Academic geography, American style
an institutional perspective
pp. 245-279
in: Gary S. Dunbar (ed), Geography: discipline, profession and subject since 1870, Berlin, Springer, 2001Abstract
The late 19th century (in the United States, the post-Civil War period) saw the emergence of permanent institutions created to sustain interests that had earlier been undifferentiated, erratic, or personal: symphony orchestras, comprehensive arts museums, research universities, academic disciplines. These new ventures owed much to rising levels of personal and national wealth, increasing cultural and civic consciousness in burgeoning American cities, the march of academic specialization and, not least, the career strategies and seized opportunities of individuals in an era of faith in science, progress and broadened access to education and culture (Dunbar, in Blouet 1981, 71–88; Koelsch, in Blouet 1981, 89–104). These developments form the context for the rise of geography as an American university discipline after 1870 and the emergence of the geographer as a credentialed academic amidst the mix of disciplines and scholars competing for newly available resources and status in a season of new beginnings and high expectations.