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Analyse, compare and contrast the definition and practice of geography as a mode of inquiry in three essays.

Geography is an incredibly broad subject, covering both arts and science for over the past two millennia. In that time people s conception of Geography has changed massively, however there has always been much debate about the purpose and definition of the subject. Literally translated the word Geography means to make marks (or write about) the Earth. Ptolemy, sums this up in one of the first recorded writings on Geography, circa 150AD, he stated Geography is an imitation through drawing of the entire known world, together with the things that are, broadly speaking, connected with it. The essence of Geography is to show the known world as a continuous entity, its nature and how it is situated, taking account only of things that are associated with it in its broader, general outlines (such as gulfs, great cities, the more notable peoples and rivers) 1. Two things can be taken form this passage; firstly he describes the entire known world ; knowing that at this stage only a small proportion of the globe had been discovered and so at this stage he left blanks to be filled in the future. One other detail that can be taken out of this passage is that at this time there is no distinction between Human and Physical Geography, as seen today. The splitting of Geography into separate topics is the subject of much debate in the three essays that I have chosen to study. The first essay is by Halford Mackinder, written in 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography. The second essay I have chosen is by David Stoddart, written in 1987, To Claim the High Ground . The third and final essay that I have chosen is by Ken Gregory, written in 2002, Restructuring Physical Geography. As you can see Mackinder s essay was written over 100 years before the other two. Both Stoddart s and Gregory s are written in what would be considered recent times. Mackinder on the other hand wrote his when the final discoveries were being made around the Globe. This was the end of an era of exploration, when Geography was thought of very different to how it is now. The closing if the world took place in the latter part of the 19 th century. The discovery of the source of the Nile (Lake Victoria) by John Hanning Speke in 1958 was one major breakthrough in the age of exploration. 2 For centuries Geographers had been befuddled by how such a massive river could flow through such arid, water devoid, desert plains in Africa, but the discovery of the 68 800 km2lake3 provided the solution to this conundrum. By 1920, it was thought that the entire world had been mapped accurately and there was no more exploring to be completed. Mackinder displays this point when he wrote how The Polar regions are the only large blanks remaining on our maps. 4Amundsen and his team effectively made the final voyage of exploration when they reached the South Pole on the 14 th December 1911.5 Man had conquered the furthest points on the planet and the age of discovery was truly over.

Ptolemy, (c.150) Geography The source of the Nile Google Sightseeing, (online), Available at http://googlesightseeing.com/2009/09/11/the-source-of-the-nile/ (Accessed 26 November 2009) 3 Lake Victoria Wikipedia, (online), Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Victoria (Accessed 26 November 2009) 4 Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p141) 5 Antarctic Explorers: Roald Amundsen, (online), Available at http://www.southpole.com/p0000101.htm (Accessed 26 November 2009)
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The closing of the world was a major issue for Geographers worldwide. Back in the 16th century when most of the world was unknown to the Europeans and the world map was largely blank. Over the following four hundred years Geography was closely intertwined with exploration. It was the considered the Geographers job to take all the stories and details brought back from the unknown lands by the explorers and use it to piece together the world map. By the time of Mackinder s writing however the world map was nearly complete and tales of adventure grow fewer and fewer 6; the excitement of exploring is near a close. In the eyes of many critics Geography no longer had a purpose; What is Geography? 7, they cynically ask. This is a common theme as Stoddart mentions the sceptics of geography as well in his essay, Eliot Hurst to be precise, who has write an article titled Geography has neither existence nor future .8 Stoddart doesn t hold back in criticising Hurst s work, referring to it as both sad and dismal. He is quite obviously aware of the disharmony among geographers however, referring to pessimism and failures within geography over the previous 30 years.9Gregory continues this point about the disharmony within geography; more specifically within Physical Geography, describing it as the weaker partner of the two disciplines (human and physical) and also going as far as saying that, there are fundamental problems in the physical side of geography. The latter part of the 19th century is vital for the continuation of Geography as a discipline. The world has been explored thoroughly, now it needs to be examined and analysed. It was around this time that Geography was divided into separate paths, into two distinct different fields, Physical and Human Geography (or as Mackinder refers to it Political geography ). Stoddart and Gregory go further than this, suggesting that many geographers would now view themselves as being specialised to a greater extent; historical, economic and urban geographers etc are all mentioned by Stoddart10 whilst Gregory talks about Climatologists and Geomorphologists (i.e. goes into even more detail) 11. Geography was first introduced as a formal academic discipline to be studied in Universities shortly after Mackinder gave his first lecture on the Since the end of the 19th century there has been a great deal of confusion and debate surrounding geography and more specifically the two main sub sections; physical and human geography. Can they both still be considered branches of geography as a whole? Are they both necessary in the academic world? Can they be studied together and complement each other? Or are they two completely separate disciplines? When Mackinder wrote his article in 1887, these issues were very much at the forefront of geographers minds, and this is still (to a certain extent)the case now. Are physical and political geography two different stages of one investigation or are they separate subjects to be studied by different methods, ponders Mackinder, 12showing the confusion that could potentially undermine the academic advance of the subject. Mackinder is a stout advocate for the physical side of geography and he definitely sees the human geography as the lesser of the two stating, no rational political

Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p141) Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p141) 8 Stoddart, 1987, To claim the high ground: geography for the end of the century (p328) 9 Stoddart, 1987, To claim the high ground: geography for the end of the century (p328) 10 Stoddart, 1987, To claim the high ground: geography for the end of the century (p329) 11 Gregory, 2002, Restructuring physical geography (p137) 12 Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p141)
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geography can exist which is not built upon and subsequent to physical geography . 13 He realises that in the future human geography might find its place and contribute to the advance of geography as an academic discipline. He makes it very clear that this is not how views it in his time describing it as irrational ; then stating that it can never be a discipline and has no purpose to academics (in its current state). I believe that one point Mackinder try s to get across in his essay is that inter-relationships should exist between human and physical geography, however these apparent weakness of human geography prevents this. Stoddart uses the example of Bangladesh in his essay to emphasise the importance of this relationship. He claims, there is no such thing as a physical geography of Bangladesh divorced from its human geography and how vice versa would simply be meaningless nonsense. 14Bangladesh is a low-lying country that is prone to flooding; a 1m rise in sea levels would leave around 50% of the country underwater. 15The deltas of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers (in terms of discharge, two of the largest rivers in the world) are both located along the Southern coastline of Bangladesh. Stoddart describes how during peak discharge vast areas of the lower delta are completely water covered, 16 which means that the rest of the low-lying regions are in a fine balance with nature; a small tipping point could cause disastrous flooding. Bangladesh is a very poor country, its GNP per capita was less than $100 at the time of Stoddart s writing17There are therefore more lenient rules on the landscape and a lower awareness of the physical nature of the country, for instance the mangroves on the coastline were removed for firewood(without gas, oil and electricity this becomes a vital resource for cooking, building and heating). These mangroves would have been vital in flood defences (unbeknown to the locals)and would most likely have limited the death toll (280 000 18) caused by the cyclone of 1970.In this situation it becomes very clear the point that Stoddart is making, if the mangroves had not been removed (human influence) the consequences of the cyclone (physical influence) would have been greatly reduced. However if the cyclone had not occurred then the consequences of removing the mangroves would be zero in terms of deaths. This backs up Stoddart s point that whilst human geography is important to physical geography, without physical geography human geography could not exist, as there would be no environment for society to interact with. This brings up Stoddart s analysis of how geography should be practised. He writes that in the case of Bangladesh, Geographers need to do more: it is not enough to stand by and describe 19 By this he means that geography is perfectly equipped to help in this kind of situation. Within geography there are meteorologists who are armed with some of the most advanced technology on the planet to predict weather system and forewarn of potentially catastrophic weather systems such as the 1970 cyclone or the Boxing day tsunami in 2004 to allow time to prepare and brace for the event. Then there are climatologists, who armed Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p143) Stoddart, 1987, To claim the high ground: geography for the end of the century (p333) 15 Ali, 1996, Vulnerability of Bangladesh to climate change and sea level rise through tropical cyclones and storm surges, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 92 (p171 179) 16 Stoddart, 1987, To claim the high ground: geography for the end of the century (p331) 17 Economy Bangladesh : GDP, GNP, currency, mining products, agriculture, consumption, natural resources, (online), Available at http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/pageinfo_pays.php3?Pays=BNG&Opt=economy 18 Stoddart, 1987, To claim the high ground: geography for the end of the century (p332) 19 Stoddart, 1987, To claim the high ground: geography for the end of the century (p332)
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with incredibly sophisticated satellites are predicting how the world will change in the near future and more specifically (and importantly) to Bangladesh, attempt to accurately calculate sea level rise. This information could then be put to use in planning and constructionof both settlements (to accommodate the rapid population boom in Bangladesh) and flood defences.

