Geography’s Crosscutting Themes: Golden Anniversary Reflections on “The Four Traditions of Geography”

ABSTRACT

William Pattison’s seminal 1964 article outlining geography’s four core traditions provided an informative overview of distinct strands of research and teaching in geography. His article enhanced appreciation of the discipline’s intellectual diversity, but it did not address why the identified traditions should be grouped together under a single disciplinary umbrella. The concern of a broad range of geographers with spatial relationships, place characterization, and geographical context provides a crosscutting rationale for such a grouping. Emphasizing these crosscutting themes along with Pattison’s four traditions (in updated form) can enhance efforts to communicate geography’s essence to students and to the wider public.

Keywords:

• geographical perspective
• spatial relationships
• place
• context

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexander B. Murphy

Alexander B. Murphy is Professor of Geography and Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA. He specializes in political, cultural, and environmental geography, with regional emphases in Europe and the Middle East.