Key Concepts in Historical Geography (Key Concepts in Human Geography) - Hardcover

This ambitious volume reviews the best recent work in historical geography and sets this literature in a novel interpretative framework shaped in part by the continental European and Irish intellectual contexts within which the four authors were trained. It demonstrates how a dual sense of history and geography is necessary to understand such key areas of contemporary debate as the inter-relationship between class, race and gender; the character of nations and nationalism; the nature and challenges of urban life; the legacies of colonialism; and the meaning and values attributed to places, landscapes and environments.

(Mike Heffernan 2014-02-04)

A lively and imaginative compendium that confirms the importance of an historically-informed human geography. (Derek Gregory 2013-12-11)

The editors bring together strengths from the study of geography and history in Europe, Canada and the US and respectively are experts in colonialism, human geography, social theory and aspects of heritage and memory. This situates them excellently to write an edited volume on concepts of historical geography. (Seth Franzman, The Hebrew University)

...this volume aims to fill the gap created by dictionary entries that are too terse to explain concepts that geographers use to think about the world, broad textbook overviews that rarely deal with conceptual issues, and narrowly-framed research monographs in which discussions of concepts are both advanced and inaccessible. (Graeme Wynn, University of British Columbia, Canada)

This scholarly, detailed overview is a commendable work. In the introduction, the authors note that “an overarching methodological concern... is to ask geographic questions of the historical evidence that seeks to situate meaning in context” (p.2). Any student or professional within historical geography would agree that this work similarly situates meaning in context for the wide-ranging field of historical geography. Both the format and intellectual approach to Key Concepts in Historical Geography are quite successful, and this book is a necessary volume for any current or future scholar of historical geography. (Patrick D. Hagge, Arkansas Tech University)

"This ambitious volume reviews the best recent work in historical geography... It demonstrates how a dual sense of history and geography is necessary to understand such key areas of contemporary debate as the inter-relationship between class, race and gender; the character of nations and nationalism; the nature and challenges of urban life; the legacies of colonialism; and the meaning and values attributed to places, landscapes and environments."
- Mike Heffernan, University of Nottingham

Key Concepts in Historical Geography forms part of an innovative set of companion texts for the Human Geography sub-disciplines. Organized around 24 short essays, it provides a cutting edge introduction to the central concepts that define contemporary research in Historical Geography. Involving detailed and expansive discussions, the book includes:

• An introductory chapter providing a succinct overview of the recent developments in the field
• 24 key concepts entries with comprehensive explanations, definitions and evolutions of the subject
• Pedagogic features that enhance understanding including a glossary, figures, diagrams and further reading

Key Concepts in Historical Geography is an ideal companion text for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students and covers the expected staples from the discipline - from people, space and place to colonialism and geopolitics - in an accessible style. Written by an internationally recognized set of authors, it is is an essential addition to any human geography student's library.