G31 An interview with Professor Nikolaj Knattrup

In Denmark, geographic education at primary, secondary, and "folk highschool" levels has probably been more deeply anchored than in most other countries. The training of geography teachers has therefore been a sensitive and important issue. In this interview Nikolaj Knattrup, a leading figure in the training of teachers in Denmark, tells of his own learning experiences, and the challenges and opportunities for curriculum design and change during his 30 years as professor at a teacher training college in Copenhagen. He also reflects on relationships between human and physical geography, the role of field excursions, cartography, and the sense of place and regional identity in Norden.

Interviewer: Ove Biilmann
Language: Danish
Recorded at Laererhojskolen, Copenhagen Denmark, May 1983.
Availability: Video (Danish), Transcript (English).

 G32 An interview with Derek Gregory

Author of Ideology, Science, and Human Geography, Gregory here describes his undergraduate and graduate study at Cambridge. An early attraction to systems theory was superseded by a growing interest in human agency. This came about through his research on the historical transformation of the Yorkshire woolen industry from a domestic to a factory system. It is this flow between agency and structure which characterizes much of his current work.

Interviewer: B. L. Turner II
Language: English
Recorded at: Worcester Polytechnical Institute, Worcester, Mass., USA, October 1983.
Availability: Video.

G33: Fusé: French-US Encounter 

Glimpses at the first bi-national seminar between French and American geographers, introduced by Jacqueline Beaujeu-Garnier and Anne Buttimer. Philippe Pinchemel and David Hooson compare general trends in both schools, Paul Claval, Roger Kasperson, and Julian Minghi share ideas on political geography, Augustin Berque and David Sopher discuss cultural geography, and finally Bernard Marchand and Gérard Dorel outline future prospects for urban and rural geography in France and America.

Language: English
Recorded at Clark University, Worcester, Mass., USA, October 1983.
Availability: Video

G34 David Harvey: The History and present condition of Geography. An Historical Materialist Manifesto.

This recording was made at a plenary session of the IBG Conference in Durham where Harvey outlined a perspective on geography's past and the challenges it faces in the future. He interprets paradigm change in contextual terms, noting especially some political implications of the practices which characterized successive periods of the discipline. A manifesto is then presented for an integrated approach to geography today, and clarified after several questions from the audience.

Language: English
Recorded by the School of Education, University of Durham, January 1984.
Availability: Video.

G35 Questions of Integration in Geography. Debate held at Queen's University, Belfast.

Focus in this recording rests on the issue of integration in geography. Professor William Kirk (Chairman) argues for the holistic and synthetic mission of the discipline, while Drs. Fred Boal (urban-social geography) and Brian Wholley (geomorphology) speak for their respective fields. Opinions are divided on whether the term "integration" might apply more suitably to undergraduate teaching rather than to research; questions of institutional identity are juxaposed with those of intellectual rigour.

Participants: William Kirk, W. Brian Wholley, Frederick W. Boal and Anne Buttimer.
Language: English
Recorded at: Queens University, Belfast, N.Ireland, January 1984.
Availability: Video.

G36 The language prison of thought and action

A North American philosopher poses questions to two geographer about the nature of their discipline, the sources of change in its theoretical and practical orientations. Focus turns to the development of Olsson's own ideas and then all three discuss issues of creativity, integration, and societal relevance of geography. 

Participants: Gunnar Olsson, Nordic Institute for Planning, Stockholm, Sweden; Roger Miller, Dep. of Geography, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., USA, Jonathan Bordo, Dep. of Philosophy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta., Canada.
Interviewer: Anne Buttimer
Language: English
Recorded at: University of Lund, Sweden, June 1984.
Availability: Video.

G37 Geography in Spain: An interview with Professor Juan Vila-Valenti

Vice-President of the International Geographical Union and Chairman of University of Barcelona's geography section, Vila-Valenti here outlines his own philosophy of the field. There is a universal geographical sense which all humans develop, he argues, within their own actual life milieux. He sheds light on contemporary developments in Spanish geography and offers a note of optimism on the potential contribution which the discipline has to offer in the elucidation of societal and environmental issues.

Interviewer: Anne Buttimer
Language: English
Recorded at University of Geneva, Switzerland, by Kurt-Ake Lindhe, Tetra-Pak, August 1984.
Availability: Video.

G38 Geography in Chile: An interview with Professor Hugo Romero

Few countries can rival Chile for diversity of geographical milieux. Romero describes early French influences on the development of geography as an academic discipline in Chile, his own educational experiences in Chile and in England, and some consequences of political changes in recent years. He outlines the challenge which faces geography in all Latin American countries today, and makes a plea for livelier international exchange among practitioners.

Interviewer: Anne Buttimer
Language: English
Recorded at University of Geneva, Switzerland, by Kurt-Ake Lindhe, Tetra-Pak, August 1984.
Availability: Video.

G39 An interview with Dr. Patrick Armstrong

Son of an English minister-scholar, Armstrong developed an early curiosity about nature and science. Bio-geography therefore became his major interest during student years in England, and this found a fertile ground for continuing research in Western Austrailia where he now lives. The interview focusses on Armstrong's research on Charles Darwin - research which has been based not only on archives, but on personal associations with the Darwin family.

Interviewer: Geoffrey Martin
Language: English
Recorded at: University of Geneva, Switzerland, by Kurt-Ake Lindhe, Tetra Pak, August 1984.
Availability: Video.

G40 Geography in Japan: An interview with Professor Keiichi Takeuchi

A window opened on to Japanese geography by Keiichi Takeuchi, now Chairman of the Laboratory for Social Geography at the Hitotsubachi University of Tokyo. Educated in Japan and Italy, Takeuchi has cultivated widely-ranging interests, and is presently a member of the IGU Commission on the History of Geographical Thought. Here he describes 20th century developments in Japanese geography, influences from German and Anglo-American sources, and the challenges faced by postwar generation of professional geographers in that country.

Interviewer: Anne Buttimer
Language: English
Recorded at: University of Geneva, Switzerland, by Kurt-Ake Lindhe, Tetra Pak, August 1984.
Availability: Video.