Global Perspectives in the Geography Curriculum

Reviewing the Moral Case for Geography

Alex Standish

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2008
• eBook ISBN: 9781134032020
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

'For geographers across the globe this book provides the arguments for a return to the teaching of geography and why they should reject the politicisation of the subject by education policy makers and politicians. Standish's careful critique shows the necessity of a depoliticised geography curriculum the irony of which would be that it would ensure that every child could point to Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan on a map.'

Prof. Dennis Hayes – Oxford Brookes University, UK

'A prescient and critical analysis of the changing face of geography
teaching. This book deserves to be widely read and debated. Alex Standish's book puts current trends in geography teaching in historical and critical context. It comprises a forthright and timely defence of geographical education for its own sake.'

Dr Jim Butcher, FRSA, Department of Sport Science, Tourism and Leisure, Canterbury Christ Church University.

Since the early 1990s, educational policy makers and some subject leaders have been seeking to fundamentally change the teaching of geography in UK and US schools, from a subject which encourages students to explore spatial concepts, ideas and skills, to a more ethics based subject concerned with the promotion of environmentalism, cultural diversity and social justice. In this book the new approach is critically examined, within a historical and ideological context, addressing a number of fundamental questions:

• Should geography be used as a tool for the delivery of citizenship ideals? How does this affect the intellectual and moral value of geographical education for young people?

• If the state and teachers are taking more responsibility for the values, attitudes and emotional responses of students, how will they learn to develop these qualities for themselves?

• If global perspectives shift the focus of education from learning about the outside world to learning about the self, what is its vision of social progress and conception of social change?

This book advocates a return to liberal models of education, arguing that the new approach to geography currently being promoted for schools fundamentally undermines the educational value of the subject, and the freedom of young people to shape the world in which they live.

A vital resource for teachers and student teachers alike, <I>Global Perspectives in the Geography Curriculum<$> makes a significant contribution to the growing debate about the future direction of the discipline itself.

Chapter 1
The evolution of a discipline and its instrumental applications

KEY QUESTIONS

• 1 What is geography?
• 2 Why study geography?
• 3 What is the relationship between geography as a subject and social change?

Geography’s recent ethical turn and the inclusion of global issues in the curriculum are by no means the first time that the subject has been utilized for political objectives and imbued with extraneous morals. Indeed it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that education was first understood as an intellectual activity distinct from moral indoctrination. The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, it will chart the evolution of geography as a discipline, highlighting its fundamental humanizing qualities and how these emerged in different historical periods. Second, it will demonstrate the ways in which the subject has been seized upon for instrumental purpose. At different periods these external moral agendas have been religious, political and social reformist in nature. What is common to each is the conscious attempt to use geography as a vehicle to provide students with a predetermined set of socio-political values or to induce a type of desired behaviour. Indeed, geography’s very evolution as an institutionalized discipline towards the end of the nineteenth century was not unconnected with its role in supporting imperialistic tendencies of European nations and instilling in children a sense of pride in nation, and empire in the case of Britain. Whether these extrinsic moral campaigns have been successful or not is not the prerogative of this chapter. At other times, such as during the Enlightenment and in the mid-twentieth century, there have been demands for greater scientific rigour from the subject. During these periods, many geographers resisted the prevailing political orthodoxy and sought, as far as possible, to isolate their subject from political and instrumental moral pressures. Here the emphasis was on the value of geography itself and how it helped young people to become more complete human beings.

The evolution of geography will be explored in four distinct periods: the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment period, the end of the nineteenth/ beginning of the twentieth century and the mid-twentieth century. In each period important contributions were made to the foundations of the subject, enhancing its intellectual and social credibility, but also its ulterior aims for geography are considered. It is evident from this brief sortie into geography’s past that it is not a coherent discipline with clearly defined parameters. Hirst (1974) described geography as an area of knowledge rather than a distinctive field such as biology or mathematics. This has made the subject more sensitive than others to cultural and political pressures of the moment. Over the course of the twentieth century geographers branched out in several different directions. This is why geographers today refer to the subject’s different traditions rather than providing an all-encompassing definition.

