Simion Mehedinţi's Contribution to Modern Romanian Geography

Abstract

Armed with a scholarship to find an answer to the question “What is geography?” Simion Mehedinţi's studies took him to continental Europe's three main centers of geographic thought: Paris, Berlin, and Leipzig. We explore how his innovative ideas flourished, especially in Leipzig under Ratzel. The first Romanian geographer, Mehedinţi, must be credited with having defined geography as a science of mutual relationships between geospheres. This thinking reached its pinnacle in two complex books, Terra and Ethnos, the contents of which we synthetically explore. We also trace the unfavorable historical and geopolitical conditions that led to this pioneering work being little recognized worldwide.

挟带着寻找 “何谓地理学” 此一疑问之学术研究, 西米恩．梅赫丁茨之研究将他带领进欧洲大陆地理思想的三大核心: 巴黎、柏林与莱比锡。我们探讨他的创新概念如何成长茁壮, 特别是在莱比锡的拉采尔底下。作为第一位罗马地理学者, 西米恩．梅赫丁茨必须被赋予将地理学定义为各陆圈之间的互动的关系科学之荣誉。此般思想在两本复杂的书籍中达到顶峰: ⟪土地⟫ 与 ⟪民族⟫, 我们并将综合性地探讨其内容。我们同时追溯导致此一开创性研究在世界上默默无闻的不利历史与地缘政治条件。

Armado con la erudición que le permitiera hallar una respuesta a la pregunta “Qué es geografía?”, los estudios de Simion Mehedinti lo llevaron a los tres principales centros del pensamiento geográfico en Europa continental: París, Berlín y Leipzig. Exploramos el modo como florecieron sus ideas innovadoras, especialmente en Leipzig, bajo la dirección de Ratzel. Como primer geógrafo rumano, a Mehedinti se le debe conceder el crédito de haber definido la geografía como una ciencia de mutuas relaciones entre las geoesferas. Este pensamiento alcanzó su pináculo en dos libros complejos, Terra y Ethnos, cuyo contenido exploramos sintéticamente. Trazamos también las condiciones históricas y geopolíticas desfavorables que condujeron a este trabajo pionero, aunque poco reconocido a escala global.

Key Words:

• analysis of geospheres
• European geographical schools
• geographical focus and methods
• Romania
• Simion Mehedinţi

关键词:

• 陆圈分析, 欧洲地理学派, 地理焦点与方法, 罗马尼亚, 西米恩．梅赫丁茨。

Palabras clave:

• análisis de las geoesferas, escuelas geográficas europeas, centros de atención y métodos geográficos, Simion Mehedinti, Rumania

Notes

1 Romania became a kingdom on 10 May 1881 after becoming independent in 1878, and Prince Charles Hohenzollern received the title of “Royal Highness.”

2 Meeting minutes of the solemn inauguration of the Romanian Geographical Society of 15, 27 June 1875, under the chairmanship of his Highness the Ruler.

3 Newsletter of the Romanian Geographical Society XXVI (1905): 253.

4 It was called Terra to emphasize also from the beginning the subject of geography, contrary to the misleading vastness of the work of Humboldt (Tufescu 1994, 94).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ioan Ianoş

IOAN IANOŞ is Professor of Human Geography Department at the University of Bucharest and Director of Interdisciplinary Center of Advanced Research on Territorial Dynamics, 010041 Bucharest, Romania. E-mail: [email protected]. His research is focused on urban and regional development, human–environment relationships, migration, territorial analysis, and theoretical geography.

Radu Săgeată

RADU SĂGEATĂ is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Geography, Romanian Academy of Sciences, 023993 Bucharest, Romania. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include cross-border cooperation, geopolitics and political geography, regional analysis, historical geography, ethnicity, and cultural changes.

Anthony Sorensen

ANTHONY SORENSEN is Adjunct Professor in Geography and Planning at the University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia. E-mail: Tony.S [email protected]. His research interests lie in the fields of rural economic development, the impact of technology on spatial economic and social futures, and government capacity to manage rapid change effectively.