academic geographers. It recently launched a New Zealand Geographic Trust to promote research into ‘New Zealand's life, culture and sciences’ and collaborated with four other publishers of geographical magazines to raise awareness of climate change: the work of academic geographers is again ignored. This exclusion of academic and school geography from such enterprises raises important issues regarding the discipline's public profile in New Zealand and suggests the need for greater public engagement activity by the country's geographers.     

地理科学的中国进展与国际趋势

中国地理学取得了骄人的进展,表现在科研方向的突破、对国家建设的贡献、研究手段的革新、对科学和教育的贡献、对社会的贡献等方面。但当前中国也存在基础研究薄弱、学科整合不足、学术走向迷茫、竞争能力堪忧、全球视野欠缺、地理教育错位等问题。国际地理学对科学界所确定的关键研究问题表示出更大的关注,科学界也将更加了解地理学及其视角能对科学知识做出的贡献。地理学所关切的科学问题直指今天决策者的紧迫需求。地理学家以多种方式对解决实际问题做出贡献。国际地理学的发展聚焦在：揭示复杂系统中的不平衡和动态,认识全球化 (包括环境、经济、人口、政府和文化等)的潮流及其影响,建立从地方到全球的空间连续系列研究,利用包括时间系列数据在内的纵向数据进行过程比较研究,加强地理学理论、技术和研究成果对决策的影响,加强地理教育,包括努力提高公众的地理学能力,改进高等院校地理学家的训练,提高地理理解力,加强地理组织机构。     

科学地理学的理论基础及其研究内容与学科性质

在科学与技术是不同的知识形态,科学史研究的地理思潮转向,地理学向“软”的一面转向并关注社会,科学史研究的地理思潮倾向于关注“社会→地理→科学”关系的历史解释,地理学家在科学史的地理解释思想上的贡献等理论基础上,拙文主要阐述科学地理学这一新学科在建构“科学—地理—社会”关系体系上的独特性:①建构关注过去的、现在的及未来的“社会→地理→科学”关系;②践行“以任务带动学科”和“任务学科并重”的地理学发展方略,主要建构“科学→地理→社会”关系;③聚焦于科学活动因素的区域性,注重区域相关性分析方法论。基于这种独特性和地理学方法论精髓,科学地理学研究的内容体系包括:①科学研究及其组织与传播的时空结构;②科学研究及其组织与传播的时空结构与地理环境、经济、技术、社会、文化等结构要素的时空结构及其相互关系;③科学研究及其组织与传播对自然景观、社会景观、文化景观等的影响;④科学研究及其组织与传播对“人地关系地域系统”演进的影响。科学地理学的理论基础、建构“科学—地理—社会”关系的独特性和研究内容决定了科学地理学的交叉性、综合性和区域性,这与地理学特征是一致的,促进着现代地理学微观上的“深”化发展和宏观上的“综合”发展。     

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.     

政治地理学研究中“地理”的重要性——兼论中国政治地理学的范式选择和理论建构

在国际形势应对和国内社会治理的需求推动下,目前中国政治地理学的学科发展得到了越来越多的关注,基本形成了外源性研究与内生性研究并行的学科体系。然而与国际关系学、政治经济学、公共管理学等相关学科相比,中国政治地理学研究的影响力仍然有限,相关理论和方法较少被其他学科采纳应用,在国内外地缘战略和社会政策制定中的声音也相对不足。本文一方面直接回应了其他学科对“地理”内涵及其重要性的偏见和误解,另一方面指出了中国政治地理学自身在机理性研究、宏观-微观联系、研究对象整合和理论建构等方面存在的不足。本文还从权力-空间关系出发,明确了政治地理学研究的核心议题,期望有助于整合研究议题、凝聚研究共识、推动知识积累,从而增强政治地理学科的理论生产能力及其在更广泛学科体系中的影响力。     

“GEOGRAPHY IS TWINNED WITH DIVINITY”: THE LAUDIAN GEOGRAPHY OF PETER HEYLYN

ABSTRACT. This critical history of geography looks to the political concepts that historical actors held and analyzes the incorporation of these concepts into geography. Peter Heylyn, who politicized his geographical books Microcosmus (1621) and, still more, Cosmographie (1657), followed William Laud's characteristic brand of High Church Anglicanism, avowedly hostile both to Roman Catholicism and to Calvinist forms of Protestantism, while upholding an ideal of the Church of England as both independent and apostolic. Further, Laudians were stalwart defendants of monarchy as a divine institution. This Laudian vision of church and state informed Heylyn's geographical works, which goes against a received wisdom that they are divorced from his polemical historical, political, and theological tracts. We thus recover the politics of early modern geography as contemporaries might have understood them.     

