GEOG 5160: Foundations of Geographical Thought
Thursdays 2 pm to 4.50 pm
ENV 360
Instructor: Dr. Waquar Ahmed
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.45 am – 10.45 am and by appointment.
Office Location: ENV 310 C
Email:
GEOG 5160, foundations of geographical thought, is a seminar offered by the Department of Geography at the University of North Texas. Foundations of geographical thought addressthe history, and ontological and epistemological aspects of explanation in geography. We examine explanation from the standpoint of various philosophies of science, reviewing dominant explanatory forms, as well as alternatives, such as those from the positions of positivism, phenomenology, structuralism, realism, Marxism, poststructuralism, postmodernism and feminism. We also try to improve basic graduate skills of writing, editing, oral presentation, and argument. Geography 5160 is one of the core classes in the Geography graduate program. You are expected to participate fully (including speaking frequently, clearly, coherently and audibly during class discussions and articulating your views on the assigned readings online on Blackboard discussion forum). Students are required to read the assigned material before the class in which material is to be discussed; note-taking on the assigned reading is strongly recommended. Lectures and discussions are based on the assumption that students are prepared for class. Based on past experience, students who prepare inadequately for class are unlikely to perform well or at the level of their ability, and they are likely to fall behind and find themselves unable to effectively catch up. Regular and punctual attendance is required.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understanding the history and social context involved in the evolution of the discipline of geography.
- Understanding the ontologies of geography.
- Understanding the epistemologies of geography.
- Become familiar with major debates and trends in geography.
- Improving basic skills of writing, editing, oral presentation and arguments as graduate students of geography.
Readings:
Required books
Peet, R. (1998). Modern geographical thought, Blackwell Publishers Malden, MA.
Inkpen, R. and G. Wilson (2013). Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. London, Routledge.
Best, S. and D. Kellner (1991). Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations. New York, Guilford Press.
Additional required/assigned readings are available on Blackboard Learn of the University of North Texas – full citations of the assigned readings are available in the bibliography.
Suggested books:
Gregory, D., et al., Eds. (2009). The Dictionary of Human Geography. Oxford, UK, Blackwell Publishers.
DeLyser, D., et al., Eds. (2010). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. London, SAGE.
Course Requirements:
Class presentation: Every week three students (as a group) will be responsible for presenting the meta message of the assigned readings, summarizing the main issues and raising questions, topics of interest, and in generalrunning the discussion. Power points and/or handouts may be used to display the presentations. The total time allotted to the group presentation each week is approximately 30 minutes. The presenters must also come to class with a clear-cut plan to stimulate discussion and moderate it.
Reaction to assigned readings: Each studentmust write 6 reaction papers and post them in the discussion section of the blackboard. The paper should react to the forthcoming/assigned readings that will be taken up for discussions/analysis on Thursday that week. Each reaction paper should consist of approximately 500 words. The reaction papers should synthesize the readings for the coming week, critically evaluate them, and provide reactions or opinions; it should not be a mere compilation of facts from the readings. The reaction paper has to be posted by 6 pm on Wednesdays. In other words, the students are allowed to choose any 6 weeks for which they are going to write reactions; the reaction however, must be posted at least 20 hours before the class starts discussing the readings for which the student has written her/his reactions. The student must react to all the readings assigned for those specific 6 weeks that she/he chooses.
Assignment 1 (due on August 27 at the end of class)– Please bring to class one paragraph on “What is Geography and what are explanations in geography” and one paragraph on “what is your research interest and what sub-field(s) of geographyintersect or encompass your research interest – how or why” – be prepared to present at least one of your paragraphs; hand both paragraphs in at end of class.
Assignment 2 (due on October 1 at 2 pm) - Second essay question set: “What is “Theory”? Compare the positivist and phenomenological notions of “explanation”. What direction did each take geographical thought and research? Which do you find more theoretically productive? Why? (No more than 10 pp. double-spaced, 12pt font).
