GG36610 - THE HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL THOUGHT: COLUMBUS TO MACKINDER

Module Identifier	GG36610
Module Title	THE HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL THOUGHT: COLUMBUS TO MACKINDER
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Robert Mayhew
Semester	Semester 1
Course delivery	Lecture	20 Hours 10 x 2 hours
Assessment	Supplementary examination	3 Hours An unseen two hour examination in the same format.	100%
	Exam	2 Hours A two-hour unseen examination - Two sections.	100%

Brief description

The period from c. 1500 to c. 1900 delimits a coherent era in the history of geographical thought, spanning the voyages of Columbus and Da Gama to the formation of the modern university discipline of geography in the later nineteenth century. From Columbus's 'discovery' of the Americas to Livingstone's travels in Africa, there was an ambition to gain ever more detailed information about the surface of the globe. There was also a widespread demand for books which would summarise this information for an audience whose aims were [political, imperial and commercial. The period also saw seminal texts published which helped to forge modern geography, such as Montesquieu's Spirit of the laws, a key theorization of the relationship between society and Darwin's Origin of Species. This course provides a critical overview of the development of geography over four centuries, coupled to a series of detailed analyses of key texts in the history of geographical thought. It also introduces students to historiographical questions about the role of the history of geography in geography's nature in the present day. Areas covered:

The history of geography books and geography
The history of Exploration and Discovery
Key Texts in the History of Geographical Thought
Questions about how and why we construct histories of geography.

Module Aims

This module aims to give students a detailed understanding of the history of geography and of forms of geographical knowledge

Module objectives / Learning outcomes

On completion of this module students will be able to:-

demonstrate a detailed awareness of the development of European knowledge about the wider world in the period 1492-1900

be aware and appreciate how geography was defined and practiced in the period prior to the formation of the University discipline of geography

discuss some of the classic texts of geographical enquiry from the period 1500- 1900

show knowledge and understanding of the debates about the worth of, and approaches to, writing the history of geography for the present practice of the discipline

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Bacon, Frances. (2000) The New Organon. ISBN 0-521-56483-2
Cook, James. (1999) Journals. London ISBN 0-140-43647-2
Columbus, Christopher. (1969) The Four Voyages. London ISBN 0-140-44217-0
Darwin, Charles. (1882) Origin of Species. London ISBN 0-140-43205-1
Lyell, Charles. (1997) Principles of Geology. London ISBN 0-140-43528-X
Malthus, Thomas. (1986) Essays on the Principle of Population. London ISBN 0-140-43206-X
Montaigue. (1991) Essays. ISBN 0-713-99072-4
Montesquieu. (1969) The Spirit of the Laws. Cambridge ISBN 0-521-36974-6
von Humboldt, Alexander. (1996) Cosmos. Baltimore ISBN 0-801-85502-0
** Recommended Background
Boorstein, Daniel. (1984) The Discoverers. London ISBN 0-460-04662-4
Bowen, Margarita. (1981) Empiricism and Geographical Thought: From Francis Bacon to Alexander von Humboldt. Cambridge ISBN 0-521-23653-3
Livingstone, David. (1992) The Geographical Tradition. Oxford ISBN 0-031-18586-0
Parry, J.H.. (1963) The Age of Reconnaissance: Discovery, Exploration and Settlement, 1450-1650. Berkeley ISBN 0-520-04235-2