The Historical and Philosophical Emergence of Radical Geography

Throughout the modern history of geography Pattison's four traditions-area studies, land-man relations, spatial theory, and physical geography have basically encompassed the philosophical stances toward the discipline. Within the last decade, however, American geographers have seen the reemergence of a fundamentally different approach to the discipline-radical geography. Despite earlier European radical geographers such as Peter Kropotkin (1890's) and Karl Wittofogel (1920's), American radical geography's historical roots are found in the late 1960's for two primary reasons. First, the politically intense sixties bred a disenchanted society open to change. The two key political events of the decade, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, signified change and crystallized the onset of academic radicalism. A new climate of liberal reform spread across the nation reflected by antiwar demonstrations, peace marches, women's liberation, the environmental movement and eventually George McGovern's presidential candidacy. In many respects the winds of socio-political change swept the nation, particularly throughout universities.