Humanistic approach
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Research isn’t always 100% representative, because researchers are human beings and are always subjected to their own perception. This makes reflection important, because you can provide a high level of objectivity. | Research isn’t always 100% representative, because researchers are human beings and are always subjected to their own perception. This makes reflection important, because you can provide a high level of objectivity. | ||
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| + | The humanistic approach to geography has its roots in the Renaissance era, when a world view centered on religion (God) was changed for a worldview that has human beings in the center of the world. Modern humanistic geography emerged around 1970, as a reaction to strictly scientific positivist approaches to geography. Positivist approaches try to grasp human action in laws and models, as if geography was a ‘hard’ science like physics. Humanistic geographers however did not see this approach as the way forward for geography as a science. They argued that human action couldn’t be displayed simply as dots on a map or a bunch of statistics. The things that mattered according to these geographers were actually the meanings, values and interpretations that people give to space and place. | ||
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| + | Well-known Humanist Geographers: | ||
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| + | * Anne Buttimer | ||
| + | * Edward Relph | ||
| + | * Yi-Fu Tuan | ||
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Ley, D. & Samuels, M. (1978). Humanistic geography: prospects and problems | Ley, D. & Samuels, M. (1978). Humanistic geography: prospects and problems | ||
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| + | Page enhanced October 12th by PIeter-Jan Schut | ||
Revision as of 21:26, 12 October 2011
“And men go about to wonder at the height of mountains and the mighty waves of sea, and the wide sweep of rivers, and the circuit of the ocean, and the revolution of the stars, but themselves consider not” (Ley & Samuels, 1978, p. x) The humanistic approach is a way of thinking in human geography; an approach that seeks to put humans at the centre of geography (Gregory et al., 2009, p. 356). Humanistic geography is a root of action theoretic approach. Human conscience and reflection refers to human action as a change. This means that people are responsible for their own changes. An approach in human geography is distinguished by; - Human awareness - Human agency - Human consciousness - Human creativity An approach in human geography distinguished by the central and active role it gives to human awareness and human agency, human consciousness and creativity; at once an attempt at ‘understanding meaning’, value and human significance of life events’ (Buttimer, 1979).
Research isn’t always 100% representative, because researchers are human beings and are always subjected to their own perception. This makes reflection important, because you can provide a high level of objectivity.
The humanistic approach to geography has its roots in the Renaissance era, when a world view centered on religion (God) was changed for a worldview that has human beings in the center of the world. Modern humanistic geography emerged around 1970, as a reaction to strictly scientific positivist approaches to geography. Positivist approaches try to grasp human action in laws and models, as if geography was a ‘hard’ science like physics. Humanistic geographers however did not see this approach as the way forward for geography as a science. They argued that human action couldn’t be displayed simply as dots on a map or a bunch of statistics. The things that mattered according to these geographers were actually the meanings, values and interpretations that people give to space and place.
Well-known Humanist Geographers:
- Anne Buttimer
- Edward Relph
- Yi-Fu Tuan
References:
Aitken, S., Valentine, G. (2006). Approaches to Human Geography. Sage, London.
Buttimer, A. 1979: Reason, rationality and human creativity. Geografiska Annaler 61B: 43-9.
Ley, D. & Samuels, M. (1978). Humanistic geography: prospects and problems
Page enhanced October 12th by PIeter-Jan Schut
