GEO1316 Concepts in Geography

Geography’s Histories II

Prof. John Wylie

Geography's Histories II:
Environments, Regions & Landscapes: Geography
c.1900 – 1950

Presentation Structure:

1. Environmental Determinism
2. Responses to determinism – landscapes and regions
3. The rise of Regional Geography
4. The rise of Geopolitics
5. Conclusion – 1950: Geography in Crisis?
1. Environmental Determinism
A QUESTION:

Are human societies controlled and determined by their

environmental conditions? Are we, in the end, the
outcome of geography?

OR:

Do human societies have the ability and capacity to change

and adapt, irrespective of geographical circumstances? Do
humans and environments interact in a more dynamic,
two-way fashion?
1. Environmental Determinism

ED = The belief that human societies are ultimately

shaped and determined by their physical
environment....

By climate, soil, topography, resources etc....

Culture is essentially shaped by nature

Debates about, and reactions against, determinism

shaped Geography to a large degree, 1900-1950
1. Environmental Determinism – and Evolution
Darwin’s theory of evolution revealed how plants, animals
etc. evolved over time, in response to environmental
conditions.

The ‘natural selection’ of characteristics over time would

ensure the ‘survival of the fittest’ – i.e. the creatures best
suited to their geographical conditions

In the early 20th century, these ideas had a profound

influence not just in biology, zoology etc, but in geography
too, and also in political and social thinking in Europe and
N. America.
1. Environmental Determinism – and Evolution
As mentioned previously, evolutionary theory influenced a
pseudo-scientific geographical racism, positing a hierarchy
of human ‘types’ according to climate, with white
Europeans at the top (Livingstone, 1992)

Evolutionary theory also influenced social and political

thinking about the ‘fitness’ and value of different types of
people (Social Darwinism, eugenics)
1. Environmental Determinism

Two notable advocates of

Determinism:

a) Freidrich Ratzel (1844 – 1904)

Concept of Lebensraum (1901), or

‘living space’
‘Healthy’ or more ‘vigorous’ states
will grow beyond their borders
Later adopted by Nazi ideology as
justifying aggression and expansion
(more on this later)
1. Environmental Determinism

Two notable advocates of

Determinism:

b) Ellen Churchill Semple (1863-

1932)
Influences of the Geographic Environment
(1911)
Human temperament, culture, religion,
values, economy (etc.) all derived from
the environment
Slips into Racism
2. Responses to determinism – landscapes and
regions

Today, this early Determinism looks not only

racist, but also naive and reductive.

What about migration?

These so-called human ‘types’ do not exist in any

scientific sense

Humans modify and shape environments, just as

much as they are shaped by them?
2. Responses to determinism –
landscapes and regions

1920’s – a focus in Geography on

challenging extreme Determinism.

e.g. Carl Sauer and cultural geography.

Culture as an ‘imprint’, or ‘stamp’ upon
the earth’s surface = landscape

e.g Paul Vidal de la Blache

The ‘region’ is a unique expression of
the interaction between humanity and
the physical environment
3. The rise of Regional Geography

‘Regional Geography’ – the dominant way that Geography

was taught and researched in Europe & N. America,
1930’s-1950’s

Instead of specialising in a branch of Geography

(geomorphology, political geography etc) – lecturers
would specialise in a particular region of the world.

A degree course would chiefly consist of regional modules.

In all this – human and physical geog still normally

practised together
3. The rise of Regional Geography

‘Region’ as a fuzzy concept:

Both sub-national (the Midlands, East Anglia)

And super-national (Scandinavia, the Middle East)

So – what is a ‘Region’?
3. The rise of Regional Geography
Richard Hartshorne

The Nature of Geography (1939)

‘the ultimate purpose of Geography =

the study of areal differentiation of the
world’.

Tried to define Geography as the

identification and classification of
distinct ‘regions’
4. The rise of Geopolitics

Halford Mackinder (1861-1947)

First Reader in Geography at Univ. of

Oxford

Evolutionary / Darwinist view of

geography as a human struggle for
space and resources

Geography explicitly in the service of

Imperial power and control

Geography as a kind of military/strategic

knowledge = Geopolitics
4. The rise of Geopolitics

Mackinder’s (1904) ‘Geographic Pivot of History’, or

‘Heartland Theory’

"Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland;

who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island;
who rules the World-Island commands the world."
4. The rise of Geopolitics

In Germany – Geographical Theories of Lebensraum

(‘Living Space’)

Building on Ratzel’s early Darwinian work on how

‘vigorous’ peoples would seek to expand their
territories
4. The rise of Geopolitics

Karl Haushofer (1869-1946)

Developed ideas of Lebensraum for the

Nazi’s and drew on Mackinder’s
‘Heartland’ ideas.

Tutored Adolf Hitler while he was in

jail in the early 1920’s

His suicide note ended: ‘I want

to be forgotten and forgotten’
Summary:

 In the early years of the 20th C., under the influence of

evolutionary theory, some Geographers advocated
Environmental Determinism
 Many reacted against this, and instead studies of human-
environment interactions and the development of particular
cultural landscapes and regions came to dominate.
 Regional geography in particular dominated education and
research
 Forms of Geopolitical thinking, again influenced by
Darwinian/evolutionary thinking, also became very
influential – not just in Geography, but in war and conflict.
 Post WW2, Geography seemed to find itself at a turning
point.
Summary - Readings:

1) Johnston & Sidaway (2015, 7th ed.) Geography and

Geographers. Please read pp.43-52 of Chapter Three,
‘Foundations’.

2) Cresswell (2013) Geographic Thought. Please read pp.47-52 in

Chapter Three, a section on Environmental Determinism, and
also pp.58-64 of Chapter Four, ‘Thinking about Regions’. The
entire chapter is of interest, but this section is particularly
relevant.

Please see notes/prompts on ELE

5. Conclusion – 1950: Geography in Crisis?

During WW2, many Geographers worked for military

intelligence and planning – deploying geographical
knowledge of regions/counties and using cartographic
and survey skills

But after the War, the future of Geography was uncertain.

Despite attempts to ground it in the integrated study of

Landscapes and Regions, Geography seemed to lack a
defining purpose.
5. Conclusion – 1950: Geography in Crisis?

In 1948 – Disaster strikes. Harvard University decides to

close its Geography Department.

Where would Geography go from here....??

We will find out in the next class.........

 Thank You
for your attention