A Shared Vision

Abstract

Certain past presidential addresses have focused on differences that exist within our geography profession while others have concentrated on research results from particular subdisciplinary areas of our field. Serious financial vicissitudes over the past few years have brought clearly to the forefront our need to emphasize those aspects that bind us together rather than separate us.

My purpose then is to illustrate, by means of three examples, how many of our subdisciplines are interconnected. More specifically, useful roles that climatology may play in cultural, historical, and medical geography are examined. A call is made for all geographers to evaluate how their own subdisciplines can contribute to problem solving in other areas of our field. Such intradisciplinary efforts should serve to bind us more closely together and provide us with a more unified image as a profession.

Key Words:

• climatology
• intradisciplinary effort
• human-physical geography dichotomy