Historical Understanding in Geography: An Idealist Approach

Although many geographers have used historical approaches in the study of human activity, the historical approach as such is not often viewed as a fundamental mode of geographical understanding. Originally published in 1982, this work puts forward a case for historical geography conceived of both as a field in its own right and as the foundation of a revitalized traditional, empirical human geography. The crux of the case rests on the proposition that historical enquiry is an independent form of understanding not based upon or related to the approaches of the natural or social sciences. In recognising history as an independent form of knowledge one is able to look at historical geography from another perspective. The historical approach ultimately makes a contribution to an understanding of the present by elucidating the geographical ramifications of historical change.