Humanism and relevance in geography

Abstract

Defining humanism as emancipatory stance on thought and life, this paper examines the enduring relevance of humanistic approaches in geography. Despite the diversity of perspectives on this field, there are common interests such as the integrity and potential creativity of human subjects, the social construction of reality, interpretative and critical approaches to knowledge, and concerns about social justice, ethics and the human condition. In recent years, there has also been growing concern about the environmental implications of contemporary ways of living, and the responsibilities implicit in the definition of humanus as earth dweller. Far from insisting on its separate identity as subdiscipline, humanistic geography should be regarded as leaven in the dough rather than as a separate loaf in the array of disciplinary endeavour.