Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The Geographical Experiment gave geography the chance to
establish itself as a university discipline. The breadth of its terms
of reference was both a strength and a weakness. The strength
was that it included nature and culture and their relationship, a
concept no other discipline had claimed. This breadth remains a
contested topic in modern geography despite the opportunities
it presents of ever-increasing relevance. The weakness is the
spread of interest over such a wide fi eld and an 'anything goes'
mentality. This weakness becomes most apparent when different
parts of the discipline relate to different intellectual traditions.
The touching points then become very few or non-existent. It is
fair to say that most physical geography today is evolving within
the research framework of the natural and mathematical sciences,
whereas most human geography draws upon and interrelates
with the traditions of the humanities and social studies. It is
possible to recognize a defi nite lacuna in which physical and
human geography interact, but for many this is a minority
interest.
Geography is now a well-established university discipline. It is
a common presence in European universities and is also widely
found as both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in
most parts of the world. The International Geographical Union
lists members in 75 different countries including, for example,
27 in Japan, 14 in South Africa, 10 in China, 5 in India, 4 in Peru,
and 1 each in Morocco, the Philippines, Sudan, and Tanzania.
Most departments are found in developed countries. The 2001
research assessment exercise for institutions of higher education
in the United Kingdom recorded entries from 60 institutions
comprising over 450 research-active academics. Current listings
of universities and colleges offering degree schemes in geography
in the United States show 217 institutions, and there are a
further 42 in Canada. The current penchant is for mergers of
geography departments with others into schools with titles such
as Earth, human, or environmental sciences/studies. Many of
these changes are fairly cosmetic, as geographical research and
