Period and Place Research Methods in Historical Geography

In the years before the publication of this book, there had been a marked interest in the methodology of historical geography as well as in its underlying philosophies and analytical techniques. Originally published in 1982, this volume of essays comprises the revised version of most of the papers read and discussed during the symposium held in Cambridge in 1979, and sponsored the International Geographical Union's Working Group on Historical Changes in Spatial Organization. Some of the essays review developments within particular schools of historical geography, whilst others consider the difficulties of identifying and interpreting geographical change. These essays attempt to promote discussion about the purpose and practice of historical geography, and they will be of interest not only to geographers, but also to historians, historical sociologists, anthropologists and demographers, and to all concerned with the methodology of historical enquiry.

Preface; Part I. Developments in Historical Geography: 1. Historical geography in Israel: retrospect and prospect Y. Ben-Arieh; 2. Developments in historical geography in Britain in the 1970s R. A. Butlin; Part II. Reconstructing Past Geographies:3. Reconstructing societies in the past: the collective biography of local communities M. Billinge; 4. Modernization, restoration, preservation: changes in tastes for antique landscapes H. C. Prince; 5. Reconstructing Old Prussian landscapes, with special reference to spatial organization H. Jaeger; 6. Soldier settlement in British Columbia, 1915–1930: a synchronic analysis P. M. Koroscil; Part III. The Identification and Interpretation of Geographical Change: 7. Geographical analysis of imperial expansion D. W. Meinig; 8. Agricultural improvement in late-colonial tropical America: sources and issues H. Galloway; 9. Relating structure to process in historical population analysis: case studies from eighteenth-century Spanish America D. J. Robinson; 10. Questions of scale in the study of population in nineteenth-century Britain R. Lawton; 11. Geographical changes in cities following disaster M. J. Bowden; 12. Applied historical geography and geographies of the past: historico-geographical change and regional processes in history D. Deneke; 13. The interface of physical and historical geography: the analysis of farming decisions in response to drought hazards on the margins of the Great Plains D. A. McQuillan; 14. Individualistic features in a communal landscape: some comments on the spatial organization of a rural society U. Sporrong; 15. Land use and settlement patterns in the Mälar area of Sweden before the foundation of villages U. Göranson; 16. The significance of time for rural settlement patterns I. Egerbladh; 17. Cotton production in Japan before industrialization T. Ukita; Part IV. Behavioural Approaches to the Study of Geographical Change: 18. Historical geography and Collingwood's theory of historical knowing L. Guelke; 19. Images, acts and consequences: a critical review of historical geosophy R. W. Chambers; 20. The images of France and Paris in modern times: a historico-geographical problem P. Claval; 21. Perceived space in ancient Japan M. Senda; 22. Problems of interpreting the symbolism of past landscapes D. E. Cosgrove; Part V. Theoretical Approaches in Historical Geography: 23. On ideology and historical geography A. R. H. Baker; 24. Action and structure in historical geography D. J. Gregory; 25. Historical geography as the evolution of spatial form W. Norton; Part VI. Historical Sources and Techniques: 26. Historical geography and its evidence: reflections on modelling sources J. B. Harley; 27. Private archives as sources for historical geography C. Hall; 28. A Danish land survey from the seventeenth century V. Hansen; 29. Cartographic representation of diachronic analysis: the example of the origin of towns A. Simms; 30. A note on some documentary sources for studying the historical geography of Japan T. Tanioka; 31. Field evidence in historical geography: a negative sample? A source critical study of an area with fossil forms in Östergötland, Sweden M. Widgren; Notes to the text; Select bibliography; Index.

Originally published in 1982, this volume of essays comprises the revised version of most of the papers read and discussed during the symposium held in Cambridge in 1979,and sponsored the International Geographical Union's Working Group on Historical Changes in Spatial Organization.