Determinism and the Antiquated Deontology of the Social Sciences

This article shows how the social sciences, particularly human geography, rejected hard determinism by the mid-twentieth century largely on the deontological basis that it is irreconcilable with social justice, yet this rejection came just before a burst of creative development in consequentialist theories of social justice that problematize a facile rejection of determinism on moral grounds, a development that has seldom been recognized in the social sciences. Thus many current social science and human geography views on determinism and social justice are antiquated, ignoring numerous common and well-respected arguments within philosophy that hard determinism can be reconciled with a just society. We support this argument by briefly tracing the parallel development of stances on determinism in the social sciences and the deontological-consequentialist debate in philosophy. The purpose of the article is to resituate social science and human geography debates on determinism and social justice within a modern ethical framework

Embodied cognitive ecosophy: the relationship of mind, body, meaning and ecology

The concept of embodied cognition has had a major impact in a number of disciplines. The extent of its consequences on general knowledge and epistemology are still being explored. Embodied cognition in human geography has its own traditions and discourses but these have become somewhat isolated in the discipline itself. This paper argues that findings in other disciplines are of value in reconceptualising embodied cognition in human geography and this is explored by reconsidering the concept of ecosophy. Criticisms of ecosophy as a theory are considered and recent work in embodied cognition is applied to consider how such criticisms might be addressed. An updated conceptualisation is proposed, the embodied cognitive ecosophy, and three characteristics arising from this criticism and synthesis are presented with a view to inform future discussions of ecosophy and emotional geography

Power, discourse and city trajectories

Examines social theory and contemporary human geography in the context of urban development. Covers theoretical debates in political ecology, the cultural turn in the economy, social relations and scale, space and place, and colonialism and post-colonialism

Dialectics and difference: against Harvey's dialectical post-Marxism

David Harvey`s recent book, Justice, nature and the geography of difference (JNGD), engages with a central philosophical debate that continues to dominate human geography: the tension between the radical Marxist project of recent decades and the apparently disempowering relativism and `play of difference' of postmodern thought. In this book, Harvey continues to argue for a revised `post-Marxist' approach in human geography which remains based on Hegelian-Marxian principles of dialectical thought. This article develops a critique of that stance, drawing on the work of Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. I argue that dialectical thinking, as well as Harvey's version of `post-Marxism', has been undermined by the wide-ranging `post-' critique. I suggest that Harvey has failed to appreciate the full force of this critique and the implications it has for `post-Marxist' ontology and epistemology. I argue that `post-Marxism', along with much contemporary human geography, is constrained by an inflexible ontology which excessively prioritizes space in the theory produced, and which implements inflexible concepts. Instead, using the insights of several `post-' writers, I contend there is a need to develop an ontology of `context' leading to the production of `contextual theories'. Such theories utilize flexible concepts in a multilayered understanding of ontology and epistemology. I compare how an approach which produces a `contextual theory' might lead to more politically empowering theory than `post-Marxism' with reference to one of Harvey's case studies in JNGD

Advanced Placement Human Geography Teacher Perceptions and Experiences with William Pattison\u27s Content and Pedagogical Suggestions

The researcher investigated to what extent Advanced Placement® (AP) Human Geography teacher’s pedagogical and content approaches aligned with William Pattison’s noted articulations in geography education. A qualitative case study methodology was used to explore AP Human Geography teacher perceptions of William Pattison’s geography content and curriculum suggestions. William. D. Pattison had an enduring influence on geography education in the United States. He clarified and articulated the academic discipline of geography amidst changes in the academy and secondary geography schooling during the 1960s. Similarly, over 50 years later, high school geography finds itself amidst an educational environment of college and career readiness initiatives and high stakes testing. The study compared teacher responses with pedagogical recommendations within the Advisory Paper for Teachers Associated with the High School Geography Project and geography content within The Four Traditions of Geography. Additionally, the investigation examined AP Human Geography teacher experiences with geography content training. Seven AP Human Geography teachers at seven different high schools in a southeastern state provided semi-structured in-depth interviews addressing the following four research questions: (1) What are high school geography teachers’ perceptions of Pattison’s pedagogical approaches? (2) What are high school geography teachers’ perceptions of Pattison’s geography content approaches? (3) To what extent are AP Human Geography teachers guided by content and pedagogical approaches aligned with William Pattison’s Four Traditions of Geography and Advisory Paper? (4) What are high school geography teacher experiences in geography content training? The researcher identified four themes within the investigation: (1) inquiry approaches aligned with William Pattison’s pedagogy are embraced among AP Human Geography teachers; (2) AP Human Geography teachers support weaving William Pattison’s area studies tradition within a thematic curriculum; (3) the importance of AP Human Geography collaborative teacher communities; and (4) limitations in college geography presented a challenge for teaching AP Human Geography. The study offers recommendations for future research

Progress in Human Geography

Časopis Progress in Human Geography namijenjen je svima onima koji se žele upoznati sa suvremenim stanjem znanja i istraživanja u antropogeografiji. Izlazi od 1977. godine, izdavač je SAGE Publications, a od 2002. godine objavljuje se šest svezaka godišnje

Human Geography: The World

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