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This book studies geographical societies, which were the institutional basis of geography until the early twentieth century. Although they were a global phenomenon, most research has focused on the most famous societies (such as Paris, London, and Washington/D.C.), and/or studied societies in isolation from each other. By contrast, our volume also pays attention to societies in less prominent countries and cities, and identifies connections and draws comparisons between various societies within and across national and imperial borders. Moreover, we discuss the societies' role in the professionalisation of geography, and embed them in the historical contexts of nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism. We thus demonstrate the potential geographical societies and their journals still hold for fresh research, and we invite readers to cross the disciplinary boundaries between geography and history. The volume primarily addresses (historical) geographers as well as historians of geography, science, exploration, nation-states, and empires.
List of contents
Introduction.- Part I:Studies from the Leipzig Research Project Geographical Societies in International Comparison.-
The Dutch Geographical Society: A Networked New Imperial History, 1873 1914.- Colonialism Overseas and at Home? The Geographical Societies of Madrid and Lima, 1876 1914.- That far-off land of prodigy and fable : India in the Journals of Belgian, Scottish, and U.S. American Geographical Societies, 1876 1914.- Part II:Young Nation-States.- From Nation-Building to Disaster Recovery: The First 50 Years of the Hungarian Geographical Society, 1872 1920.- Discovering Otherness, Empowering the Nation: Italian Geographical Societies and Their Dual Trajectory.- Part III:Overseas Empires.- Camões as a Motto for Geography: A Literary Hero, the Periodical Press, and the Founding of Two Geographical Societies in Portuguese Africa, 1880 1881.- An American Ocean: U.S. Geographical Societies and American Empire in the Pacific, 1851 1914.- Part IV:The Practical Use of Geography.- The Geographical Society of Rio de Janeiro: Geography and Capitalism in the Tropics.- Knowing and Exploiting Overseas Lands: Swiss Economic Expansion through Geographical Societies, 1860 1914.- Henry Morton Stanley s Visits to Geographical Societies, 1872 1891: Providing Knowledge for European Colonialism in Africa?.- Part V:Geography as a Science.- British Geographical Societies and the Professionalisation of Geography in Civic Context, 1830 1918.- A Whole New World of Chigaku: The Early Years of the Tokyo Geographical Society, 1879 1900.- Part VI Appendix.- The Geographical Societies of the World, 1821 1945: List and Bibliography.
Summary
This book studies geographical societies, which were the institutional basis of geography until the early twentieth century. Although they were a global phenomenon, most research has focused on the most famous societies (such as Paris, London, and Washington/D.C.), and/or studied societies in isolation from each other. By contrast, our volume also pays attention to societies in less prominent countries and cities, and identifies connections and draws comparisons between various societies within and across national and imperial borders. Moreover, we discuss the societies' role in the professionalisation of geography, and embed them in the historical contexts of nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism. We thus demonstrate the potential geographical societies and their journals still hold for fresh research, and we invite readers to cross the disciplinary boundaries between geography and history. The volume primarily addresses (historical) geographers as well as historians of geography, science, exploration, nation-states, and empires.