Assignment 3 (due on December 4 by 5 pm) – Third essay: Using the case of a major piece of research on a topic you have in mind (eg your thesis or dissertation), write what might constitute the philosophical and social-theoretical introduction to this work, outlining the place of the research in its wider intellectual context, and the contribution to theoretical knowledge you might make”. (No more than 10 pp. double-spaced, 12pt font).Email this assignment to
Please note that late submission of assignments will not be accepted and there will be no makeup exams. In case you are unavailable on a day on which an assignment is due, then please submit the same a day or two earlier according to your convenience.
Attendancein class is mandatory. Students must procure leave of absence, or notify the instructor in case of absence.
Grading:
Class presentation: 15 percent of your total grades.
Class participation: 22 percent of your total grades.
Reaction to assigned readings on blackboard: 18 percent of your total grades.
Academic presentation on October 22:10 percent of your grades
Assignment 1: not graded.
Assignment 2: 15 percent of your grades
Assignment 3: 20 percent of your grades
I add up your numbers, and assign a grade at the end of the semester. Total points and corresponding grades are as follows:
A / 90 to100B / 80 to <90
C / 70 to <80
D / 65 to <70
F / 65
In case of you inability to submit a class assignment or complete a course requirement, you will be awarded an “incomplete” or F grade for this seminar.
Important dates:
Assignment 1: due on August 27 at the end of class
Assignment 2: October 1
Academic presentation: October 22
Assignment 3: December 4 by 5 pm
Disability Accommodation:
The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323.
Schedule and assigned readings:
Dates / Topics / Sub-topics and sourcesAug 27 / Introduction to Geography / Explanations in geography (Peet 1998: Chapter 1, pp. 1-11). Ontology, epistemology, physical geography, nature, human geography, urban geography, social geography, regional geography, political geography, political ecology, geopolitics, feminist geography, economic geography, development, cultural geography, social theory, space, methodology, cartography (Gregory, Johnston et al. 2009). Geomorphology, climatology, biogeography, ecology, hydrology (Thomas and Goudie 2000)
Sept 3 / History of early, and early-modern geographical thought / Ancient Indian and Chinese geographical concepts (Husain 2008). Greeks, Romans and Geography (Dikshit 1999: pp. 17-22). Arab geographical thought (Husain 2008). Legacy of Humboldt and Ritter (Dikshit 1999: Chapter 2, pp. 38-61)Early modern geography (Peet 1998: 11- 19; Peet 1985; Johnston and Sidaway 2004: 40-60): modern beginnings, environmental determinism and possibilism , cultural geography, regional geography and philosophical origins.
Sept 10 / Positivist Explanation, Scientific Method and Post-Positivist Critique / Growth of systematic studies and the adoption of scientific method (Johnston and Sidaway 2004: 61-109; Peet 1998: 19-33). Positivism and logical positivism in geography (Gregory, Johnston et al. 2009). Paradigm concept in geography (Mair 1986, Gregory, Johnston et al. 2009).Human geography as spatial science (Johnston and Sidaway 2004: 111-188)
Sept 17 / Positivist Explanation, Scientific Method and Post-Positivist Critique / Science, philosophy and methods in Physical Geography (Inkpen and Wilson 2013) – [chapters 1-9].
Sept 24 / Positivist Explanation, Scientific Method and Post-Positivist Critique / Physical geography and society (Massey 1999, Inkpen and Wilson 2013) – [chapter 10]. GIS tool or science(Pickles 2010, Wright, Goodchild et al. 2010). Post-positivism and GIS (Kwan 2002, Aitken and Kwan 2010)
Oct 1 / Existentialism, Phenomenology and Humanistic Geography / Existentialism, phenomenology and humanistic geography (Peet 1998: Chapter 2, pp. 34-66). Phenomenological and idealist critique of scientific geography (Guelke 1971). Phenomenology of place (Relph 1976: Chapter 3) Human spatiality(Pickles 1985: pp. 154-170). Landscape interpretation (Duncan and Duncan 2010)
Oct 8 / Radical Geography / Radical Geography, Marxism and Structural Marxist Geography (Peet 1998: Chapters 3 and 4, pp. 67-146). Ideology, state and Power(Althusser 2001: 85-126; Peet 2007: 1-27)
Oct 15 / Radical Geography / Materialism(Marx 1845). Dialectics (Sayers 1991). Production of space (Lefebvre 1991: pp. 1-67). Socio-spatial dialectics (Soja 1980). Key thinkers: David Harvey, Michael Watts, Neil Smith and Mike Davis (Hubbard and Kitchin 2011)
Oct 22 / How to give an academic presentation / Prepare a 10-minute talk as though you were presenting a formal, academic paper at an academic conference. Or give the paper you are presenting at SWAAG or AAG. Class will consist of presentations and a few questions, class criticisms, and suggestions for improvements.
