The geographers in the cupboard

Narrating the history of Geography using undergraduate dissertations

Bibliographic Data

ID8360702
AuthorsMette Bruinsma (0000-0002-5256-1470, University of Glasgow, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume53
Issue1
Pages67-75
Publication date2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArea (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-0894 • E-ISSN: 1475-4762
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/area.12653
OpenAlexW3041556882
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited18

This paper explores the possibilities of examining undergraduate dissertations as sources. By means of archival research on a collection of Geography undergraduate dissertations at the University of Glasgow, comprising over 2,600 dissertations from 1954 to 2014, this paper argues for the epistemological value of both these “small” knowledge productions and the experiences of becoming a geographer for studying the history of Geography. A sustained study of the collection reveals that the dissertations comprise three kinds of sources: intellectual sources, seeing the dissertations as original pieces of academic research; cultural sources, examining the role of this “rites of passage” in becoming a geographer; and lastly, as social sources, whereby the dissertations illuminate a diverse, personal network within and beyond the university. The vastness of the archival collection of undergraduate Geography dissertations and the opportunities offered for a longitudinal examining of shifts within them over the years, revealing notable overall trends and traditions, ultimately discloses their own importance as exciting and striking original knowledge productions

Economic geography · Geographer · Geography · Historical geography · Human geography · Media studies · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics) · Data Analysis and Archiving · Geography Education and Pedagogy · Historical Geography and Geographical Thought

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