Alexander Von Humboldt's Image and Influence in North American Geography, 1804-2004

Bibliographic Data

ID4491495
AuthorsKent Mathewson (corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume96
Issue3
Pages416-438
Publication date2006-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1931-0846.2006.tb00259.x
OpenAlexW2089423876
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited82

Alexander von Humboldt is universally identified as a key figure in laying the foundations for modern geography. His main sites of research and scholarly production were centered on Europe, Latin America, and Russia. He drew on global sources of geographical data and knowledge in constructing and producing his voluminous works. Although he only briefly knew North America firsthand-at the outset of his career, in the late spring of 1804-he maintained a lifelong interest in the realm, especially in the United States. In turn, many North American scholars were admirers and followers of his perspectives, practices, and publications. Although geography did not emerge as an institutionally based discipline in the United States until the late nineteenth century, Humboldt's influence and impact on its antecedents were considerable. Contrary to conventional wisdom, his authority and influence in geography persisted well beyond Humboldt's death in 1859. His vision of demonstrating nature's unity in diversity and his enlightened views on social issues have continued to appeal to select sectors and actors in North American geography, especially Latin Americanists, historians of the discipline, and, more recently, proponents of an engaged, critical geography

Critical geography · Realm · Regional geography · Social geography · Alexander von Humboldt Studies · History of Science and Natural History · Polar Research and Ecology