Oct 29 / Realism, Critical Realism, Structuration and Locality Studies / Structuration, Realism, and locality Studies (Peet 1998, Chapter 5. Pp. 147-193). Methods in social sciences – a realist approach (Sayer 1992, Chapters 3, 4 and 9: pp. 85-152 and 232-257). Levels of abstraction in locality studies (Cox and Mair 1989). Key thinkers: Anthony Giddens and Derek Gregory (Hubbard and Kitchin 2011).
Nov 5 / Post-structural and postmodern geographies / Poststructuralism, postmodernism and postmodern geographies (Peet 1998, Chapter 6:pp. 194-216). Foucault and the critique of modernity (Best and Kellner 1991: Chapter 2, pp. 34-75).Questions on geography (Foucault 1980). Anti-essentialism (Gibson-Graham 1996: Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 1-45). Discourse analysis (Dittmer 2010).
Nov 12 / Post-structural and postmodern geographies / Poststructuralism, postmodernism and postmodern geographies (Peet 1998, Chapter 6:pp. 216-246). Deleuze and Guattari, Baudrillard, and Lyotard (Best and Kellner 1991: Chapters 3, 4 and 5. pp. 76-180). Postmodernism and postmodern urban design (Harvey 1990: Chapters 3 and 4, pp. 39-98).
Nov 19 / Feminist Geography / Feminist theory and the geography of gender (Peet 1998: Chapter 7, pp.247-291). Feminism and science (Harding 2013). Situated knowledge (Haraway 1988). Capitalist patriarchy and socialist feminism (Eisenstein 1999). Women, production, reproduction and beyond (Rose 1993: Chapters 1, 2 and 6, pp. 1-40 and 113-136). Key thinks: Judith Butler and Doreen Massey (Hubbard and Kitchin 2011)
Dec 3 / Post-positivist methods in Geography / Mixed methods (Elwood 2010). Visual methods (Crang 2010). Representing the other(Myers 2010). Activist geography and research (Routledge 2010).
Bibliography:
Aitken, S. C. and M.-P. Kwan (2010). GIS as qualitative research: knowledge, participatory politics and cartographies of affect. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. D. DeLyser, S. Herbert, S. Aitken, M. Crang and L. McDowell. London, SAGE: 287-304.
Althusser, L. (2001). Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. New York, Monthly Review Press: 85-126.
Best, S. and D. Kellner (1991). Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations. New York, Guilford Press.
Cox, K. and A. Mair (1989). "Levels of abstraction in locality studies." Antipode21(2): 121-132.
Crang, M. (2010). Visual methods and methodologies. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. D. DeLyser, S. Herbert, S. Aitken, M. Crang and L. McDowell. London, SAGE: 208-224.
Dikshit, R. D. (1999). Geographical Thought: A Contextual History of Ideas. New Delhi, Prentice-Hall of India.
Dittmer, J. (2010). Textual and discourse analysis. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. D. DeLyser, S. Herbert, S. Aitken, M. Crang and L. McDowell. London, SAGE.
Duncan, N. and J. Duncan (2010). Doing landscape interpretation. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. D. DeLyser, S. Herbert, S. Aitken, M. Crang and L. McDowell. London, SAGE: 225-247.
Eisenstein, Z. (1999). "Constructing a theory of capitalist patriarchy and socialist feminism." Critical Sociology25(2/3): 196-217.
