An Integrative Approach to Human Geography

An Integrative Approach to Human Geography is a compendium of geographic topics that attempts to give readers an understanding of common themes in social science literature that concerns geographers. Combining essays selected from geographers and non-geographers, this anthology illustrates the presence of geography in texts and manuscripts that people often label as non-geographic. This approach helps social science students identify geography where it is often believed to be absent, and it encourages non-geographers to realize that they can contribute their talents to the richness of geographic knowledge.

Instead of following a normative approach, An Integrative Approach to Human Geography encourages those outside the discipline to see the "geographic" within their own fields of expertise. This text highlights a coalescence in the social sciences under the banner of geographic literacy.

Jose Javier Lopez is Professor of Geography at Minnesota State University in Mankato. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and received a doctorate degree in Geography from Indiana State University. Over the years, he has taught a wide variety of geography courses, including Spatial Statistics, Spatial Analysis, Cultural and Social Geography, Latin American Studies, and Economic Development.

Cynthia A. Miller is an Associate Professor of Geography at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees in Geography at the University of Georgia, and her Ph.D. in Geography at Syracuse University. Her professional specialties include cultural and historical geography.

Wayne E. Allen received Ph.D. in cultural anthropology in 1998 from the University of California at Santa Barbara. In 1993-94 he was a Fulbright Scholar to Canada and a UCSB IHC Humanities Fellow. He was the recipient of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Clarence E. Harris Humanitarian Award in 2005-2006 for his support of cultural diversity on campus and in the surrounding community and region. His research focuses on Native North Americans, experimental archaeology, resource colonialism, commons dilemmas and resource sustainability, community resource management, traditional indigenous cultural and natural resource conservation practices, environmental racism, and environmental justice.