PUBLICATIONS
January 2000 Issue
The Geographical Review
January 2000, Vol. 90 (1), pp. 35-56
MOUNTAIN GEOGRAPHY
DAVID SMETHURST
Keywords: conservation, cultural geography, mountains, political ecology.
ABSTRACT:
Although mountains have been studied for centuries, they are the subject of
only a slender body of formal literature. Instead, those who study high places in specific regions
construct working definitions and continually recraft bibliographies. Studies of
mountains often focus on comparatively limited themes: physical processes, ecology, or sacred
spaces, for example. As scholars become interested in environmental degradation and
the development of mountains, there is all the more need to develop a mountain geography
literature that expands the study of mountains to include the political, economic, cultural,
and social dimensions of their environments and peoples. Three areas--cultural geography,
political ecology, and conservation theory--are suggested for additional research.
Keywords: conservation, cultural geography, mountains, political ecology.
ABSTRACT:
Although mountains have been studied for centuries, they are the subject of only a slender body of formal literature. Instead, those who study high places in specific regions construct working definitions and continually recraft bibliographies. Studies of mountains often focus on comparatively limited themes: physical processes, ecology, or sacred spaces, for example. As scholars become interested in environmental degradation and the development of mountains, there is all the more need to develop a mountain geography literature that expands the study of mountains to include the political, economic, cultural, and social dimensions of their environments and peoples. Three areas--cultural geography, political ecology, and conservation theory--are suggested for additional research.