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Physical geography and geography as an environmental science

Ken Gregory

in A Century of British Geography

The evolution of physical geography in Britain over the last 100 years cannot be divorced from developments elsewhere, and by the year 2000 it had become increasingly difficult to distinguish ... More

The evolution of physical geography in Britain over the last 100 years cannot be divorced from developments elsewhere, and by the year 2000 it had become increasingly difficult to distinguish physical geography from other disciplines. Some periods have shown a net gain, during which British physical geography assimilated and responded to trends developed elsewhere, whereas in others British trends provided a lead (especially reflecting the inspiration given by particular individuals) that has been perceived to be internationally influential. Whereas nineteenth-century geography was more holistic in character, it is ironic that for much of the twentieth century it became increasingly reductionist, with the development of many separate sub-fields succeeded by trends, very evident at the millennium, of a discipline seeking holism again — clearly linking with environmental science. The foundations of twentieth-century British physical geography included a major component derived from geology.Less

Geography applied

Robert J. Bennett and Alan G. Wilson

in A Century of British Geography

This chapter discusses the main trends and the most prominent focuses of research regarding geography as an applied discipline. It concentrates on the contributions of geographers in Britain and the ... More

This chapter discusses the main trends and the most prominent focuses of research regarding geography as an applied discipline. It concentrates on the contributions of geographers in Britain and the applied developments in human geography. The development of physical geography and earth sciences has been particularly influential on the development of applied geography at various stages. The chapter also examines regional planning and policy, town and country planning, land use planning and other specific fields.Less

Introduction

Michael Williams and Ron Johnston

in A Century of British Geography

Geography straddles the main divide within academic life, with the humanities and social sciences on the one side and the natural and life sciences on the other. The discipline's roots lie in both ... More

Geography straddles the main divide within academic life, with the humanities and social sciences on the one side and the natural and life sciences on the other. The discipline's roots lie in both traditions, but as it evolved into a fully-fledged research discipline in the second half of the twentieth century, so a split became increasingly apparent between physical geography and human geography. This book explores the history of British geography, focusing on the long period before its formal institution as an academic discipline within the country's universities as well as the process of institutionalisation. It discusses various themes, including the environment and place; space, maps and mapping; geography as ‘useful knowledge’; and physical geography.Less

Geographers and environmental change

John B. Thornes

in A Century of British Geography

Within geography, physical geography is concerned with the characteristics of the natural environment, the atmosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere; how they influence human activities and how ... More

Within geography, physical geography is concerned with the characteristics of the natural environment, the atmosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere; how they influence human activities and how they are affected by them across the face of the globe. It comprises geomorphology, climatology and biogeography, and proceeds by monitoring, modelling and managing environmental change. Geographical research at first concentrated on the direct impacts of glaciation on the geomorphology of Britain, such as the glacial erosion of northern Britain and its indirect impacts, especially the effects of changing sea levels. Physical geographers in the last 100 years have taken some comfort from the knowledge that their skills are applied in matters of public interest and importance. Now the pace of global environmental change is such that these skills will be essential in the next 100 years, in solving some of the great contemporary environmental problems such as global warming, the global disappearance of forests, desertification and water pollution.Less

“The Play of Natures”: Human Beings in Kant’s Geography*

Robert B. Louden

in Kant’s Human Being: Essays on His Theory of Human Nature

This chapter discusses the aims behind Kant’s physical geography courses, which provide the groundwork for his later discourse on anthropology. Kant aims to make his courses entertaining and, above ... More

This chapter discusses the aims behind Kant’s physical geography courses, which provide the groundwork for his later discourse on anthropology. Kant aims to make his courses entertaining and, above all, practical. Indeed, pragmatism in general is a common strain among Kant’s works; in this case, this pragmatic approach sets expectations for his students when they eventually traverse to their “destiny”—the world at large. These lectures encourage a cosmopolitan view of a world thriving in natural diversity. However, Kant’s lectures had relied on racial stereotypes when presenting his students with a comprehensive view of the human species. Kant’s essays on anthropology and history are much more encouraging, however—in them are the seeds of a more cosmopolitically-oriented world—one that strives to unite the varied topography of the human species.Less

