Withered Geography

This commentary is a response to an article by Jay R. Harman in the November 2003 issue of The Professional Geographer. I argue that Harman's claim that scholarly disciplines offer social “returns” in a competitive “market” obscures the fundamentally political nature of how social resources are allocated and how social needs are defined. Harman would have us subordinate scholarly research to agendas set elsewhere, by politicians and other powerful interests, but I argue that such a vision would turn geographers into mere technicians. A healthier role for the discipline is for geographers to seek ways of asserting intellectual leadership and of shaping social agendas along more humane and socially just lines.     

Towards a method for postcolonial development geography? Possibilities and challenges

In this paper we explore the contours of a 'method' for postcolonial development geography, which makes it possible to imagine another 'world-picturing'. We suggest three steps towards such a method. First, we propose that a postcolonial method involves thinking about why we are doing research in the south in the first place; how we come to and produce our questions; and how we analyze and represent our findings based on our subject positionings. Second, that we need to recognize theorization as an inherent part of method, rethink how we currently theorize and reconfigure our methods of theorization to address wider political aims. Problematizing theorization helps challenge the universalism of Eurocentric theories, thus enabling development geography to move towards more decolonized versions and visions. Finally, that this must be accompanied by firmer recognition of our multiple investments – personal, institutional and geopolitical – and how they frame the possibilities for change. These are some possible steps that we think can reconfigure the 'scholarly track' that postcolonial development geographers traverse.     

Academic publishing as 'creative' industry, and recent discourses of 'creative economies': some critical reflections

This paper continues recent discussions on the (geo)politics of the production of academic knowledges, in relation to the recent rise of narratives of 'the creative economy'. Creativity and the 'creative industries' are increasingly common components of urban economic development discourse, especially following the release of a set of key books – most notably Charles Landry's The Creative City (2000), and Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class (2002) – that have become popular among economic development planners and cultural policy makers. This paper focuses on the traffic of these books, and their authors, beyond the Anglo-American core. It also briefly discusses policy discourses interpreted from these texts. It is principally, though, a critique of the ways in which academic knowledges circulate, stemming from theorization of academics as creative producers, and of knowledge production as part of the creative economy. The article seeks to critique the means by which particular northern economic knowledges become normative, framed as universal and 'global', and are distributed and absorbed via intellectual 'scenes' and an academic 'celebrity' circuit.     

Why Edit a Journal? Academic Irony and Paradox

Although journal editing is central to scholarly enterprise, helping to maintain academic standards and shape disciplines, it is frequently discouraged within the academic assemblages that depend on it. Following recent contributions by geographers to discussions on academic service such as book editing and reviewing, this article explores some ironies and paradoxes of journal editing. It first discusses the challenges of journal editing as well as its problematic place in “academic capitalism.” It then examines professional and personal rewards of journal editing. Despite strong disincentives, journal editing offers valuable opportunities for self-development and deepening professional networks, as well as for refining the discipline.     

褚亚平先生的学术思想与主要贡献

褚亚平先生是中国著名的地理教育学家和地名学家.他长期从事地理教育研究与实践,完善了中学地理教学法学科体系,创造性的提出地理教材"三系统"理论,提出以学生为本,促进学生全面发展与深入教学研究,培养高质量师资队伍并行的地理教育理论,他对地理教育的研究成果推动了中国地理教育学的发展.他重视地名研究与管理人才培养,撰写专著力图构建地名学的基础理论,并对新时期地名管理,地名规划,地名商品化等问题提出自己的看法.     

Engaging in the boycott,divestment, and sanctions (bds) debate

The goal of this forum is to garner attention to the issues surrounding the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, to help a broad audience better understand the complexity of BDS, and to engage geographers in the BDS debate. Including the editorial introduction, seven different experts on the issues of Palestine/ Israel have written six essays on BDS for this forum. The six essays represent a wide range of opinions while also echoing some similar themes.     

奉献农业 发展学科——对黄秉维院士农业研究工作的认识

简述了黄秉维院士的农业研究工作的光辉历程,分析了黄秉维农业研究工作的特色,强调学习黄秉维的精神.     

中国赏石文化内涵之探讨

本文通过对中国赏石文化的历史、理念、人文、艺术和学术的探讨,试图从中发掘中国赏石文化的内涵,把古代＂瘦漏透皱＂和现代＂形质纹色＂的相石标准,提升到＂道魂气韵＂的赏石意境。     

知识经济条件下的高校图书馆文献信息服务

知识经济时代文献信息资源是知识创新的源泉，信息服务业成为知识经济的先导产业。以高校高科技产业为例，说明了高校图书馆要立足于知识经济社会，只有拓宽文献信息服务的内容，同时为教学、科研服务，发展高科技产业。并对知识经济时代的高校图书馆文献信息服务提出了一些建议。     

基于人地关系的旅游地理学理论透视与学术创新

针对旅游地理学理论研究比较薄弱和研究内容相对泛化的现状,提出将旅游人地关系作为旅游地理学研究的核心,阐述了旅游人地关系的理论内涵,认为旅游地理学是研究地球表层人类旅游活动与地理环境关系并服务于人类生活和社会经济发展的一门科学,其研究对象是"旅游地域系统"。基于人地关系的理论视角,按照旅游地理学理论体系化和科学化的发展要求,充分考虑旅游地理学旅游性、区域性、综合性和应用性的学科属性,初步构建了以旅游活动系统和地理环境系统为基础,以人地关系理论为核心,融合相关学科理论的旅游地理学理论框架。论文还梳理了旅游地理学的基本研究内容、主要科学问题和重要研究方法,强调应大力倡导地理学科学精神,改变低水平应用导向和过于偏重技术导向的研究现状,切实运用旅游地理学研究和解决国家与地方旅游发展中的重要现实问题,并在此基础上强化理论导向的思想型研究,将深刻揭示旅游人地关系地域系统的基本特征、功能结构、时空演化、基本规律、动力机制和调控途径作为旅游地理学研究的重点,通过学科特色创新、研究范式创新、理论成果创新、研究方法创新和应用价值创新,推动旅游地理学理论研究的深化、学术水平的提高和学科体系的完善,促进现代旅游地理学的本土化和中国旅游地理研究的国际化。