Encyclopedia Of Human Geography

Encyclopedia of Human Geography

With more than 300 entries written by an international team of leading authorities in the field, the Encyclopedia of Human Geography offers a comprehensive overview of the major ideas, concepts, terms, and approaches that characterize a notoriously diverse field. This multidisciplinary volume provides cross-cultural coverage of human geography as it is understood in the contemporary world and takes into account the enormous conceptual changes that have evolved since the 1970s, including a variety of social constructivist approaches.From BooklistHuman geography is a broad subdivision of geography that deals with the geographic interpretation and analysis of human cultures, societies, and lifestyles. The field of human geography has matured considerably over the past decades, and today, interest in the topic, as well as in its subfields--cultural geography, economic geography, political geography, social geography, and urban geography--is increasingly widespread. Indeed, because of the influence of the media, the pervasiveness of the Internet in our lives, and the impact of both on globalization, many of us think geographically today, without necessarily being conscious that we are doing so.In this volume, readers seeking to understand culture, society, and space will find a comprehensive overview of the major ideas, concepts, terms, and approaches that characterize and define the field. Geographic theory and history are especially well covered in entries such as Ethnocentrism, Eurocentrism, Humanistic geography, Logical positivism, Radical geography, Situated knowledge, and more. Core concepts and terms receive considerable attention as well. For example, readers will find entries on Diffusion, Empiricism, Mental maps, Mobility, and Topophilia. Those less interested in theoretical approaches will not be disappointed; entries such as AIDS, Census, GPS, Place names, Rustbelt, and Suburbs and suburbanization help make the concept of human geography more understandable for the general reader.The more than 300 entries are arranged in A-Z order; an alphabetical list of entries and a topical "Reader's Guide" assist the user. Signed entries include suggested reading lists. A "Master Bibliography" and index conclude the work,^B providing further avenues for access to the encyclopedia work and to the field.This resource provides a unique blend of definition, historical context, and research sources. It can take the reader far into the discipline, helping the beginning student to gain a foothold and guiding the researcher toward the more technical literature of geography. General adult readers interested in the topic will also find much of value in this work, which would be most suited to an academic library's geography collection or a large public library with a strong interest in geography. Sarah WatsteinCopyright