Geographical Fieldwork in the 21st Century

Fieldwork is a hallmark of geographical scholarship, encompassing all the approaches by which we learn first-hand about the world. Too often, though, fieldwork details―the challenges, the failures, and methodological mash-up used―are left out of geographers’ published work.

This accessible collection brings together 18 of those too-often overlooked stories, and reveals the ongoing vibrancy of geographical fieldwork today. The 32 authors span many of geography’s subfields, and their work incorporates multiple methodological traditions: ethnographic, digital, archival, mixed, and more.

With short, readable contributions, Geographical Fieldwork in the 21st Century offers an ideal resource for students across the social sciences who are wrangling with the process of fieldwork. It shows fieldwork’s core attributes―innovation, commitment, and serendipity―are alive and well. But this collection also illustrates just how fieldwork is changing as our ability to learn about the world is shaped by new pressures of the 21st century neoliberal academy, by the proliferation of new technologies, and by the growing social demand for collaborative, engaged, and ethical scholarship.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Geographical Review.

Kendra McSweeney is Professor of Geography at the Ohio State University. Fieldwork has been central to her research on human-forest interaction for three decades. Most recently, she has combined fieldwork with remote sensing and document analysis to understand how and why cocaine transshipment and U.S. drug policy are transforming the biodiverse landscapes of Central America.

Antoinette M.G.A. WinklerPrins is the Deputy Division Director of the Division of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences in the Directorate for Social, Behavioural, and Economic Sciences at the U.S. National Science Foundation. She is also an adjunct professor of environmental sciences and policy at the Johns Hopkins University. Her research has used mixed methods, including fieldwork, in investigating urban agriculture, anthropogenic landscapes, anthrosols, and smallholder livelihoods primarily in the Brazilian Amazon.