Complexity science and human geography

Complexity science has attracted considerable attention in a number of disciplines. However, this perspective on scientific understanding remains ill defined. In this paper, ideas and approaches from complexity science are reviewed. It appears that complexity science fundamentally is driven by ontological decisions on the part of the investigator. This is a result of the epistemological approach fundamental to complexity as it is currently studied, which is based on the construction of computer simulation models of reality. This methodology requires that researchers decide what exists and is important enough to represent in a simulation, and also what to leave out. Although this points to serious difficulties with complexity science, it is argued that the approach nevertheless has much to offer human geography. Drawing on complexity science, renewed engagements between physical and human geography, and between both and geographical information science seem possible, based on clearly shared concerns with the representation of geographical phenomena. In conclusion, it is suggested that seeing models as a source of geographical narratives may be a useful way to promote constructive engagement between different perspectives in the discipline.     

Introductory textbooks in human geography

Spatial Organization

R. Abler, J.S. Adams & P. Gould (1971) Prentice‐Hall, (0–13–824086–8), 587pp

Human Geography: theories and their applications

M.G. Bradford & A. Kent (1977) Oxford University Press, (0–19–913227–5), 180pp

Human Geography: evolution or revolution

M. Chlsholm (1975) Penguin, (0–1402–1883–1), 207pp

Situations in Human Geography

J.P. Cole (1975) Basil Blackwell, (0–631–16860–5), 238pp

Man, Location and Behaviour: an introduction to human geography K. Cox (1972) Wiley, (0–471–18150–1), 399pp

Geography as a Social Science

Programmed Case Studies in Geography

G. Fielding (1974) Harper & Row, (06–042051–0 & 06–042052–9), 336pp & 300pp

Geography: a modern synthesis

P. Haggett (1975) Second Edition, Harper & Row, (06–042576–8) 620pp

Human Spatial Behaviour: a special geography

J. Jakle, S. Brunn & C. Roseman (1976) Duxbury Press, (0–87872–098–7), 315pp

The Spatial Organization of Society

R. Morrill (1974) Second Edition, Wadsworth, (0–87822–057‐X), 267pp

Human Geography: a welfare approach

D. Smith (1977) Edward Arnold, (0–7131–5924–3), 402pp

Patterns and Processes in Human Geography

V. Tidswell (1976) University Tutorial Press, (0–7231–0719‐X) 314pp     

The human geography of Lewis

The search for and early exploitation of oil and gas in Scottish waters have occurred over a brief time span. Considerable environmental problems have had to be overcome offshore and large servicing and engineering developments have been established onshore. The latter have generated particular pressures locally on labour supply and on the economic infrastructure of certain regions. The economic potential of oil has raised hopes for Scotland's future prosperity.     

Emotions and affect in recent human geography

This paper seeks to examine both how emotions have been explored in emotional geography and also how affect has been understood in affectual geography. By tracing out the conceptual influences underlying emotional and affectual geography, I seek to understand both the similarities and differences between their approaches. I identify three key areas of agreement: a relational ontology that privileges fluidity; a privileging of proximity and intimacy in their accounts; and a favouring of ethnographic methods. Even so, there is a fundamental disagreement, concerning the relationship – or non-relationship – between emotions and affect. Yet, this split raises awkward questions for both approaches, about how emotions and affect are to be understood and also about their geographies. As importantly, mapping the agreements and disagreements within emotional and affectual geography helps with an exploration of the political implications of this work. I draw upon psychoanalytic geography to suggest ways of addressing certain snags in both emotional and affectual geography.     

The scope and aims of human geography

Egypt and the Egyptians. By the Rev. J. O. Bevan, M.A., F S.A. London : George Allen and Sons, 1909. Price 5s. net.

With Mulai Hafid at Fez: Behind the Scenes in Morocco. By Lawrence Harris, F.R.G.S. London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1909. Price 7s. 6d. net.

The Panama Canal and its Makers. By Vaughan Cornish, D.Sc., F.R.G.S. London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1909. Price 5s. net.

Labrador. By Wilfred T. Grenfell, C.M.G., M.D., and others. New York : The Macmillan Company, 1909. Price 10s. net.

Across Papua. By Colonel Kenneth Mackay. London : Witherby and Co., 1909. Price 7s. 6d. net.

Life and Labour in Australia. By E. Waltham. London : H. J. Drane, Limited, 1909. Price 3s. 6d.     

Beginning geography: a human and technical perspective

Abstract

A first course in human geography has been designed for majors and students from the more technical fields at university. It is built around five computer exercises, none of which require any programming or computer skills. Problems and exercises are designed to enhance carry‐over skills and humane awareness.     

Gender representation and participation in Dutch human geography departments

Since the beginning of the 1970s the under‐representation of women in geography has been questioned in several publications. Most articles refer to the situation in English‐speaking countries. This paper examines the vertical and horizontal gender segregation in human geography departments in Dutch universities. In spite of several policy measures to promote equal opportunity, women form only 19 per cent of all human geography faculty. In the conclusion, consequences and dilemmas related to gender representation and segregation are discussed.     

