Peter,
That's an entertaining notion, but I would prefer to do just the opposite.
After all, geography is everywhere, so why not ensure that geography books
are everywhere too? Could do wonders for blurring the distinctions between
disciplinary boundaries, and for prompting new lines of enquiry. Geographies
of mathematics; of cheap romance; of nouvelle cuisine? Sounds good to me!
In addition, we could assist in the strategic placement and circulation of
geographical thought via the Book Crossing website:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/
Specifically
http://www.bookcrossing.com/search/?title=geography&author=&authorExact=1&ca
tegory=&isbn=&bcid=&status=0&screenname=&=Search
If I were to do selective re-placements of texts, it would probably be
there.
David
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for critical and radical geographers
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Thomas
Sent: 04 September 2006 12:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Take action to save geography - a message for human geographers
This is an appeal to human geographers:
When was the last time you went into a book shop for a browse? Where do you
end up looking? Is it in that well stocked geography section of Blackwells,
Waterstones, Borders etc? Obviously not. More often than not you are forced
to drift over to the sociology, cultural studies and anthropology sections.
Could it be that geographers have had nothing important to say recently?
Obviously not. What is happening to all our geography books then? The
answer, sadly, is that human geography books written by human geographers
are constantly placed on the shelves of sociology, cultural studies and
anthropology. Today for example I saw the Routledge Critical Geography
series of books placed on the shelves of Sociology. Unless the book
literally has the word 'human geography' in the title and it is an
undergraduate textbook it fails to make it to geography section of book
shops.
Time to take action. Books shops refuse to listen. So we need to take direct
action. Go down to your local bookshop and remedy the situation.
Find the geography books written by geographers and move them. Take them
away from the shelves of sociology, cultural studies and anthropology and
re-file them where they should be, in geography. I have moved five books
today, and will keep doing so until the situation is resolved. If the
geography section has been abandoned in your bookshop as it might aswell
have been in mine, then make one. Take a sign and some blue-tak and get to
work.
Please encourage your colleagues to also take action, before our identity as
human geographers becomes completely subsumed into other disciplines.
Peter Thomas
PhD Researcher
Ironically based in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
Newcastle University
NE1 7RU
Tel: 0191 222 8510
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