rediscovering geography new relevance for sciencr and society.docx

rediscovering geography new relevance for sciencr and society.docx

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rediscoveringgeographynewrelevanceforsciencrandsociety

Summary

Inthepastdecade,concernsabout''geographicilliteracy"havebeenthecatalystforanewfocusongeographyintheUnitedStates.Recentcallsto"dosomething"aboutgeographicilliteracyinthiscountrycanbetracedtoconcernsaboutU.S.competitivenessintheglobaleconomy,combinedwithsurveysthatdocumentedanastonishingdegreeofignoranceintheUnitedStatesabouttherestoftheworld.Thereisagrowingpublicrecognitionthatournationalwell-beingisrelatedtoglobalmarketsandinternationalpoliticaldevelopments,tothecontinuedprominenceofenvironmentalissuesinsocialdiscourse,andtotheemergenceofcomputerandtelecommunicationstechnologiesthatemphasizegraphicimagessuchasmapsandotherspatialdiagrams—allofwhichareassociatedinthepublic'smindwithgeography.

OneresultofthisincreasedattentionisarediscoveryoftheimportanceofgeographyeducationintheUnitedStates.GeographyisidentifiedasacoresubjectforAmericanschools,onaparwithscienceandmathematics,inaseriesofrecentpolicystatementsandlegislativeproposalsfornationaleducationreform.TheseincludethereportoftheCharlottesville,Virginia,Summitconvenedbythe50stategovernorsandPresidentBushinOctober1989;educationreformplansofboththeBushandtheClintonadministrations;andGoals2000:

TheEducateAmericaAct,passedbyCongressinMarch1994.

Geographyhasalsobeenrediscoveredbystudents.Intheperiod1986/1987to1993/1994,thenumberofundergraduatemajorsingeographygrewbyanestimated47percentnationwideandby60percentinPh.D.-grantingdepartments.Between1985and1991,graduateprogramenrollmentsingeographygrewby33.4percent,comparedwitha15.3percentincreaseinthesocialsciencesanda5.4percentdecreaseintheenvironmentalsciences.

Thisprocessofrediscoveryhasbeenmirroredintheresearchcommunityaswell.Researchatthefrontiersoffieldsasdiverseasplanning,economics,finance,socialtheory,epidemiology,anthropology,ecology,environmentalhistory,conservationbiology,andinternationalrelationshashighlightedtheimportanceofgeographicperspectives.Inparticular,theimportanceofspatialperspectives—throughsuchnotionsasplaceandscale—isbeingrecognizedinmanyfields,extendingtheinfluenceofgeographywellbeyonditsrelativelysmallgroupofprofessionalpractitioners.

Theincreaseduseofperspectives,knowledge,andtechniquesassociatedwitharelativelysmallacademicdisciplineraisesseveralquestionsforthescientificcommunity.Mostdirectly,whatisgeography,andhowdoesitconnectwithbroadconcernsofsocietyandscience?

Ifgeographyistoplayamoreprominentroleineducationanddecisionmaking,doitsscientificfoundationsneedtobestrengthenedinordertosupportitsexpandedresponsibilities?

Withthesequestionsinmind,theNationalResearchCouncilestablishedtheRediscoveringGeographyCommitteetoperformacomprehensiveassessmentofgeographyintheUnitedStates.Theobjectivesofthisassessmentare:

1.toidentifycriticalissuesandconstraintsforthedisciplineofgeography,

2.toclarifyprioritiesforteachingandresearch,

3.tolinkdevelopmentsingeographyasasciencewithnationalneedsforgeographyeducation,

4.toincreasetheappreciationofgeographywithinthescientificcommunity,and

5.tocommunicatewiththeinternationalscientificcommunityaboutfuturedirectionsofthedisciplineintheUnitedStates.

Inaddressingtheseissues,thisreportfocusesonbroadnationalandglobalthemesinscienceandsociety,geography'spotentialasaperspectiveandabodyofknowledgetohelpaddressthesethemes,andconstraintsongeography'scapabilityasanacademicdisciplinetorespond.Asexamples,itdrawsmainlyonexperiencefromwithingeographyasadiscipline,althoughvaluablegeographicworkisdoneoutsidethedisciplineaswell,becausethecommitteewascomprisedverylargelyofprofessionalgeographers.Wherepossible,however,theexamplesareselectedtoillustratetheinterconnectednessbetweendisciplinesthatcharacterizessomuchgeographicinvestigationandfacilitatestheflowofideas,concepts,andtechniquesacrossdisciplinaryboundaries.

ThePerspectives,SubjectMatter,andTechniquesofGeography

TomostAmericans,geographyisaboutplacenames.Concernsaboutgeographicignoranceusuallyfocusonpeople'sinabilitytolocatecities,countries,andriversonaworldmap,andgeographicinstructionisoftenequatedwithconveyinginformationaboutremotepartsoftheworld.Fromthisperspectiveitmaybeasurprisetosomethatthedisciplineofgeographyhasagreatdealtosayaboutmanyofthecriticalissuesfacingsocietyinthelatetwentiethcentury.

