Whose Geography, Whose History? Reimagining How We Teach the History of Geography

In this roundtable, we share our reflections on how to teach more critical histories of geography in Anglo-American institutions. Ashutosh offers a contrapuntal reading of the history of geography, looking for ways to represent both the forces of consolidation and resistance in telling the history of our discipline. Last considers how we might “re-expand” the history of the discipline through the teaching of countergeographies. Sundberg argues that what is at stake in teaching the history of geography is whether or not we will reproduce an imperial way of life. Wilson, scholar of critical geographic information systems, reflects on geographic technologies in the history, present, and future of geographic thought. Lave considers the treatment of physical geography in the history of geographic thought and imagines a geography fit to the task of addressing the intersecting crises of capitalism and the climate. Looking beyond the history of geography to the composition and culture of our discipline, Craig, Noble-Varney, and Ehrkamp argue that how we read histories of geography is equally as important as what we read. Learning to read with a diversity of others—and welcoming discomfort—is key to reshaping the stories we tell about geography, in graduate seminars and in our broader engagements with the discipline.