Practising Human Geography - Softcover

Cloke, Paul J; Cook Et Al, Ian; Crang, Philip; Goodwin, Mark A; Painter, Joe; Philo, Christopher Philo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761973001 ISBN 13: 9780761973003

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2004

Synopsis

Practising Human Geography is critical introduction to disciplinary debates about the practice of human geography, that is informed by an inquiry into how geographers actually do research. In examining those methods and practices that are integral to doing geography, the text presents a theoretically-informed reflection on the construction and interpretation of geographical data - including factual and "fictional" sources; the use of core research methodologies; and the interpretative role of the researcher.

Framed by an historical overview how ideas of practising human geography have changed, the following three sections offer an comprehensive and integrated overview of research methodologies. Illustrated throughout, the te

About this title

About the Author

Ian Cook et al is Professor of Cultural Geography at the University of Exeter in the UK. As an undergraduate student at University College London in the 1980s, he stumbled across the tiny tradition of experiential geography in a module taught by Jacqui Burgess and Peter Jackson and went to the University of Kentucky as a master’s student to learn how this was done from its main advocate Graham Rowles. Returning to the UK in the early 1990s to undertake a multisited ethnographic “follow the thing” PhD at the University of Bristol, he and fellow PhD student Mike Crang wrote a “how to” “Doing ethnographies” (1995) booklet for the Institute of British Geographers’ Concepts and Techniques in Modern Geography (CATMOG) series. Scanned and posted online, a scribbled-on version was read and referred to in a surprising variety of publications as geography took its cultural (and ethnographic) turn. After SAGE bought the CATMOG series in the early 2000s, Mike and Ian were able to finish and publish it as a book in 2007.

Professor Joe Painter focuses mainly on the prosaic geographies of the state.

Chris Philo was a Lecturer at the University of Wales, Lampeter, before becoming, in 1995, Professor of Geography at the University of Glasgow. He specialises in the history and theory of geographical thought, as well as the historical and social geographies of ′madness′, ′outsiders′ of all kinds and human-animal relations.

Review

`Practising Human Geography is a god-send for students. Written in an accessible and engaging style, the book demystifies the study of geographical methodology, offering a wealth of practical advice from the authors’ own research experience. This is not a manual of approved geographical techniques. It is a reflexive, critical and highly personal account, combining historical depth with up-to-the-minute examples of research in practice. Practising Human Geography is a comprehensive and theoretically informed introduction to the practices of fieldwork, data collection, interpretation and writing, enabling students to make sense of their own data and to develop a critical perspective on the existing literature. The book makes complicated ideas approachable through the effective use of case studies and a firm grasp of contemporary debates′ - Peter Jackson, Professor of Human Geography, University of Sheffield

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0761973001
• ISBN 13: 9780761973003
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 440