Encountering the Physical World

in Placing the Enlightenment: Thinking Geographically about the Age of Reason

This chapter examines what George Vancouver succinctly termed the “ardour of the present age, to discover and delineate the true geography of the earth.” In the undertaking of this “true geography,” ... More

This chapter examines what George Vancouver succinctly termed the “ardour of the present age, to discover and delineate the true geography of the earth.” In the undertaking of this “true geography,” the encounter with the physical globe took the form of primary survey, that is, it involved the “in-the-field” enumeration of natural knowledge, its classification, and the role of system. To those undertaking in various ways what contemporaries understood as physical geography, the task was huge, the object seemingly without order. In his Histoire naturelle, Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, captures here two things about natural philosophy and Enlightenment study of the terraqueous globe: the sheer scale of what there was to know, and the role of systematizing what was known and how it was known.Less

Disciplinary Interactions: Ontological Commitments and Environmental Standard-setting

Elizabeth A. Kirk and Alison D. Reeves

in Law and Geography

Through examining how environmental standards for controlling the spread of pollution have increasingly developed, this chapter looks into how law and physical geography are connected, particularly ... More

Through examining how environmental standards for controlling the spread of pollution have increasingly developed, this chapter looks into how law and physical geography are connected, particularly in the context of how environmental regulation has developed. As disciplines, law and physical geography influence how these said regulations take shape. Because of such and certain standards, however, the need to explore how policy-makers may miss out on some options and instead resort to more ‘manageable’ options arises. As it is important to first be familiar with the nature of the problem that is to be subjected to regulation, this chapter also investigates on the extent to which such restrictions may be brought about by path dependency through the existence of various disciplinary and ontological commitments.Less

Introduction: Paris: A Walking Tour

Jann Pasler

in Composing the Citizen: Music as Public Utility in Third Republic France

This chapter introduces the city of Paris. It shows that one can easily find the distinction of French faith or French culture in the use of the arts (such as music) within the physical geography of ... More

This chapter introduces the city of Paris. It shows that one can easily find the distinction of French faith or French culture in the use of the arts (such as music) within the physical geography of the city. It describes the structure of Paris as a possible model for thinking about the structure of the musical world. It then studies the Parisian landscape and topography, as well as the apparent web of symbolic relationships that are present. Next it views the city as a context for everyday life, thus turning the various monuments, structures, and urban occurrences into frameworks for what Michel de Certeau calls the “regimes of domination and control.” It also shows how the official structures in Paris orient and elevate certain perspectives. The final part of the chapter explains the main purpose of the book and discusses the legacy of the Third Republic.Less

Disparities among Regional Economies: Spatial (Dis)Aggregation

Robert M. Townsend

in Financial Systems in Developing Economies: Growth, Inequality and Policy Evaluation in Thailand

This chapter spatially disaggregates the national economy into provinces, counties (amphoes), villages, households, and individuals. Provincial product displays great differences from high to low, in ... More

This chapter spatially disaggregates the national economy into provinces, counties (amphoes), villages, households, and individuals. Provincial product displays great differences from high to low, in poverty and in the fractions attributed to manufacturing and agriculture. Inequality in provincial income from manufacturing is much greater than inequality in non-farm income in household surveys. A simple model can explain much of the apparent difference. Projections establish the spatiotemporal patterns of income growth with initial concentration, then relatively dramatic convergence. Across-village inequality is high when the level of income is low within provinces. Household income change is hard to predict from macro/temporal shocks alone. Occupation, geography, and ground cover matter. More generally, households experience a variety of idiosyncratic and regional shocks. Households vary in diversification strategies, such as migration. Northeast Thailand, for example, differs dramatically after decades of growth from its Mekong basin counterparts in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.Less