Throughout his essay Mackinder seems to unable to indentify a definition of g eography that combines both human and physical geography. In my opinion his huge bias towards physical geography is mostly the reason for this. He does however define their respective functions individually though stating that the function of political ge ography is to detect and demonstrate the relations subsisting between man in society and so much of his environment as varies locally and that the function of physical geography is to analyse the varying environment. 20By Mackinder s definition human geography cannot be practised in the absence of physical geography. Stoddart agrees with this (as shown in the Bangladesh example) and it seems Gregory concurs too, despite only 19% of Geographical papers submitted between 1988 and 1997 being physical related.21 According to Thrift and Willis the development of British Geography has been a success story over the last three decades. 22Stoddart then goes on to support physical geography by giving reasons for the apparent weak regard that it is held in by some geographers, stating one reason could be its close affiliation with similar sciences such as Geology. Gregory however completely disagrees that this close relationship with cognate sciences weaken Geography as a whole, arguing that by physical geography can advance by incorporating new techniques and ideas from cognate sciences to reinforce, rather than detract from, the fundamental geographical tradition. 23Gregory agrees with Massey who believes that Quaternary environmental change (a branch of physical geography) is more comprehensive and as geographic as evolutionary geomorphology. 24Stoddartthen goes on to claim that physical geography has been prevented from developing the requisite scientific and technical basis as a result of its allegiance to human geography. 25 This type of advocating for geography by blaming human geography in particular is a relatively common theme through out all three essays. Although Stoddart does not agree with the theory of Human Agency, he does bring it up in his essay. Human Agency is the capacity for human beings to make choices and to impose those choices on the world.26 One way in which this could be taken is that society and ultimately humans have the main bearing on settlement locations and human practices. Mackinder has two examples of this, firstly the Norfolk Fens would be completely inappropriate for any kind of human activity had they not been drained by humans to provide dry land. Another example is the use (especially during Mackinder s time) as Liverpool as arguably the largest dock in the UK, despite other area being more suitable for a

Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p144) Gregory, 2002, Restructuring physical geography (p137) 22 Thrift and Walling, 2000, Geography in the United Kingdom 1996 2000 The Geographical Journal 166 96 124 23 Gregory, 2002, Restructuring physical geography (p144) 24 Gregory, 2002, Restructuring physical geography (p144) 25 Gregory, 2002, Restructuring physical geography (p142) 26 Agency (philosophy) Wikipedia, (online), Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_agency Accessed 3rd December 3, 2009
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large-scale dock. Mackinder singles out Milford Haven in South West Wales as offering far greater physical advantages than Liverpool for the American trade. To a certain extent both all three authors agree with (much more so than they agree with the idea of Human Agency) the theory of Environmental Determinism, which states that the physical environment determines patterns of human culture and societal development.27 This means that physical geography affects and determines human geography more than visa versa, so climate, landforms and the physical environment decide human activity and cultures. The best example provided by any of them to support this is the growth of London as a city. Mackinder writes how it is a focal point (central point) of the other three great cities. He then goes on to say that Geographical conditions have determined the greatness of the metropolis, 28 as it is easily accessible by boat (River Thames) and how the solid ground and deep water around the isle of Bermond make it an idea take off point for ferries and other large boats. To sum up al three writers seem to lean towards Physical Geography as the prominent part of a potential inter-relationship with Human Geography. Mackinder goes onto describe how geography and only geography can bridge the greatest of all gaps between natural sciences and the state of humanity. 29 Gregory touches on one very prominent use of geography in the future; predicting, analysing and coping with the face of growing populations and how it will demand a pivotal role for a geographical approach in solving the issue30. The other obvious purpose for geography in the future is finding a solution (or at least a method to slow) for Global Warming. Stoddart and Gregory both touch on this issue, but as it was not an issue in Mackinder s time he does not. This just goes to show concepts of subjects can change through the century s.

Environmental Determinism The Controversy of Environmental Determinism, (online), Available at http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/envdeterminism.htm (Accessed 26th November 2009) 28 Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p152) 29 Mackinder, 1887, On the Scope and Methods of Geography (p145) 30 Gregory, 2002, Restructuring physical geography (p146)

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