GEOG Syllabus History and Philosophy of Geography

Transcription

1 GEOG Syllabus History and Philosophy of Geography Larry Becker Professor, Geography Office: 238 Wilkinson Hall, tel Office hours: Tuesdays, 3-5; Wednesdays, noon-1; and by appointment Class meetings: Mondays, 3-5:50 pm, 207 Wilkinson Hall Final Exam: Wednesday, 9 December, 9:30-11:20 am Catalog description: HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF GEOGRAPHY (3). The historical development of research traditions in the discipline of geography. This includes an examination of changes in conceptual structures and current trends. PREREQS: Graduate standing in geography (or related field). From this course, students will be able to Identify and describe the origins of various traditions in geographic thought Apply their knowledge of geographic theory to a research topic Critique theoretical approaches to physical and human geography issues Required textbooks available in the OSU Store and on reserve or as E-books through the Valley Library: Cresswell, Tim Geographic Thought: A Critical Introduction. West Sussex, UK: Wiley. Livingstone, David Putting Science in Its Place: Geographies of Scientific Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. A complete readings list is on pages 3 & 4. Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS should contact DAS immediately at

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3 Week 1 Geographic Ideas through Time & Space: What Can We Find? Meet: Monday, 28 September, 3 pm, in 207 Wilkinson Hall To do for next week: Select and read Hanson (on reserve); find pre-ad 1400 geography Week 2 Students on Ten Ideas of Susan Hanson Meet: Monday, 5 October. Each student (or pair) presents one of Hanson s ideas with pre reference and non-western reference To do: Find references and annotate from outside the Western tradition; readings by Peet, Martin & James, Trudgill, and Verde Week 3 Ways of Seeing: Histories & Philosophies Meet: Monday, 12 October. Non-Western viewpoints of topics; what is philosophy of geography? Instructor on Glacken s 3 strands in geographic thought To do: Read Livingstone s Putting Science in Its Place Week 4 What Is a Geography of Science? Meet: Monday, 19 October. Student pairs lead discussion of one chapter (per pair of students) of Livingstone: Site, Region, Circulation To do: Prepare readings by Watts and Castree Week 5 Is Unifying Geography an Issue? Meet: Monday, 26 October. Crisis, Resilience, or Other? Students lead discussion on past and present approaches to human-nature relations, resources, and conservation in geographic thought strengths and weaknesses; discussion of paper assignment To do: Read first 3 chapters of Cresswell s Geographic Thought Week 6 Theory & Inquiry Meet: Monday, 2 November. Instructor presents first 3 chapters of Cresswell To do: Prepare readings by Smith, Livingstone, and Cresswell s Ch. 4 Week 7 Geography at Harvard Meet: Monday, 9 November. Guest speaker: Denis White: Geography at Harvard, or Not (provisional title) To do: Finish Cresswell s Geographic Thought Week 8 Theory as Interpreted by Cresswell Meet: Monday, 16 November. Each student leads discussion of one chapter of Cresswell To do: Prepare readings by Vidal de la Blache, Marsh, Thomas, and Turner Week 9 Geography through the Ages and Across Cultures Meet: Monday, 23 November. In-class discussion of The Earth as Modified by Human Action (1885), Man s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth (1956), The Earth as Transformed by Human Action (1990) To do: Finish papers and prepare to speak about them Week 10 New Visions by the Next Generation of Geographers

4 Meet: Monday, 30 November. Panel discussion of papers; preparation for final exam, 9 December, 9:30-11:20 am Course Organization The course meets weekly on Monday afternoons. On the first Monday, in room 207 Wilkinson Hall, we will discuss the format. This is a seminar where I view my role as the instructor as a participant and facilitator with responsibility for initially stimulating thought and exploration of ideas, organizing the course, and providing critical feedback. There are different ways to accomplish the objectives on page one and we will discuss these at our first meeting. Here, I will propose a course structure. My aim is to provide opportunities for modifying the course as we proceed. Grading: Each student will 1) Contribute to the following presentations: --Presentation of Susan Hanson s Ten Geographic Ideas that Changed the World, Monday, 5 October (5%) --Presentation of Livingstone s Putting Science in Its Place, Monday, 19 October (responsible for one chapter/theme with partner, 10%) --Crisis, resilience, other explanation in geography, 26 October, Monday, 2 November, 5% --Presentation of Cresswell s Geographic Thought: A Critical Introduction, Monday, 16 November (responsible for one chapter, 10%) 2) Write a minimum 3500 word paper tracing the origins of a geographic idea, preferably in the intended field of graduate study research. Due: Week 10 (30 November) (50%) Following the requirements of the Geographical Review, the total manuscript of an article should be fewer than thirty-five pages and no more than 7,500 words long, including all components: abstract, text, endnotes, references, illustrations, and tables. 3) Demonstrate how to articulate ideas about the history and philosophy of geography in a final examination (20%) Sources available on reserve at the Valley Library, as PDF in Canvas, or in the stacks of the Valley Library: Berkes, Fikret and Nancy Turner Knowledge, Learning and the Evolution of Conservation Practice for Social-Ecological System Resilience. Human Ecology 34(4): [PDF optional] Braudel, Fernand The Mediterranean and Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press. [DE80.B ][Stacks optional] Castree, Noel Geographers and the Discourse of an Earth Transformed: Influencing the Intellectual Weather or Changing the Intellectual Climate? Geographical Research 53 (3): [PDF-required] Cresswell, Tim Geographic Thought: A Critical Introduction.

5 Chiang, Tao-Chang Historical Geography in China. Progress in Human Geography 29(2): [PDF optional] Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. [GF21.C eb] [Required--This book is available in the OSU Store and as an e-book online through the Valley Library.] Gale, Stephen & Gunnar Olsson(eds) Philosophy in Geography. Dordrecht, Neth: D. Reidel. [G70.P46] [Stacks optional] Hanson, Sudan (ed) Ten Geographic Ideas That Changed the World. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press.[G70.T ] [Required Reserve] Hountondji, Paulin African Philosophy: Myth & Reality. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press [B5305.h ] [Stacks optional] Inkpen, Rob & Graham Wilson Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. Second edition. New York: Routledge. [GB21.I eb] [Library ebook optional] Martin, Geoffrey & Preston James All Possible Worlds: A History of Geographical Ideas. Third Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons. [G80.M ] [Stacks optional; Ch 1 Required PDF] Marsh, George Perkins The Earth as Modified by Human Action. New York: C. Scribner s Sons. [GF31.M2 1884] [Required reserve] Peet, Richard Modern Geographical Thought. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. [G70.P ] [Stacks optional; Ch 1 Required PDF] Raaflaub, Kurt & Richard Talbert (eds.) Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern Societies. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. [G71.5 G ] [Recommended reserve] Sauer, Carl O. (Leighly, John, ed.) Land and Life: A Selection from the Writings of Carl Ortwin Sauer. Berkeley: University of California Press. [Reserve optional] Thomas, William Man s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. [G56.I63] [Required reserve] Turner, Nancy and Fikret Berkes Developing Resource Management and Conservation. Human Ecology 34: [PDF optional] Verde, Tom Havy Was Here, Robinson Crusoe. Saudi Aramco World May/June: [Required PDF] Vidal de la Blache, Paul Principles of Human Geography. New York: H. Holt & Co. [GF31.V5] [Required reserve]