Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
inappropriate to simply decry previous paradigms as redundant and analytically bankrupt:
within tourism and recreation geography, the early studies established many of the central
tenets and building blocks of the subdiscipline and, in fact, lay much of the intellectual
foundation for current interests in themes such as mobility, the body, performity and
place (Hall 2005a). Indeed, as Livingstone (1992) commented,
Fragmentation of knowledge, social differentiation, and the questioning of
scientific rationality have all coalesced to reaffirm the importance of the
particular, the specific, the local. And in this social and cognitive
environment a geography stressing the salience of place is seen as having
great potential.
(Livingstone 1992:358)
The importance of place and the application of geographical knowledge is reflected in the
richness of the literature reviewed throughout the topic, and the value it has added to
spatial analysis of tourism. The discontinuities between positivism, humanism, critical
social theory and Marxism may enrich a geographical awareness of how to interpret the
real world, but it does not produce a skill set among graduates which can broadly be
termed spatial analysis. Indeed the emergence of GIS as the new 'saviour' of the
discipline, in terms of relevance, practical application and as a recruiter of students in the
information age (see Forer 1999) certainly gave the discipline a new lease of life at the
end of the twentieth century. The effect has also been to create a new specialisation that
is not a core element of the discipline, since it is the 'applied' domain and not the
theoretically derived core of the purists.
These constant revolutions in geographical knowledge and thinking pose a central
question for the student of tourism and recreation. What is the role of the geographer? Is
there a role? How is that role mediated, nurtured and negotiated within the discipline,
outside the discipline and how does the geographer engage political influence to ensure
the profile, relevance and continued survival of the subject? One way of engaging in this
debate is through introspection and reflexivity—or through a refocusing of attention on
the possible contribution which specific approaches to geography may make to problem-
solving (i.e. the applied perspective).
These questions and issues are a useful starting point, to assess the role of the
geographer beyond the synthesising role and integrating ability to harmonise a wide
range of social science perspectives. R.Bennett (1985) warned of the dangers of such an
approach since it may contribute to a loss of identity among geographical contributions,
as other disciplines and their methodologies overtake the spatial focus. What is clear is
that the quest for relevance, understanding and explanation cannot solely be achieved
from the logical positivist approach to research. It can be as blind as it is revealing: it can
obscure understanding and explanation—it is only a partial focus on a problem and its
solution. Thus, the non-positivist or humanist perspective needs to be used as a
counterweight to expand, develop, question and reinterpret the positivist paradigm. In this
context, Powell (1985) re-examined the four main concerns of the geographer which
remain as relevant two decades later. These are:
•
Space:
what is the human meaning and experience of space?