Geographersareengagedinvaluableresearchandteachingonmattersrangingfromenvironmentalchangetosocialconflict（seeChapter2）.Thevalueoftheseactivitiesderivesfromthediscipline'sfocusontheevolvingcharacterandorganizationoftheEarth'ssurface;onthewaysinwhichinteractionsofphysicalandhumanphenomenainspacecombinetocreateregionswithdistinctivenaturaland（or）socialcharacteristics,orplaces;andontheinfluencesthoseplaceshaveonawiderangeofnaturalandhumaneventsandprocesses.Suchconcernsarenotsimplyexercisesinexpandingtheencyclopedicknowledgeoffarawayplaces;theygototheheartofsomeofthemosturgentquestionsbeforedecisionmakerstoday.

Acentraltenetofgeographyisthat"locationmatters"forunderstandingawidevarietyofprocessesandphenomena.Indeed,geography'sfocusonlocationprovidesacross-cuttingwayoflookingatprocessesandphenomenathatotherdisciplinestendtotreatinisolation.Geographersfocuson"realworld"relationshipsanddependenciesamongthephenomenaandprocessesthatgivecharactertoaplace.Geographersalsoseektounderstandrelationshipsamongplaces:

forexample,theflowsofpeoples,goods,andideasthatreinforcedifferentiationorenhancesimilarities.Inotherwords,geographersstudyboththe''vertical"integrationofcharacteristicsthatdefineplaceandthe"horizontal"connectionsbetweenplaces.Geographersalsofocusontheimportanceofscale（inbothspaceandtime）intheserelationships.Thestudyoftheserelationshipshasenabledgeographerstopayattentiontocomplexitiesofplacesandprocessesthatarefrequentlytreatedintheabstract,ifatall,byotherdisciplines.

Geography'sperspectivesaresupportedbyabodyofdistinctivetechniquesforobservation,suchasfieldexploration,remotesensing,andspatialsampling,andfortheanalysisanddisplayofgeographicdata,suchascartography,visualization,spatialstatistics,andgeographicinformationsystems（GISs;seeChapter4）.Thesetechniquesaresharedwithotherdisciplines,butgeographyhascontributedfundamentallytotheirdevelopmentandimprovedapplication.

Thetraditionaltoolingeographyforthedisplayofspatiallyreferencedinformationisthemap.Tomany,theterm"map"connotesafixed,two-dimensionalpaperproductcontainingpoint,line,andarealdata.Duringthepastgeneration,however,advancesindatacollection,storage,analysis,anddisplayhavemadethistraditionalviewobsolete.Themodernmapisadynamicandmultidimensionalproductthatexistsindigitalform,openingupnewareasofresearchandapplicationforgeographicinvestigation.ThisresearchhasledtothedevelopmentofGISs,which,alongwithtechniquesforgeographicvisualizationandmethodsofspatialanalysis,facilitateanincreasinglycomplexandcontextualunderstandingoftheworld.CurrentresearchinGISsisexpandingthetechniquetoincorporatemoreadvancedgeographicconceptsandanalysismethods.

Geography'sContributionstoScientificUnderstandingandDecisionMaking

Geographyofferssignificantinsightsintosomeofthemajorquestionsfacingboththepureandappliedsciences.Inaddition,associetyitselfisrecognizing,manyofthemajorquestionsfacingsocietyatthelocal,national,andinternationalscaleshaveveryimportantgeographicdimensions.

Geography'straditionalinterestinintegratingphenomenaandprocessesinparticularplaces,forexample,hasanewrelevanceinsciencetoday,inconnectionwiththesearchforwhatsomehavecalleda"scienceofcomplexity."Initsexplorationsasascienceofflows,geographyhasbeenaleaderinunderstandingspatialinteractions,asubjectofbroadinteresttobothscienceandsociety.Moreover,geography'slong-standingconcernwithinterdependenciesamongscalesisrelevanttodiscussionsacrossthebodyofscienceofrelationshipsbetweenmicroscale（smallorlocal）andmacroscale（largeorglobal）phenomenaandprocesses（seeChapter5）.

Geographicperspectivesandtechniqueshavefoundimportantapplicationsindecisionmakinginboththeprivateandthepublicsectors,especiallyasglobaleconomicandenvironmentalissuesandmoderninformationtechnologieshavegrowninimportance.Geographershavemadesignificantcontributionstodecisionmakingatlocal,regional,andglobalscalesforawidevarietyofissues—forexample,managementofhazards,understandingglobalenvironmentalandeconomicchangesandtheirinteractionswithlocalchanges,anddevelopingeffectivebusinessstrategies（seeChapter6）.

StrengtheningGeography'sFoundations

Theabilityofgeographerstorespondtothegrowingdemandforitsskillsandperspectivesislimitedbyseveralrealities（seeChapter7）.Despitethreedecadesofgrowthinthenumberofprofessionalgeographers,thegeographycommunityremainssmallrelativetomostothernaturalandsocialsciencedisciplines.Fewc