Revitalizing Economic Geography through Teaching Excellence: Some Pedagogic Reflections

Abstract

In this position paper, the authors outline some of the pressing trends in the recent development of economic geography as a sub-discipline in human geography. In particular, they note the lack of critical discussion of important pedagogical issues in teaching what might be termed ‘new economic geographies’, and particularly those associated with the ‘cultural turn’. In doing so, the most challenging politics and practices of teaching economic geography are introduced. Drawing on the various contributions to this symposium, five areas for pedagogical developments and cross-fertilization are outlined.

Keywords:

• Economic geography
• pedagogy
• cultural turn
• plurality
• politics and practice

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank David Higgitt for encouraging us to put together this special symposium issue for the Journal of Geography in Higher Education. We are grateful to all the panellists and participants in the four panel sessions on ‘Teaching Economic Geography’ at the Denver meeting of the Association of American Geographers in April 2005 for their many and varied contributions to what was an engaging and thought-provoking discussion of many critical pedagogic issues in teaching economic geography worldwide. We would also like to thank the panellists who have subsequently developed their commentaries specifically for this special symposium in the JGHE. Thanks also to Linda McCarthy for allowing us to draw on her Denver presentation here, and to Philip Kelly for his comments on an earlier draft. Elsbeth Robson and the JGHE reviewers offered very helpful comments on a previous version of this paper. As usual, however, we take full responsibility for what lies herein.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Henry Wai-Chung Yeung

Henry Wai-chung Yeung, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570. [email protected]