地理学的政治

中国地理学的发展当前正处于十字路口,面临诸多方向的选择。如外生地理学和内生地理学的分化,实用主义和科学主义的混行,系统地理学和区域地理学的脱节,经济地理学和人文地理学的互为归属。这些问题悬而不决使地理学的向心力逐渐弱化,地理学者不得不面对诸多学科发展方向上的困扰,以及对学科规范和学术认同上的困惑。笔者以为,此时“搁置争议”并不是办法。为了学科的长远发展,中国的地理学家和地理学会必须做出一些选择。坚持一元还是认同分化,这即是地理学的政治。     

Geography’s “World view”: The ontological issues of geography

Contemporary science philosophy suggests that discussing ontological problems is of fundamental significance broadly within certain specific disciplines. Natural and social science research are inseparable from philosophical guidance; for instance, the philosophy of geography is the ideological basis for geography. The traditional philosophy of geography is methodology-oriented, which primarily emphasizes the “logical structure of geography explanations,” and ignores the discussion of its ontology. This study, in the context of the philosophy of science, explores the relationships between methodology, ontology, and the philosophy of geography, defines the connotations of geographical ontology, analyzes the links and differences between philosophical ontology and scientific ontology of geography, clarifies the nature of geographical ontology, and summaries its theoretical values. The ontology of geography incorporates the philosophically ontological beliefs of geographers and geographical schools and the ontological commitment of the theory of geography. As different geographers hold different philosophical viewpoints, their ontological beliefs are different; one geographical theory asserts an ontological commitment of “what is there,” which determines the nature and types of objectives the theory references. The ontological beliefs of geographers determine their epistemology, methodology, and axiology, and the ontological commitment of a geographical theory is the premise and basis of that theory.     

地理学本体论——内涵、性质与理论价值（英文）

Contemporary science philosophy suggests that discussing ontological problems is of fundamental significance broadly within certain specific disciplines. Natural and social science research are inseparable from philosophical guidance; for instance, the philosophy of geography is the ideological basis for geography. The traditional philosophy of geography is methodology-oriented, which primarily emphasizes the "logical structure of geography explanations," and ignores the discussion of its ontology. This study, in the context of the philosophy of science, explores the relationships between methodology, ontology, and the philosophy of geography, defines the connotations of geographical ontology, analyzes the links and differences between philosophical ontology and scientific ontology of geography, clarifies the nature of geographical ontology, and summaries its theoretical values. The ontology of geography incorporates the philosophically ontological beliefs of geographers and geographical schools and the ontological commitment of the theory of geography. As different geographers hold different philosophical viewpoints, their ontological beliefs are different; one geographical theory asserts an ontological commitment of "what is there," which determines the nature and types of objectives the theory references. The ontological beliefs of geographers determine their epistemology, methodology, and axiology, and the ontological commitment of a geographical theory is the premise and basis of that theory.     

Framework for probabilistic geospatial ontologies

Partial knowledge about geospatial categories is important for practical use of ontologies in the geospatial domain. Degree of overlaps between geospatial categories, especially those based on geospatial actions concepts and geospatial enitity concepts, need to be specified in ontologies. Conventional geospatial ontologies do not enable specification of such information, and this presents difficulties in ontology reasoning for practical purposes. We present a framework to encode probabilistic information in geospatial ontologies based on the BayesOWL approach. The approach enables rich inferences such as most similar concepts within and across ontologies. This paper presents two case studies of using road‐network ontologies to demonstrate the framework for probabilistic geospatial ontologies. Besides inferences within the probabilistic ontologies, we discuss inferences about most similar concepts across ontologies based on the assumption that geospatial action concepts are invariable. The results of such machine‐based mappings of most similar concepts are verified with mappings of concepts extracted from human subjects testing. The practical uses of probabilistic geospatial ontologies for concept matching and measuring naming heterogeneities between two ontologies are discussed. Based on our experiments, we propose such a framework for probabilistic geospatial ontologies as an advancement of the proposal to develop semantic reference systems.     

The Fundamental and the Incidental in Geography

Abstract

An increased use of artistic literature as a resource in both teaching and research is evident in geography. With the growing interest of some scholars in the behavioral aspects of geography, traditional resources are being supplemented with more humanistic, subjective information sources. In historical geography, for example, literature is a particularly suitable resource for studies of man's role in past geographies and of human perception of past environments.¹ Specialists in regional geography and area studies also have shown a growing appreciation of such sources.² A parallel and related development has occurred in geographic education. In many different courses, but particularly in those dealing with regions, literature has become a recommended resource. The purposes of this paper are (1) to review the relevance of the novel as a resource for geographers and (2) to suggest that a current novel, Centennial, by James A. Michener,³ particularly warrants consideration for use in courses on the historical geography of the United States.     

The Future of Radical Geography∗

Radical geography has posed new, and refashioned many old, geographical problems. These problems require attention irrespective of one's political leanings. Yet radical geography has been consistently ignored by mainstream geographers since its inception. This essay examines the reasons for this situation, and finds four answers in Peet's recent review of the history of radical geography [1]. It seems likely that radical geography will continue to receive a cold shoulder unless its future exponents take pains to counter this trend. Six conditions are required to ensure progress, including effective communication in established journals, methodological heterodoxy, and a systematic, discipline-wide evaluation of the contribution of radical geography.     

