Centenary of the Department of Geography,University of Aberdeen

ABSTRACT

Prior to the amalgamation of Aberdeen’s two medieval universities in 1860, Geography had been taught to undergraduate students at both King’s and Marischal Colleges since at least the late 16th Century. First mooted in the early 1900s, it was not until 1919 that a lectureship in Geography at Aberdeen was created and a ‘Department of Geography’ came into being. In this contribution we chronicle how, over a century, the Geography department has evolved, highlighting developments in the curriculum and research-related activities. The early decades of the Department were shaped by John McFarlane, the first and only full-time appointee in Geography until his retirement in 1945. The post-World War II period, led by Andrew O’Dell, saw Geography develop into a large and influential Department. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Department (and University) experienced unprecedented levels of growth. Student numbers, research output and income accelerated apace. In the recent past national assessments of research and teaching quality and institutional restructuring have prompted further change. As the Department enters a second century it remains committed to delivering a high quality education to undergraduate and postgraduate students and to the pursuit of excellent geographical research.     

Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment,University of Aberdeen

ABSTRACT

Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Aberdeen can be traced back to pollen-analytical (palynological) and geomorphological collaborations in the early 1970s. The research has generally been nested within Quaternary science and it features strong interdisciplinary links with archaeology, chronostratigraphy, climate change and ecology more generally. The pollen-based emphasis has been augmented by multi-proxy approaches including plant macro- and microfossils, geochemistry and pedology. There has always been techniques- and methodologically-orientated output and the chronological focus has spanned especially the period from the Lateglacial through to the present. With an emphasis upon research since the year 2000, the account is structured around such themes as environmental change in Scotland and the rest of the British Isles, human-environment interactions in the North Atlantic region, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, atmospheric pollution and metals in prehistory, and carbon sequestration and chronologies. A final section looks briefly and selectively at future research.     

Labor's Geography: Capital,Violence, Guest Workers and the Post‐World War II Landscape

Abstract: The impetus to labor geography—putting workers and their practices and interests right at the heart of our analyses and making these ontologically prior in our theorizing—is the right one. Because this is the right impulse, work in labor geography has tended to over‐valorize both the ability of workers to shape the landscapes of capitalism and the long‐term efficacy of any such “shaping”. Arguing from a specific case—the struggles over agribusiness in California in the immediate post‐World War II California—this paper seeks to understand those moments when workers are all but powerless. It argues that those of us interested in politically charged and politically efficacious labor geographies need to retrain our focus as much on the structures within which workers live and work as well as on the actions undertaken by powerful forces within capital and the state whose interests are served by various forms of worker powerlessness.     

Remote sensing,GIS, the geospatial technologies,and Unmanned Airborne Vehicles at Aberdeen University

ABSTRACT

Aberdeen University has a long history of using aerial photography, photogrammetry, cartography, remote sensing and surveying in Geography teaching and research. The development of an MSc in Environmental Remote Sensing (ERS) in 1987 offered students a new opportunity to specialise further in this rapidly evolving area of technology. The programme has continued to thrive and the MSc in GIS celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2017. Recently the degree has included courses on current applications of GIS and web-GIS. The introduction of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) remote sensing broadened the appeal and competitiveness of the degree, ensuring students have access to cutting edge remote sensing technology. Alongside PhD studies, applied academic research in the Aberdeen Institute for Coastal Science and Management (AICSM), and the Unmanned Airborne Vehicle (UAV)/Unmanned Airborne System (UAS) Centre for Environmental Monitoring and Mapping (UCEMM), make widespread use of GIS and remote sensing. As the geospatial technologies continue to evolve and are integrated with drones the role of education, training and research utilising these technologies will become integral to the Geography degree. Geospatial technologies have and will continue to provide valuable tools and techniques for graduates.     

The Aberdeen University expedition to Cyrenaica, 1951. Part II: The oasis of Jalo

Mountain Madness. By Winifred Fortescue. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 176. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons Ltd., 1943. Price 10s. 6d.

Travel in England. By T. Burke. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 154. London: Batsford, 1943. Price 10s. 6d.

The Home Counties. By S. P. B. Mais. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 136. London: Batsford, 1943. Price 10s. 6d.

My Travels Through Chad. By P. O. Lapie. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 198. London: John Murray, 1943. Price 10s.

The Unconquered Isle: Malla, By Ian Hay. Pp. 208, with 33 Illustrations and 2 Maps. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1943. Price 7s. 6d. net.

The British Empire: Its Structure and Spirit. By Eric A. Walker. Pp. 250. London: Oxford University Press, 1943. Price 12s. 6d.

Man and His World. By Dr. James Mainwaring, M.A., D.Litt., F.R.H.S. Illustrated. Vol. I. The Evolution of the Old World. Pp.250. Vol. II. The Evolution of the Modern World. Pp.340. London, 1943.

A Portrait of Canada. By J. H. Stembridge. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp.164. London: Humphrey Milford at the Oxford University Press, 1943. Price 10s. 6d.

Return to Happiness. By J. Lied. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. xi+318. London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1943. Price 18s.

Federalism and the Small States. By Sir J. A. R. Marriott. Demy 8vo. Pp. 123. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1943. Price 5s.

A Short History of Canada for Americans. By A. L. Burt. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. xvi+279. University of Minnesota Press and Humphrey Milford, London, 1943. Price $3.00.

Greenland. By Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1943. Price 12s. 6d.

Headhunting in the Solomons. By Caroline Mytinger. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 334. London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1943. Price 151.

The World To‐day. By Barbara Ward. Illustrated. 7 1/2 × 4 1/2. Pp. 121. London: Oxford University Press and H. Milford, 1943. Price 3s. 6d.

Traveller from Tokio. By John Morris. Demy 8vo. Pp. 163. London: Cresset Press, 1943. Price 10s. 6d.

Igloo for the Night. By T. Manning. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. Pp. 252. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1943. Price 5s.