History and Methods of Modern Geography

Catalog description

This course provides the theoretical foundation to the field of geography. It explores the different bodies of thought and methodological practices which have shaped the character of geography from the late 19th century to the present. This exploration will cross the traditional sub-disciplinary divisions of human geography, physical geography and GIScience, examining the ways in which all three have been woven together and pulled apart by broad intellectual trends in the discipline. When the course is finished, students should be able to place their own research into disciplinary context, and gain a useful perspective on the similarities and differences between contemporary geographic subfields, and their methods, as contingent, historical products.