Geography in the Age of Exploration

From the Ancient Greeks to the first circumnavigation of the global by Magellan, geography became synonymous with the pursuit of spatial data, knowledge of distant places and mapping. It is well established that the roots of geographical enquiry lie in Ancient Greece and Rome. The Greeks coined the term geographie, meaning ‘earth writing’ or ‘earth describing’. Ptolomy and Strabo were two of the founders of the discipline. In Geographia Ptolomy calculated locations using lines of latitude and longitude. The task for Greek geographers, and the Romans’ thereafter, was to intellectually conquer the world: to find the geographical configuration and limitation of the world about which the Europeans knew little. Of course this ‘world’ was geographically restricted to Europe, North African and parts of Asia, but over time the coastline and some interior features of continents were mapped. These early geographers also kept records of climate, vegetation, landscape and people they encountered. As Europe entered its Dark Ages it was left to the Muslim world to take up the pursuit of geography. The work of ancient Greeks and Romans was translated into Arabic. Muslim geographers theorized that the world was a sphere and estimated its dimensions. They calculated the precession of the equinoxes, observed weathering and the hydrological cycle, and correlated human activity with different climates. Much of their work concerned observation and classification, given the limited knowledge of science at the time. Two prominent geographers of the time were al-Mas’udi and al-Idrisi.

The Europeans returned to geographical conquest following the scientific revolution. Geographical pursuits were held in high regard during the age of European exploration. This period included the explorers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and the early eighteenth centuries. The Europeans returned to the task of geographically knowing the world, but now on a global scale. To do this meant mapping the land and oceans in significant detail, identifying distant people and learning about distant lands. Given the centrality of this task to humanity at this time, geography is sometimes known as the Mother of All Sciences and, given its preoccupation with the mathematics of the globe, it was closely associated with mathematics and astrology at this time. It was the work of Copernicus that led to the identification of the spherical world. Constructing an intellectual map of the world necessitated recording all manner of detail about foreign lands: flora and fauna, people, culture, economic activity, politics, architecture, food and of course measurement of coastlines, hence geography developed early on with a strong empirical tradition. Early geographers frequently depended upon the work of travel writers for their material. Explorers returned to European shores with elaborate, and sometimes embellished, stories as well as specimens and images from their travels. In Europe, and later America, there was a hunger to learn about all things foreign and taste new exotic foods and drink.

Of course at this time science was intimately tied to ideas of divine creation. While scientists were seeking to understand natural processes, many thought that this would reveal the work of God in nature and hence there was no distinction between knowing the world and knowing God. Another external moral framework that influenced the development of knowledge at this time was the forging of national sentiment. As this was a period of colonial conquest and expansion, geography in particular was concerned with statecraft.

Hence it should come as no surprise that in the seventeenth century and for most of the eighteenth geography was imbued with religious and state doctrine. Earthquakes, for example, were seen as a punishment from God for the moral failings of people. Peter Heylyn’s (1599–1662) geography texts included strong ‘defences of church ornament, attacks on Presby-terianism and distancing of the English Reformation from European Calvinism’ (Mayhew 2000:53). Geographical facts were used to validate British exceptionalism and independence as well as the hand of God. Heylyn’s text Microcosmus was subtitled ‘a treatise historicall, geograph-icall, politicall, theologicall’, emphasizing the interrelated nature of these topics to the author. Many early geography texts depended upon the work of travel writers such as Richard Hakluyt, John Wesley and Walter Raleigh. Again, there was an emphasis on the benefits of overseas conquests and the need to strengthen faith in the British Empire.

Two traditions for geographical education were evident at this time. The first was as part of the liberal sciences, which were necessary for the training of young minds for their coming civic duties. In geography, students (mostly boys of wealthy families) would learn about mathematics, geometry, astronomy and general knowledge of the earth. The second tradition viewed geography as a practical subject for merchants, statesmen and soldiers. This latter tradition dates back to the Greek geographer Strabo. With both of these traditions geography played a role in shaping attitudes and values towards the nation state and God.

Geography in the Enlightenment (approximately 1750–early 1800s)

The Enlightenment period gave rise to a profound sense of optimism and possibilities for humankind. Geography made several significant advances during this period, but in general sought to make the subject more scientific. Through the work of prominent geographers it gained scientific rigour: with greater attention to accuracy and methodology, geographical knowledge was organized into a more meaningful form, large-scale studies were undertaken to map unknown lands and oceans, first attempts were made to study people of other cultures and some geographers began to recognize how cultural and political ideas influenced human interpretation of reality.

Most geographers before the Enlightenment did not conduct their own fieldwork (Mayhew 2000). The advance of science and better understanding of the role of people in knowing and shaping their world changed the way geographers set about their work. Leading geographers sought to make their work more scientific by basing their studies on principles of accuracy and evidence. Major James Rennell (1742–1830) was one of the first geographers to represents the ‘formal empire of professional knowledge’ (Mayhew 2000: 194). As surveyor-general for the East India Company’s dominions in Bengal he successfully completed the surveying of that region in 1776.

