Summary

Now in a fourth edition, this standard student reference has been totally revised and updated. It remains the definitive introduction to the history, philosophy, and methodology of human geography; now including a detailed explanation of key ideas in human geography′s post-modernist and post-structuralist ′turns′. The book is organized into six sections: What is Geography?: an introduction to the discipline, and a discussion of its organization and basic research approaches, informed by the question ′what difference does it make to think geographically?′ Foundations of Geography: an examination of geography from Antiquity to the 1950s, with a special focus on human/environment relation. Geography 1950-1980: a critical review of the development of geography as a spatial science. Paradigms and Revolutions: an analysis of paradigm shifts in geography, introducing students to key debates in the philosophy of science. Positivism and its Critics: a detailed discussion of positivism, critical theory, humanistic geography, behavioural geography, and structuralism. New Trends and Ideas developing critical responses: structuration theory, realism, post-structuralism, post-modernism, feminism and actor-network theory.

This text explores complex ideas in an intelligible and accessible style. Illustrated throughout with research examples and explanations in text boxes, questions for discussion at the end of each chapter and a concept glossary, this is the essential student companion to the discipline.