A Critical Hermeneutics Approach to Courses in Geography and Geography Education Departments

Currently, transformations are taking place in various fields in both philosophical, theoretical and practical terms. This transformation is reflected in science, universities and the courses taught in universities. However, this reflection is not always realised at the desired level. In other words, rapid changes in the world do not affect every point at the same speed. What is expected from institutions such as universities, which are at the centre of knowledge production, is both to lead development and change and to catch up with these changes. In coordination with these changes, it is essential that similar innovations are reflected in the courses taught at the university. In this study, the relevance of the field knowledge courses in Geography and Geography Teacher Education departments is questioned and the relationship between the changes and geography courses is examined. In the article, the data obtained from focus group interviews with postgraduate students were analysed by descriptive analysis using critical and interpretive approaches. The results of the study point to the necessity of a large-scale change in geography content knowledge courses. Some of the important results of the study are that the participants do not find the distinction between physical and human geography very meaningful; they see the interdisciplinary approach in geography courses as incomplete and emphasize the need for more specialized courses. For this reason, a broad discussion on the subject is included in the conclusion section.