Similarly, James Cook (1728–1779) was a pioneer of scientific geography, undertaking a methodical approach to analysis of foreign lands and people. For each of his three Pacific voyages his crew were made up of scientifically trained officers, painters, astronomers, naturalists and surgeons. His observations, record keeping and collections of thousands of different species were informed by his commitment to scientific principles. His particular achievements included mapping the Islands of New Zealand, the first European contact with the aborigines of Australia, a circum-navigation of the globe, charting the location of several Pacific islands such as Hawaii, the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle and charting the majority of the North American north-west coastline, including Alaska. Among his crew was the botanist Joseph Banks (1743–1820). Banks was to record and collect the numerous different species encountered on their travels, a significant complement to Cook’s more general geographical observations. Upon returning to Britain Cook and Banks brought with them thousands of these species, many of which were kept at sites such as Kew Gardens. Cook himself developed his skills as an ethnographer, observing and interacting with people of other cultures. In Tahiti he spent some three months studying the people and their environment. This methodical approach sets Cook apart from pre-Enlightenment explorers, whose observations were more general and erratic, and most of whom were dismissive of other cultures. This is not to say that Cook was free from political influence. Livingstone posits that Cook was under orders from the British Crown to chart territory for potential imperial conquest. Most probably this drove his quest for the southern continent. However, it is also clear to see in his work a commitment to the intrinsic values of science and knowledge.

A significant contribution to the advancement of geography, and science more generally, was made by Prussian philosopher and geographer Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). Not only did Kant lecture for many years on the nature of physical geography, but his philosophical analysis gave insight into how we make sense of the world. Prior to Kant, scientists mistakenly believed that people directly interpret reality as it exists; that there was no role for human mediation. In contrast, Kant made a distinction between noumena (external reality) and phenomena (our perception of that reality). Kant separated our ideas from the natural world itself. This opened up the possibility for scientists to become aware of how cultural and political context can shape their interpretation of the world. This does not mean that scientists can necessarily separate themselves from these influences. The prevailing cultural and political outlook of the time will always influence questions asked by scientists and how they interpret their results. However, at least awareness of them provides for the possibility to minimize this process. Individuals are not machines that automatically regurgitate every idea that pops into their heads. Humans have the capacity to reason and therefore can support or reject the prevailing cultural and political perspective.

William Guthrie was one of the few geographers to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy of his time. Robert Mayhew, in his review of British geographers during the Enlightenment, notes that Guthrie’s Geographical Grammar was informed by the Scottish Enlightenment thinkers more than the Oxbridge–London axis. As such, ‘he gave a distanced perspective on the political issues which had previously been central to the Anglo-centric geographic tradition’, with the effect that the text ‘undercuts the English exceptionalism and patriotism upon which geography books had been grounded since Camden’ (Mayhew 2000: 179). Mayhew is quick to point out that this does not mean that Guthrie’s geography was value-free. His political outlook included ‘a moderate and Protestant form of Christianity, supporting the liberties of the people (albeit not the “mob”) and working for toleration within the established structures of church and state’ (ibid. 2000: 179). The point is that people are born into a society with a given cultural and political outlook that is not of their own choosing, but ideas are mediated through the minds of these very same people who can accept, reject or even modify them, and ultimately shape society in a new way.

Kant’s revolutionary step was necessary for science to be able to advance beyond many extraneous social and political demands. In the words of Livingstone he ‘de-theologised the scientific study of the natural world’ (Livingstone 1992: 116). Nevertheless, many scientists continued to take a teleological view of the natural world. Ritter (1779–1859) is one such example. Ritter took significant strides towards a more meaningful organization of geographical knowledge. His areal differentiation approach led him to make regional classifications. His objective was to:

[P]resent a living picture of the whole land, its natural and cultivated products, its natural and human features, and to present these in a coherent whole in such a way that the most significant inferences about man and nature will be self evident, especially when they are compared side by side.

(Tatham 1951: 43)

Yet in this picture of Ritter’s he was searching for evidence of God’s design. Likewise, it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that education would begin to be separated from religious moral instruction.

