The Rise of Geography at Northwestern University

Leadership, Expansion, and Interdisciplinarity

Bibliographic Data

ID21321925
AuthorsJack Swab (0000-0002-0650-6008, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-20
Publication date2026-02-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00167428.2026.2616714
OpenAlexW7128705679
LanguageEN
References cited32

In the immediate decades following the end of World War II, Northwestern University rapidly and unexpectedly emerged as an important node in American geography. Prior to 1945, Northwestern did not have an independent geography department, but by 1965 Northwestern had become a preeminent center of geographic thought. This paper examines how Northwestern became a substantial producer of academic geographers and of interdisciplinary geographic thought/methods, focusing on the period from 1945–1965. The piece reflects on how this period at Northwestern reshaped geography in the United States more broadly in the second half of the twentieth century. Through an examination of the faculty and graduates of the program, this paper explores how Northwestern provided fertile ground for the continuation of existing, and the innovation of new, geographical traditions

Field (mathematics) · Historical geography · Human geography · Regional geography · Geography Education and Pedagogy · Historical Geography and Geographical Thought · Science and Climate Studies

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