A Folk Guide to Geography as a Holistic Science

Abstract

This article defines geography as a holistic science that seeks to explain variations in the human-environment relationship over the earth's surface. By critically evaluating the ontological, epistemological, and methodological commitments of geography, an attempt is made to bridge the gap between the specialized, professional discussion of geography and practical pedagogical needs. The central argument is threefold. First, by combining natural and social science, the geographical perspective is crucial as a means to explain, and to help solve, real world problems. Second, such a multidimensional science demands a holistic approach. Finally, if this message is to be heard, geographers will need to put more effort into translating their professional discourse into that of nongeographers. The key is to change the prevailing “folk model” of geography held by nongeographers as a means to render the geographic project more intellectually coherent and institutionally legitimate.     

THE LEGENDARY “REDISCOVERY” OF GEORGE PERKINS MARSH

The conventional narrative regarding the American reception of George Perkins Marsh, author of Man and Nature (1864), is that his work and ideas were “lost,”“forgotten,” or “neglected” until Lewis Mumford “rediscovered” him and introduced him to geographers at the University of California‐Berkeley through The Brown Decades (Mumford [1931] 1955) and until Carl Sauer made him known to the profession at large beginning in 1938. This article upends the conventional narrative by looking at earlier references to Marsh's later versions of Man and Nature, which were published as The Earth as Modified by Human Action from 1874 to 1907. Analysis reveals that a number of geographers and historians cited these editions between 1875 and the early 1950s. Examining the legend of loss and rediscovery suggests the value of methods utilized in reception studies for research on the history of geography.     

地理学本体论：内涵、性质与理论价值

科学哲学研究表明,本体论问题的探讨对于具体学科的科学哲学研究和理论研究都具有重要意义。本文界定了地理学本体论的内涵,讨论了地理学方法论、本体论和地理学哲学的关系,比较和分析了哲学本体论与地理学本体论之间的联系和区别,阐述了地理学本体论的性质,概括了地理学本体论的理论价值。地理学本体论包括两个层面：地理学家和地理学流派的哲学本体论观念、地理学理论的本体论承诺,地理学家的本体论影响和决定着地理学家的认识论、方法论和价值论选择,而某个地理学理论的本体论承诺则是该理论得以成立的前提和基础。     

论现代地理学对象、内容、结构和基本方法

本文从地理学对象及其性质的讨论出发,详细阐述了地理学内容、结构和它的基本方法。     

Doing art and doing cultural geography: The fieldwork/field walking project1

With accompanying examples of initial visual experimentation from the fieldwork/field walking PhD project, the paper outlines some of the challenges of being an artist and using systems of understanding from science, the new ethnography, and cultural geography as a framework for making contemporary art. The PhD project is in its preliminary stages and is designed to explore the area of walking and fieldwork in art, and as art. Some of the challenges are the ambiguous role of the artist as scientist, ethnographer and researcher, the role of reflexivity in art practice; and the pitfalls of 'academic art'. While cultural geographers have used artworks as texts to explain places, this project endeavours to work with issues of place, landscapes, power, identity and representation in the art, to feed back into this dialogue. The bulk of the project will take place in the Kimberley region of Western Australia where the concepts of wilderness and wildness are most relevant. The research question posed by the fieldwork/field walking project is: within the discourse between art and science what is the connection between fieldwork and walking in the field?     

Think globally and act locally: Voices of Chinese human geographers in the international arena

With the help of the mapping software Citespace and based on analysis of international human geographers’ journal outputs in terms of countries of residence, institutions, journals and key topics, this article demonstrates Chinese scholars’ contributions to both top and regional journals in the field. The analysis shows that Anglophone geographers have been leading the development of human geography. It also demonstrates that human geographers have taken a more micro and dynamic perspective to explain environmental and social phenomena, rather than a macro and narrative approach. Scholars tend to focus more on daily life, with research topics such as home, food, body and other micro-material matters. The analysis further finds that emotional geography, geography of embodiment, food geography as well as non-representational theory have drawn increasing attention from researchers. People's perceptions of nature have been constructed through the development and negotiation of social relations. As China becomes more visible internationally in the context of a highly globalized and mobile world, increasing numbers of Chinese geographers have become involved in research on human geography. Some representative scholars and institutions, especially those based in Hong Kong, act as academic leaders by articulating their own voices to tell the unique Chinese story internationally through the publication of their research.     

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.     

HUMANISTIC GEOGRAPHY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF MARTIN BUBER'S PHILOSOPHY*

Humanistic geography represents a duality of reason and feeling, science and ethics. As a scientific approach, it is concerned with uncovering the truth regarding people's experiential relationship with place. It does not regard the phenomena under consideration as merely an object of research, rather it bears an ethical message of concern for those objects, be they human beings, nature or place. This study expands on the ethical dimension conveyed by humanistic geography via Buber's work, trying to show that his dialogical philosophy and humanism is a logical extension of this message. I seek to convey an action-oriented frame of reference for geographers that may lead to a shift from passive reflection about people and place, to an active role in making Buber's “perfect space’ possible.