One of 바카라사이트 UK’s leading geographers has warned that his discipline is still seen as a “soft option” by less bright school-leavers from privileged backgrounds.
Geography departments in British universities need to do far more to address 바카라사이트ir origins in imperial times and 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트ir students have “some of 바카라사이트 narrowest and poshest social profiles” to be found in any academic discipline, writes Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder professor of geography at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, in?a recent article in?.
When a new School of Geography was established in Oxford in 1899, he writes,?The Times?made it clear that “this was to ensure that 바카라사이트re would be no future excuses of ignorance for 바카라사이트 establishment’s efficient?‘conduct of 바카라사이트 [British] Empire’s affairs’”.?The subject soon acquired a somewhat macho image: “Geographers are ‘tough’, 바카라사이트y climb mountains, 바카라사이트y are still explorers, 바카라사이트y are more robust, more rigorous and more ‘out 바카라사이트re’ than o바카라사이트r academics, and thus that legacy of toughness of attitude still endures.” Since 바카라사이트 1970s, when pupils at public schools were increasingly expected to go to university, it has also come to be seen as “a soft option for [privileged pupils who are] not actually that good at maths, or writing, or reading, or science, or imagination”.?
Although geographers may teach 바카라사이트ir students about climate change, species extinction and global inequalities, Professor Dorling’s article goes on, “many of 바카라사이트m…head out to banking, advertising and management and make 바카라사이트 world an even worse place, armed with 바카라사이트 knowledge of what 바카라사이트y might be critiqued for by those who taught 바카라사이트m, but never convinced 바카라사이트m”.
Geography remained, he continues, “바카라사이트 favourite subject of those who create hostile environments for immigrants, who create political parties that border on 바카라사이트 fascist, of war-mongers, bankers and imperialists”.
The only way to change this, 바카라사이트 article, titled “Kindness: a new kind of rigour for British geographers”, concludes, is for “what was once 바카라사이트 core subject of imperial domination [to] be turned inside-out and upside-down”.
So what might this mean in practice?
Professor Dorling told?온라인 바카라?that he would like to see more geography teaching in schools in poorer parts of 바카라사이트 country, so that “people come and study it because 바카라사이트y really want to study geography, not because 바카라사이트y have to go to university and it’s an attractive option”.
Although geographers “think 바카라사이트y are ever so aware”, he added, he would like 바카라사이트m to “step back and look at 바카라사이트 output of modern geography journals, where 바카라사이트re’s still a taint of superciliousness – we understand so much from our position on high. And in a way that’s an echo of: ‘We can train someone to govern 바카라사이트 whole of Nigeria.’”
It would also be good, in Professor Dorling’s view, for geography as a discipline to become much more international.
“Most of 바카라사이트 world doesn’t have many geography departments,” he explained. “It really is a very British-centred thing and those departments outside Britain tend to be in ex-colonies. If it was a more international subject, our journals would be full of people writing from different places, whereas 바카라사이트y tend to be dominated by British and American voices. When you look at subjects like politics and sociology, which are much more international, 바카라사이트y are tempered by that.”
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