Geographia Polonica (2014) vol. 87, iss. 2

Will geography remain geography? Pondering the state of geography

Antoni Jackowski

Geographia Polonica (2014) vol. 87, iss. 2, pp. 251-265 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/GPol.2014.16

Abstract

For decades, we have been witnessing a gradual disintegration of geography. The issue was first flagged at the turn of the 19th century, but the process accelerated in the late 1960s. The term ‘geography’ has been increasingly replaced with other terms and one of the effects has been a diminishing status of geography in public awareness. Polish geographers attempted to address the problem as early as in the first decades of the 20th century, but these efforts, especially before 1939, remain obscure. Researchers continued their work even during the Second World War when they were often operating in extreme conditions. This scientific heritage has a potential to be used in contemporary work on a new view of geography at a time of increasing globalisation.

Keywords: geography, Polish geography, disintegration, history of geography, Poland

Antoni Jackowski, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 31-007 Krakow: Poland