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To teach about places is to teach about placings. Whether intentionally or not, the way we locate certain regions of the world shapes how we see the individuals, resources, activities, [...]

The standard final assessment for Dr. Max Felker-Kantor's undergraduate Ball State University course, 'American History 1877 to the Present,' was a research paper, and that is exactly what I planned [...]

The results of a survey sent to historical geographers teaching in the United States during the 2003-2004 academic year are discussed. The way, in which historical geography courses are regularly taught, the textbooks used frequently, the leading historical geography practitioners and the publication outlets that are highly paid are discussed.

Five strategies are presented to strengthen the viability of historical geography as a disciplinary field. These are situating studies of land use within a political economic framework, using cultural politics as an analytical tool, tracing transformations between ancient and modern practices, interrogating progressivist concepts, and adopting an interdisciplinary approach.

New Western Historians may generate fresh interpretations of utopia in political historical geographies. By focusing analysis on specific themes such as social justice, environmentalism and regionalism, these historians are able to be exact concerning the political motivations and influences that inform their research studies, subjects and discourse.

Historical geography in New Zealand and Australia has traditionally been the interest of immigrants and descendents of immigrants who were seeking a personal identification with place, but historical geography studies have since become more focused on approach and content in an effort to attract growing numbers of students to the discipline. Themes such as ecological imperialism have become increasingly important, with teaching and research activities becoming more balanced and focusing more on detailed micro-studies.

The study of historical geography has developed considerably in post world-war II Japan. A survey of Japanese historical geography of the period provides an insight into the field in a non-Western context. Traditional historical geographical scholarship in Japan was mainly centered round manuals compiled by ruling families. New methodologies include the concept of thick cross-sections and retrospective interpretation, integrated analysis, specific analysis, and behavioral and perceptual perspectives.

A unique relationship among historical geography, history, and environmental history is in the offing in Australia. Environmental historians, such as Donald Worster, advocate an agroecological paradigm on nature based on similar developments in America. Since productive technologies and human attitudes influence the environment, environmental historians should be concerned with the way politics affects productive environmental systems and the associated belief systems. Public perceptions and evaluations, forest histories and environmental law should form part of the discipline.

One of the greatest tasks of historiography is to integrate national and local history. The primary problem is that spatial models become overly complex when expanded beyond a particular region. Conversely, attempts to identify national characteristics oversimplify regional variations. Perhaps regional variations can be observed as following inner systems in which a relevant national context can be developed.

'Don't step there!' My friend Harrison has a seven-year-old's keen interest in gross things, and I look on the sidewalk for chewing gum, dead worms, or worst of all, dog [...]