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The Functions of Geography in American Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2009

Roger Minshull
Roger Minshull
Affiliation:
Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln
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The most easily understandable reason for the absence of a strong geographical element in American Studies in Britain is the difficulty geographers specializing in America experience in carrying out research. While more and more of the primary source material used by geographers is in the form of quantitative data published by government and commercial agencies, the real primary source is the earth's surface, and thorough fieldwork is still a basic necessity. Clearly, if the material or evidence (whether in the form of soils, crops, retail stores, traffic networks, minority population groups or polluted rivers) is in Vermont or Nebraska, it is infinitely easier for the geographer to work there and teach there, than to teach in Britain and commute to his fieldwork in Winooski or Red Cloud.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of American Studies , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , December 1973 , pp. 267 - 278
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

References

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