Progress in the human geography of the Maghreb

Sutton and Lawless review a selection of the prolific literature on the Maghreb's human geography published from the late 1970s onward. The pedigree of the discipline in Maghreb was established by several notable geographers who lived, researched, and wrote there. Augustin Bernard's writings on rural settlement, his atlas, and study of Algeria are still cited. Jean Despois's regional study with Raynal and his work on Tunisia, together with the detailed rural research of Jean Poncet, provides a particularly rich coverage for that country. Jean Dresch's early work on Morocco exemplified an early critique of the contemporaneous uncritical colonial human geography. The Sahara's fascination also inspired pioneering studies by Robert Capot-Rey. The work of these notables and others provided a solid background of geographical literature on the Maghreb to be supplemented, criticized, and challenged by more recent researchers, sometimes pupils of the above individuals, and increasingly North African by birth. The tradition of general texts on the Maghreb has continued, though increasingly with systematic approaches replacing regional appraisals. The geography of the decolonization of the Maghreb by Isnard has been replaced by a study summarizing recent collaborative work by a team of French geographers. The Saharan extensions of the Maghreb states have often been linked in general works, sometimes being juxtaposed against the Maghreb as in the essays offered to Jean Despois. Lawless and Findlay's collaborative study juxtaposes geographical studies of each country's economic development with political scientists' evaluations of their sociopolitical development. This review limits itself largely to geographers and geographical journals, only occasionally including significant works from other subject areas, and to 1977-1978 publications, with a few notable exceptions. The spatial juxtaposition of contrasting approaches to economic development, liberal market economy approaches by Tunisia and Morocco arguably leading to dependency, and centrally-planned strategies by Algeria and Libya resulting in bureaucratic constraints serves to offer the Maghreb as a pertinent case-study region for the applied geographer of developing countries.     

Religion and relevance in human geography: Some further issues

In this paper I provide further discussion of a number of issues relating to the relevance of religion for a relevant human geography. These include the importance of a normative approach, the nature of relevant research, the implementation of research findings, and the value of a religious perspective for research in human geography and as an input to policy formulation.     

Cultural evolution: a basic concept for human and historical geography

The concept of cultural evolution profoundly affected the objectives and methods employed in the social sciences in the earlier part of this century but it has largely been ignored by geographers. In recent years a number of American cultural anthropologists have re-examined the concept of cultural evolution, including Sahlins and Service, who consider that cultural evolution is analogous to biological evolution involving the diversification of cultural forms through adaptive modification and the progress of culture through successive levels of development. They have called these two processes specific evolution and general evolution respectively and from these two perspectives on cultural evolution they have developed the Law of Cultural Dominance. Certain operational problems exist in the application of the concept of cultural evolution, but once they have been surmounted it promises to constitute a valuable mode of explanation in the analysis of cultures and cultural change.     

Discourse analysis in German-language human geography: integrating theory and method

In the context of various conceptual turns in German-language human geography over the past decades (e.g., linguistic, cultural, and material turns), which have been adopted largely via writings from English-language human geography, theoretical perspectives in these two academic communities have been converging. However, there are still aspects that are quite distinctive for debates in the German-language context. We argue that, for example, in the case of poststructuralist approaches, a distinct development has taken place, which emphasizes the links between theoretical, methodological, and methods-oriented empirical research, e.g., through the operationalization of linguistic methods. Following Michel Foucault's notion of ‘discourse’, these empirical analyses are often referred to as ‘discourse analyses’. This paper gives an overview of the field of discourse analysis in German-language human geography and discusses possible reasons for the different ways in which discourse theories have been emerged and developed in English-language and German-language geography. We argue that there are three developments which make ‘discourse analyses’ in the German context distinct: (1) the significance of theoretical debates on the role of the subject, (2) the intensive interdisciplinary networks within the wider context of German-language social sciences and linguistics, and (3) closely related to the second point, the strong emphasis on questions of methodical implementation.     

Revolutionary and evolutionary change in human geography: a personal assessment

Many perspectives new to Anglo-Saxon human geography have been introduced into the discipline over the last twenty years. These are reviewed in terms of the impacts upon mainstream human geography of the quantitative/spatial organisation /theoretical revolutions, and the reactions against these in turn by advocates of the behavioural, liberal/relevance, Marxist and post-positivist perspectives. The review ends with a brief consideration of some contemporary approaches within human geography, particularly those seeking an understanding of the processes underpinning the relationships between agency and structure. By way of conclusion a personal assessment is given of the current standing of the discipline and the nature of the changes required of it in the 1980s.     

Constructive comments on D Massey 'Space-time, "science" and the relationship between physical geography and human geography:rsquo;

This paper provides a discussion of Massey's (1999) account of the role of space-time in human and physical geography. Recognizing the relative (but not absolute) paucity of comment from physical geographers on questions of approach and method, the paper seeks to demonstrate three things. First, it casts a history of a narrow part of geomorphology in a similar vein to a part of human geography to demonstrate that it is possible to find strong shared characteristics in the ways in which the two subjects are being approached. This emphasizes the importance of analyses that recognize both space and time in seeking explanation in physical geography and which has important implications for: (i) the nature of laws and processes in geomorphology; and hence (ii) the interpretation of specific landforms and their histories. Second, the paper argues that much of what Massey addresses relates to the closure required to make things amenable to study, something that is characteristic of almost every type of research. This has long been acknowledged in science in general and in physical geography in particular, but is often forgotten. Third, the paper uses this consideration of closure to address the issue of the relational nature of different sorts of space-time models. Following Massey's argument that the sort of space-time model that we adopt needs to be informed by the entities that we study, the paper concludes that some of the space-time models that Massey critiques (e.g. classical Newtonian mechanics) may still be fundamental to what we do, and in no sense necessarily ahistorical.