The Face of the Empire

Deborah R. Coen

in Climate in Motion: Science, Empire, and the Problem of Scale

This is the first of four chapters that focus on the problems of scale facing the scientific servants of the Habsburg Monarchy and the representational techniques they developed in response. Chapter ... More

This is the first of four chapters that focus on the problems of scale facing the scientific servants of the Habsburg Monarchy and the representational techniques they developed in response. Chapter Five traces the rise of cartographic and painterly efforts to achieve a synthetic overview of the Monarchy. It begins by exploring the vision of Friedrich Simony, the geologist, landscape painter, and founder of the academic discipline of physical geography. It then turns to the technical challenges of visualizing “unity in diversity” as they played out particularly in the construction of geological and climatological maps. In climatology, this challenge generated statistical and cartographic methods that made it possible to visualize locally confined, short-lived phenomena within an image of the climatic conditions of the Monarchy as a whole. By following these innovations, Chapter Five shows how the eighteenth century’s static, regional image of climate began to give way to a dynamic and multi-scalar view.Less

The Natural History of Man

Stephen Gaukroger

in The Natural and the Human: Science and the Shaping of Modernity, 1739–1841

The natural history of man comprises comparative anatomy; what in the eighteenth century was termed ‘physical geography’ (in more modern terms a mix of human geography and physical geography), which ... More

The natural history of man comprises comparative anatomy; what in the eighteenth century was termed ‘physical geography’ (in more modern terms a mix of human geography and physical geography), which attempts to identify the environmental factors that shape human behaviour; human variation, such as racial variation, and its significance; and the external marks of character, notably physiognomy, craniology, and phrenology. Crucial to this comparative exercise are the questions of whether there is any continuity between apes and humans, what the standing of seemingly half animal/half human feral children is, whether there is a continuity between human races or whether they have separate origins, whether physical differences between men and women extend beyond their reproductive organs, and more generally whether significant differences are due to environmental or intrinsic factors.Less

Evasion

Evgeny Finkel

in Ordinary Jews: Choice and Survival during the Holocaust

This chapter examines evasion—an attempt to escape persecution by hiding, emigrating, or assuming a false identity—as a Jewish survival strategy during the Holocaust. It compares evasion patterns in ... More

This chapter examines evasion—an attempt to escape persecution by hiding, emigrating, or assuming a false identity—as a Jewish survival strategy during the Holocaust. It compares evasion patterns in Minsk, Kraków, and Białystok and considers which factors were the most important in contributing to the Jews' decision to evade. There were people who helped the Jews in their quest for evasion. If Jews were helped because of the rescuers' personality traits, psychology, and humanistic worldviews, then there should not be any noticeable patterns in who exactly was rescued and sheltered. The chapter shows that the rescuers, even if guided by altruism, tended to help Jews they knew personally. The chapter also explores how human and physical geography influences the adoption (if not always the success) of the evasion strategy.Less

The Creed of Science

Roger Wagner and Andrew Briggs

in The Penultimate Curiosity: How Science Swims in the Slipstream of Ultimate Questions

This chapter focusses on the work and correspondence between Darwin and Herschel. It describes how Darwin asked his publishers to send Herschel a copy of On the Origin of Species following its ... More

This chapter focusses on the work and correspondence between Darwin and Herschel. It describes how Darwin asked his publishers to send Herschel a copy of On the Origin of Species following its publication; Herschel later sent Darwin a signed copy of the second edition of his own book, Physical Geography. It also discusses how their religious convictions moved in somewhat different directions over the course of their lives. As he grew older, and particularly after his marriage, Herschel’s religious feelings seemed to grow warmer and deeper. In contrast, Darwin, in the autobiography that he wrote for his family in 1876, described how in the years after returning from his travels he had gradually come ‘to disbelieve in Christianity as divine revelation’.Less