Further to Katherine's letter. Paul Brown's account (in todays
Guardian Higher Education supplement) which was critical of what
he terms bizarre papers at the RGS-IBG conference seems to
attack much that is vibrant, critical and fascinating in contempary
geography. He cites papers on lesbian spaces, gender identity,
consumption and space and the experience of solo women
travellers, picked, he says 'at random' to 'prove' that geography has
taken a bizarre turn. How interesting that all these 'random'
examples all touch on gender issues.....
Not very much of the more 'rigorous' sample technique of which we
might presume Paul Brown would expect of Geography....
If you missed Paul Brown's article it is on page 5H of today's
Guardian Higher Education supplement. The Guardian is available
online at www.guardian.co.uk
James Sidaway.
Date sent: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 18:39:00 -0000
Subject: 'Lost in scared space' - A response
From: "BROWNE, Katherine" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "AITCHISON, Cara" <[log in to unmask]>,
crit geog
<[log in to unmask]>
Send reply to: "BROWNE, Katherine" <[log in to unmask]>
> This is a copy of the letter I sent in response to an article in todays
> Guardian on the 'state of geography' discussing the recent IBG conference.
> I would be interested in the lists views on this persistent issue.
>
> Kath Browne
> ----------
> From: BROWNE, Katherine
> To: 'Guardian'; 'Guardian 2'
> Subject: Re: 'Lost in scared space' - A response
> Date: 11 January 2000 18:33
>
> Dear Editor
>
> In a recent article 'Lost in sacred space' (Guardian Higher Education
> 11/1/00 5H) Paul Brown contradicts himself. Mr. Brown picks on three papers
> presented at the IBG conference in Sussex describing them as 'abstract',
> when in fact these were grounded in empirical research. Interestingly the
> paper Mr. Brown celebrates as trying to "pull geographers into the real
> world" discusses the abstract concept of the discipline of geography. He
> goes on to note that the RGS/IBG is about to produce a benchmark paper on
> standards and this will emphasis the need to "tell the world what shapes
> social and physical environments". Following his comments, I imagine Mr.
> Brown would advocate an analysis of these environments which detailed male,
> heterosexual, (white, middle class) environments. Unfortunately for Mr.
> Brown these are not the only environments and 'real worlds' which exist. In
> fact the social world in which we live is produced through numerous forms of
> power relations, including those which serve to deny and silence women's
> voices and the voices of those who pursue alternative sexual practices. I am
> disappointed that there is a constant berating of the present situation in
> geography as it strives to become more inclusive. I believe that Mr. Brown
> should recognise this instead of only speaking to two male geographers and
> rendering the women authors of the papers he cites invisible.
>
> Yours
>
> Kath Browne
>
>
James Derrick Sidaway
School of Geography and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK
Tel. 0121 414 6935
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