Richard Powell

The Sirens’ voices? Field practices and dialogue in geography

This paper responds to recent demands for greater discussion between physical and human geographers over common conceptualizations and entities. I argue that one possible way in which to conduct such a dialogue would be through considerations of reconceptualized modes of fieldwork practice across the discipline of geography and cognate disciplines. In consequence, I examine such concepts of fieldwork, encompassing diverse attempts such as an ethnographic politics of location and new visions of geomorphological practice. In so doing, I indicate some of the broader potentialities available to historians and philosophers of field science.

“The rigours of an arctic experiment”: the precarious authority of field practices in the Canadian High Arctic, 1958 – 1970

The author examines the development of the notion of the field experiment in High Arctic environmental sciences during the period 1958–70. After a discussion of the philosophy and sociology of experiment, the author considers a set of field practices conducted under the auspices of the Canadian Governments Polar Continental Shelf Project. Drawing on archival and oral historical research, he argues that field scientists had to deal with a number of logistical, corporeal, and epistemic difficulties in the High Arctic. It is demonstrated that these obstacles hindered attempts to develop a scientific literature based upon experimental practices during fieldwork. In doing so, the author attempts to set new agendas for historical geographers of science around the analysis of the geographical sciences, whilst also contributing to discussions about the epistemic status of variegated field practices.

Echoes of the New Geography? History and philosophy of geography I

Taking as its cue the debates in 2009 at the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) about the relative role of the institution in geographical exploration, science and pedagogy, this essay reviews recent work in the history and philosophy of geography. It argues that there is a long tradition of debates between educators and explorers within the RGS, and shows how these have been revisited in current work on Halford Mackinder and Charles Darwin. It concludes that attention to the processes of remembering and forgetting should be particularly acute at this moment in the history of geographical practices.

Northern cultures: myths, geographies and representational practices

Northern experience and the myths of Canadian culture. By Renée Hulan. Montreal and Kingston, London and Ithaca, NY: McGill-Queen’s University Press. 2002. 232 pp. £52.50 cloth; £18.95 paper. ISBN 0 7735 2227 1 cloth; 0 7735 2228 X paper. Canada and the idea of north. By Sherrill E. Grace. Montreal and Kingston, London and Ithaca, NY: McGill-Queen’s University Press. 2002. 368 pp. £37.95 cloth. ISBN 0 7735 2247 6.

The challenge to develop CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) replacements: a problem based learning case study in green chemistry

The value of case studies for teaching both subject specific and transferable skills within chemistry have long been recognised. Coupling this with problem based learning provides a powerful basis for teaching transferable skills within a chemistry context. This problem based learning case study does this via the fascinating story of the industrial challenge to develop CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) replacements on a very short time scale. It provides a vehicle for developing team working, communication, critical thinking, data interpretation and problem solving skills in a ‘real life’ context. It also introduces students to environmental issues and green chemistry plus the role of the chemical industry in developing solutions to these issues. The, often competing, interplay between chemistry, economics and social and political factors encourages (?) students to make links between different areas of the curriculum and to also appreciate that there are not always single ‘correct’ answers to scientific problems. Attention is focussed on the discovery and development of the CFC replacement HFA–134a. The paper concludes with a report on the trialling of, and student feedback for, the case study. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2006, 7 (4), 280-287]

History and philosophy of geography II The future history of the geographical propaedeutic

This report juxtaposes recent statements on geographical knowledge by Robert Kaplan and David Harvey to review current concerns in the history and philosophy of geography. Three general trends are identified. First, there have been attempts to address the geographical contributions evident in the corpus of key thinkers, particularly Immanuel Kant. Second, a broader concern with articulating histories of disciplinary subfields, such as cultural, economic and physical geography, has been evident, often connected to personal biographies and reminiscences. Third, a body of work has attempted to put geography’s story into dialogue with that of the wider social sciences, especially for the Cold War period. The paper concludes by noting the continuing difficulties of engaging with the histories and philosophies of geography.

Polar geopolitics: new researchers on the Polar Regions

This introduction to this issue of The Polar Journal champions the work of early career researchers working in the humanities and social sciences addressing themes and topics pertaining to the Polar Regions. Mindful that no collection of essays can be comprehensive, the 10 essays presented here are interdisciplinary and geographically varied, involving writers hailing from institutions based in Australia, Europe and North America. Theoretically and methodologically, the essays presented here use textual and visual analysis, ethnography, discourse analysis, and draw upon theorising pertaining to identity politics, institutional analysis, security studies, cultural nationalism, regimes and governance and futures-based research. While clearly drawing upon the existing scholarship of established scholars, the collection as a whole points to the importance of ongoing capacity building in the social sciences and humanities with regard to the Polar Regions.

Questions on the canon

This short commentary uses a recent question on an Undergraduate examination paper to put pedagogy at the heart of the canon debate. It argues that different teaching practices across various institutions teaching geography have influenced constructions of canonicity, and that this impacts on Keighren et al.’s (2012) argument about the relative status of the ‘canon’ versus the ‘classic’.

Institutions, Resources, and the Governance of Postcolonial Greenland

There are different visions of Greenland. For the inhabitants, Kalaallit Nunaat is a homeland with increasing autonomy and independence.1 For most of the world, Greenland is often reduced to its ice cap, a ‘global laboratory’ for science, and an emblem of climate change for environmental NGOs and, increasingly, global civil society. For Denmark, the island is a constituent part of the Danish Kingdom. For North Americans, especially the US military, Greenland is geographically, geologically, and continentally part of North America. For some representatives in the European Parliament or the European Commission, Greenland is part of Europe, offering a further window for the European Union to develop its Northern Dimension. For many new actors in the Arctic, whether for multi-nationals wanting to develop resources or Asian states such as China and South Korea, Greenland is depicted as a ‘newly-independent state’ seeking new partners for development.

History and philosophy of geography III Charting the Anabasis

Using ideas on the pedagogy of geographical thought from John Henry Newman and Neil Smith as inspiration, this progress report discusses recent work in the history and philosophy of geography. In doing so, it identifies a series of emergent themes including concerns for canonicity, biography, institutional history and enchantment. A tension in current work between historical geographies of geographical knowledge that are attuned to sites, institutions and materiality and a resurgent history of geographical concepts is discussed. In concluding, it is argued that historians of geography need to engage with related developments in intellectual history about materiality and spatial approaches.