How to incorporate theory in (urban) field trips: the built environment as concrete abstraction

ABSTRACT

Classroom teaching and field trips are both conventional ways of teaching geography in higher education. But where the former can be highly theoretical and abstract, the latter is rather practical, empirical, and concrete. In this paper, I argue there is a need to better incorporate theory into field trips. I seek to explore relations between theory and field trips both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, I draw upon Henri Lefebvre and Bertell Ollman and argue for seeing the built environment as concrete abstractions. Based on interviews with teachers, theoretical reflections, and, not least, personal experiences, I end the paper offering practical steps towards better combining theory and field trips.

KEYWORDS:

• Field trips
• theory
• abstractions
• built environment
• geography

Acknowledgments

I especially want to thank Kari Anne Drangsland: it has been a pleasure organizing and conducting field trips with you. I also want to thank Giovanni Bettini, Maja Lagerqvist and Bert Eriksson for interesting discussions, the interviewees for sharing their time, and two anonymous reviewers from important comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. For a discussion on the distinctions between field trips, field course and fieldwork, see Nairn et al. (2000).

2. In the interview I asked about “excursions” [Swedish exkursioner], which is in Swedish used rather interchangeably with field trips. I have therefore kept “excursions” in this section on the paper, but this is translated into field trips in rest of the paper.

3. Proponents of Critical Realism often position themselves precisely in opposition to both positivism and constructivism (see Danemark et al., 2002; Sayer, 1992, 2000).

4. On the million program (built between 1965 and 1975), see (Billing & Stigendal, 1994; Blackwell, 2019; Grundström & Molina, 2016).

5. I want to thank Bert Eriksson at Department of Social and Economic Geography, Uppsala University, for reminding me about this method.