Elwood, S. (2010). Mixed methods: thinking, doing, and asking in multiple ways. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. D. DeLyser, S. Herbert, S. Aitken, M. Crang and L. McDowell: 94-114.
Foucault, M. (1980). Questions on geography. Power/Knowledge: selected interviews & other writings. C. Gordon. New York, Harvester Press: 63-77.
Gibson-Graham, J. K. (1996). The end of capitalism (as we knew it): A feminist critique of political economy. Cambridge, MA, Blackwell Publishing.
Gregory, D., et al., Eds. (2009). The Dictionary of Human Geography. Oxford, UK, Blackwell Publishers.
Guelke, L. (1971). "Problems of scientific explanation in Geography." The Canadian Geographer15(1): 38-53.
Haraway, D. (1988). "Situated knowledges: the science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective." Feminist Studies14(3): 575-599.
Harding, S. (2013). Feminism, science, and the anti-enlightenment critiques. Feminism/Postmodernism. L. J. Nicholson. New York, Routledge: 83-106.
Harvey, D. (1990). The Condition of Postmodernity. Cambridge, MA, Blackwell.
Hubbard, P. and R. Kitchin (2011). Key Thinkers on Space and Place. London, SAGE Publications Ltd.
Husain, M. (2008). Evolution of Geographical Thought. New Delhi, Rawat Publications.
Inkpen, R. and G. Wilson (2013). Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. London, Routledge.
Johnston, R. J. and J. D. Sidaway (2004). Geography & Geographers: Anglo-American Human Geography since 1945. London, Hodder Education.
Kwan, M.-P. (2002). "Feminist Visualization: Re-Envisioning GIS as a Method in Feminist Geographic Research." Annals of the Association of American Geographers92(4): 645-661.
Lefebvre, H. (1991). The Production of Space. Cambridge, MA, Blackwell Publishers.
Mair, A. (1986). "Thomas Kuhn and understanding geography." Progress in Human Geography10(September): 345-369.
Marx, K. (1845, August 14, 2015). "Theses on Feuerbach." from
Massey, D. (1999). "Space-time, 'science' and the relationship between physical geography and human geography." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers24(3): 261-276.
Myers, G. (2010). Representing the other: negotiating the personal and the political. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. D. DeLyser, S. Herbert, S. Aitken, M. Crang and L. McDowell. London, SAGE: 373-387.
Peet, R. (1985). "The Social Origins of Environmental Determinism." Annals of the Association of American Geographers75(3): 309-333.
Peet, R. (1998). Modern geographical thought, Blackwell Publishers Malden, MA.
Peet, R. (2007). Geography of Power: Making of Global Economic Policy. London, Zed Books.
Pickles, J. (1985). Phenomenology, Science and Geography. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Pickles, J. (2010). "Tool or Science? GIS, Technoscience, and the Theoretical Turn." Annals of the Association of American Geographers87(2): 363-372.
Relph, E. (1976). Place and Placelessness, Pion.
Rose, G. (1993). Feminism and Geography. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.
Routledge, P. (2010). Major disasters and general panics: methodologies of activism, affinity and emotion in the clandestine insurgent rebel clown army. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. D. DeLyser, S. Herbert, S. Aitken, M. Crang and L. McDowell. London, SAGE: 388-405.
Sayer, R. A. (1992). Method in Social Science: A Realist Approach. London, Routledge.
Sayers, S. (1991). Marxism and the dialectical method: A critique of G.A. Cohen. Socialism, Feminism and Philosophy: A Radical Philosophy Reader. P. Osborne and S. Sayers. London, Routledge: 140-169.
Soja, E. W. (1980). "The Socio-Spatial Dialectic." Annals of the Association of American Geographers70(2): 207-223.
Thomas, D. S. G. and A. Goudie, Eds. (2000). The Dictionary of Physical Geography. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers.
Wright, D. J., et al. (2010). "Demystifying the persistent ambiguity of GIS as 'tool' versus 'science'." Annals of the Association of American Geographers87(2): 346-362.
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