Gary S. Dunbar "Pro-fesh-yon-al-i-zay-shun . . . pro-fesh-yon-al-i-ZAY-shunl . . . I do not think I like that word . . . I am quite certain I do not like that wordl," said A. F. Martin of Oxford University in 1980 when I mentioned to him that I was making a study of the professionalization of geography in Europe and North America from about 1870 to 1930. I should not have been surprised by his reply, because Mr. Martin, a highly regarded lecturer, tutor, and university man, was in some ways a typical example of his generation of British geographers, in that he did not have an advanced degree and his publication record was meager. Except for a single remarkable essay (Martin 1951), he was not well known in the field of geography, at least not outside the United Kingdom. Was he, then, a professional geographer? Yes, indeed, because he was a full-time scholar in a distinguished university, even though he lacked the sort of credentials that have been demanded of subsequent generations of scholars, at Oxford and elsewhere. I certainly do not mean to denigrate Martin or his ilk; I am simply using this anecdote to launch a book on the emergence of modern geography.

"...the book should be in every university library."
(Progress in Human Geography, 28:2 (2004)

Klappentext

This book is a comprehensive treatment of the professionalization and institutionalization of the academic discipline of geography in Europe and North America, with emphasis on the 20th century and the last quarter of the 19th. No other book has ever attempted coverage of this sort. It is relevant to geographers, practitioners of the social and earth sciences, and historians of science and education.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 2 History of German Geography: Worldwide Reputation and Strategies of Nationalisation and Institutionalisation.- 3. Geography in France: Context, Practice, and Text.- 4 A Partial Biography: The Formalization and Institutionalization of Geography in Britain since 1887.- 5 Modern Geography in Italy: From the Archives to Environmental Management.- 6 Geography and Geographers in the Netherlands since the 1870s: Serving Colonialism, Education, and the Welfare State.- 7 Stories on the Making of Geography in Sweden.- 8 Geography in Russia: Glories and Disappointments.- 9 Academic Geography, American Style: An Institutional Perspective.- 10 The Development of Geographical Study in Canada, 18702000.- Index of Personal Names.