Drawing upon the empirical approach of Cook and the philosophy of Kant, Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) advanced the scope and meaning of geographical knowledge and contributed to the synthesizing tradition of the subject. His work took him across Europe, Asia and the Americas. In 1799 Humboldt led an expedition to the Spanish colonies in South America. Over the five-year period of their stay Humboldt and his crew visited Venezuela, Columbia, Cuba, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico. Livingstone (1992) reports that Humboldt’s work was characterized by precise measurement (he took with him some fifty measuring devices), regional classification and the mapping of spatially distributed data. Livingstone also comments on how Humboldt searched for ‘the universal behind the particular, for underlying patterns and unities that tied nature together as a beautiful, functioning system’ (Livingstone 1992:135). This demonstrates Humboldt’s quest for causal relationships and laws of nature and also his sensitivity to ecological harmony and the relationships between species. His work, like that of other Enlightenment thinkers, also conveyed his aesthetic appreciation of the beauty of nature itself. As scientists began to comprehend the natural environment was produced by its own forces of nature, for many there was a sense of awe and amazement at its inner workings and interconnectivity. Hence Humboldt, like others, was driven by a desire to gain an appreciation of the whole: that is, how natural and human systems all fit together on the planet. From this standpoint it is apparent how geography grew as a synthesizing discipline. For Humboldt it brought into relation knowledge that other subjects studied independently.

This holistic approach of Humboldt’s culminated in his attempt to write a book that depicted the entire universe.

I have this crazy notion to depict in a single work the entire material universe, all that we know of phenomena of heaven and earth, from the nebulae of stars to the geography of mosses and granite rocks – and in a vivid style that will stimulate and elicit feeling. Every great and important idea in my writing should be registered side by side with facts. It should portray an epoch in the spiritual genesis of mankind – in the knowledge of nature … My title is Cosmos.

(Humboldt, cited in Livingstone 1992: 136)

This manuscript was not surprisingly unfinished, yet it demonstrated his view of geography as a universal science and quest to expand scientific enquiry and the frontiers of knowledge such that humanity could more completely understand its world.

Like Ritter, Humboldt sought to distinguish his work from the ‘geography’ of travel writing. In his eyes geography was more than the careful collection of detailed and accurate factual material. For him the scientific organization of knowledge demanded that ‘the material was given coherence and made intelligible by being subsumed under a number of laws which should express the relationships of cause and effect to be found in phenomena as simply and concisely as possible’ (Chorley and Haggett 1965: 4). This approach to the subject is sometimes referred to as classical or systematic geography. His goal was to arrange geographical knowledge in such a way that it could be made intelligible and meaningful to students of geography. However, at this time a distinction had yet to be made between the methods used to approach the physical and social sciences, which limited potential insight into social systems.

Upon his return from South America Humboldt visited Philadelphia, where he lectured about his work and met President Jefferson, himself a scientific advocate with personal surveying experience. The scientific pursuit of geography rapidly expanded in the States during the Jefferson era, although this is not to belittle the work of earlier American geographers such as Thomas Hutchins. Inaugurated as President in 1801, Thomas Jefferson understood the importance of science and the need to accurately map the largely uncharted American continent to facilitate the safe movement of people and goods. For this reason he has occasionally been referred to as a pioneer of American geography (see Surface 1909). Jefferson’s ambition epitomized the American spirit of the time, demonstrating enthusiasm for the vastness and richness of the continent. His aim was no less than to ‘enlarge our knowledge of the geography of our continent … and to give us a general view of its population, natural history, productions, soil and climate’ (Greene 1984:196–7). To this end he set in motion explorations and surveys of the continental interior and the coastline. One of the first of these was led by Meriweather Lewis and William Clarke. In 1804, travelling from St Louis to Missouri, they led an expedition to gather geographical data on the West.

In 1807 Jefferson convinced Congress to pass an Act authorizing the Survey of the Coasts. Thus began the task of mapping out some 95,000 miles of coastline, setting up hundreds of thousands of survey markers and installing tide and current measuring stations. Under the supervision of Ferdinand Hassler, Alexander Dallas Bache and George Davidson the Survey expanded its remit to include the interior of the continent, taking much of the century to complete. However, Jefferson was also a patriot and a utilitarian. Undoubtedly, he wanted to use this geographical knowledge to advance the economic standing and the security of the nation.

The Enlightenment period for geography can be summarized as one in which humanity sought to bring terrae incognitae into the realm of human knowledge for intellectual, spiritual, economic and political ends. This was done with greater precision, purpose and conceptual understanding than in previous periods, enhancing the scientific credentials of geography.

End of the nineteenth/early twentieth centuries (1880s–1920s)

The Enlightenment peri...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• List of illustrations
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 The evolution of a discipline and its instrumental applications
• 2 Geography’s ethical turn
• 3 From counter-cultural movement to global values: the US geography curriculum
• 4 Global citizenship and the geography curriculum in England and Wales
• 5 The geography of culture or respecting cultural diversity?
• 6 Approaches to teaching global issues
• 7 Global issues in the geography curriculum
• 8 Global advocacy and the cosmopolitan citizen in the curriculum
• Conclusion
• Bibliography