Renaming and Rebranding within U.S. and Canadian Geography Departments, 1990–2014

Abstract

Between 2000 and 2014, more than thirty geography departments adopted revised or new names, with some entirely dropping geography. Although renaming and rebranding efforts are not new to higher education, the rapid pace at which geography department names have changed raises questions about the discipline's identity and health. We examine the renaming trend within geography programs together with intended and unexpected factors as perceived by faculty. Specifically, we look at the renaming and rebranding trend within the context of four pillars offered by Pattison (1964) to define geography's principal academic domains—earth-science, man–land, area/regional studies, and spatial traditions.

2000 年至 2014 年间, 三十所以上的地理系採用了修正或崭新的系名, 有些甚至完全去除地理一词。儘管再命名或品牌重塑的尝试, 对高等教育而言并不陌生, 但地理系名称的快速变迁, 引发了有关该领域的认同与健康状态的疑问。我们检视地理学程的再命名潮流, 以及教职员所认为的预期或非预期因素。我们特别检视派特森 (Pattison 1964) 所提出的四大支柱脉络中的再命名与品牌重塑潮流, 以定义地理学的首要学术领域——地球科学, 人类—土地, 地区/区域研究, 以及空间传统。

Entre 2000 y 2014, más de treinta departamentos de geografía adoptaron nombres revisados o nuevos, en tanto que algunos abandonaron enteramente la geografía. Aunque los esfuerzos por renombrar y cambiar de denominación no son nuevos en la educación superior, el rápido paso con el que los nombres de los departamentos de geografía se cambian promueve interrogantes acerca de la identidad y la salud de la disciplina. En el artículo se examina la tendencia hacia el cambio de nombres dentro de los programas de geografía, junto con los factores previstos e inesperados, según se perciben como explicación por los profesores. Específicamente, observamos la tendencia de renombrar y cambiar denominaciones dentro del contexto de los cuatro pilares ofrecidos por Pattison (1964) para definir los principales dominios de la geografía—geociencia, hombre–tierra, estudios de área/regionales, y tradiciones espaciales.

Key Words:

• academic unit
• administration
• AAG
• program
• survey

关键词:

• 学术单位
• 行政
• 北美地理学家学会
• 学程
• 调研。

Palabras clave:

• unidad académica
• administración
• AAG
• programa
• sondeo

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank department heads and chairs and senior personnel who participated in the survey and provided valuable insights for this article. Additionally, we would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for providing insightful comments that helped improve the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amy E. Frazier

AMY E. FRAZIER is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include the use of remote sensing and landscape ecology for natural resource management and investigations into scale and scaling for GIScience.

Thomas A. Wikle

THOMAS A. WIKLE is a Professor in the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: [email protected]. His recent research has examined communication systems and broadcasting policy.