Of poles, pressmen, and the newspaper public: reporting the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1902–1904

Between 1902 and 1904, the Scots naturalist William Speirs Bruce (1867-1921) led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition on a voyage of oceanographical discovery. Unlike other British expeditions undertaken during the ‘Heroic Age’ of polar exploration, Bruce’s Expedition placed undivided attention upon scientific accumulation, and dismissed the value of territorial acquisition. As a consequence, Bruce and his Expedition were subject to a distinct interpretation by the press. With reference to contemporary newspaper reports, this paper traces the unique mediation of Bruce, and reveals how geographies of reporting served to communicate locally particular representations of him, and of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition

A Scot of the Antarctic: the reception and commemoration of William Speirs Bruce

2002–2004 marks the centenary of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. Led by the Scots naturalist and oceanographer William Speirs Bruce (1867–1921), the Expedition, a two-year exploration of the Weddell Sea, was an exercise in scientific accumulation, rather than territorial acquisition. Distinct in its focus from that of other expeditions undertaken during the 'Heroic Age' of polar exploration, the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, and Bruce in particular, were subject to a distinct press interpretation. From an examination of contemporary newspaper reports, this thesis traces the popular reception of Bruce—revealing how geographies of reporting and of reading engendered locally particular understandings of him. Inspired, too, by recent work in the history of science outlining the constitutive significance of place, this study considers the influence of certain important spaces—venues of collection, analysis, and display—on the conception, communication, and reception of Bruce's polar knowledge. Finally, from the perspective afforded by the centenary of his Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, this paper illustrates how space and place have conspired, also, to direct Bruce's 'commemorative trajectory'—to define the ways in which, and by whom, Bruce has been remembered since his death

Reading the reception of Ellen Churchill Semple’s Influences of geographic environment (1911)

This is a thesis in the historical geography of textual reception and meaning. Its focus is Influences of geographic environment (1911), by American geographer Ellen Churchill Semple (1861–1932). Semple’s book, a treatise on environmentalism, coincided with the emergence of geography in North America and Britain as an independent academic discipline, and it exerted an important but varied influence on generations of geographers. For those who considered it a monument to Semple’s scholarship and erudition, it was a timely manifesto for a scientific approach to geographical research. For others, Influences was conceptually flawed—a text which might damage geography’s emergent academic legitimacy and disciplinary credibility. Accepted by some, repudiated by others, Influences was lauded and criticized in almost equal measure. By attention to archival records, personal correspondence, published reviews, provenance, and marginalia—the material traces of its reading—the thesis examines the different reactions to Influences, and shows that it is possible to trace a geography of the book’s reception: to identify why it was encountered differently by different people, at different times and in different places. Informed by work in literary theory, book history, and the history of science, this thesis outlines the contribution that geography, or a geographical sensibility, can make to understanding the way knowledge and ideas in the guise of the printed text are conceived, transmitted, and received. By exploring the particular characteristics of Influences’ diffusion, the thesis offers a broader perspective on the different means by which scientific knowledge circulates; how its credibility is assessed; and how judgements as to its acceptance or rejection are made. In reading thus the different receptions of Semple’s text, the thesis proposes ways in which geographers might usefully engage with the cultural study of print in historical and geographical context

Introduction:Toward More Inclusive and Comparative Perspectives in the Histories of Geographical Knowledge

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Professional Geographer on 17 March 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00330124.2017.1288572

Introduction: Towards more inclusive and comparative perspectives in the histories of geographical knowledge

Introduction: Towards more inclusive and comparative perspectives in the histories of geographical knowledg

Teaching the history of geography:Current challenges and future directions

Drawing upon the personal reflections of geographical educators in Brazil, Canada, the UK, and the US, this Forum provides a state-of-the-discipline review of teaching in the history of geography; identifies the practical and pedagogical challenges associated with that teaching; and offers suggestions and provocations as to future innovation. The Forum shows how teaching in the history of geography is valued – as a tool of identity making, as a device for cohort building and professionalization, and as a means of interrogating the disciplinary present – but also how it is challenged by neoliberal educational policies, competing priorities in curriculum design, and sub-disciplinary divisions