Geography

Arild Holt-Jensen (born 1937) is professor emeritus at Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Norway. He has been teaching geography in Bergen since 1965 and is the author of a number of books and articles on history and concepts of geography, environmental, urban and regional planning as well as general textbooks for highschool geography. Rewarded in 2000 ‘Modeens Minnemedalj’ by the Finnish Geographical Society for achievements in geographical education. He has served as Department chair, member of University Senate, member of editorial board for GeoJournal, member of the Council in the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) . He has long experience in setting up and organising cross-disciplinary courses in environmental science and planning. His research in settlement geography, environmental, local and regional planning cover studies in Norway, the Nordic and Baltic countries. He has been guest professor at University of Washington, Seattle. He has lead a number of field courses for BA and MA students in Norway and the Baltic countries.Holt-Jensen coordinated 2000-2004 the NEHOM (Neighbourhood Housing Models) project, financed by EU 5th framework programme, involving 11 partners in 8 European countries, which was followed up in the period 2004-2008 by  a Nordic - Baltic project financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers. One result of this project is (Holt-Jensen A and Pollock, E. (eds 2009):’ Urban Sustainablility and Governance; New Challenges for Nordic and Baltic Housing Policies’. NOVA, New York. From the start of his university studies he has been active in local and national politics:  as member of the Norwegian Liberal Party he headed its Environmental Commission 1968 – 1975 (national), was member of Bergen City Council 1971-1979 and later functioned as Chair of ‘Landås City District’ board in 12 years. From 2004 he shifted to membership in Bergen Socialist (Labour) Party.

This comprehensive and accessible guide to the full breadth of Geography from an Anglophone perspective—from its beginnings to contemporary debates and from its biophysical to its cultural scholarship—is a must-read for geography undergraduates, but also for academics and interested laypeople encountering contemporary geography, excited by what’s going on, and keen to dig deeper.

• Chapter 1: What is Geography?Chapter 2: The Roots of GeographyChapter 3: From Cosmography to Institutionalized DisciplineChapter 4: The Regional TraditionChapter 5: The Growth of Spatial ScienceChapter 6: Paradigms and RevolutionsChapter 7: Positivsm and its CriticsChapter 8: Alternatives to Spatial ScienceChapter 9: Post-structuralism and BeyondChapter 10: Geographical Tasks in a Globalizing World