1 2014 by AIIG

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), Vol. 1, Year 3, June, 2014

J-Reading is an open online magazine and therefore access is free. It is however possible to make a subscription to receive the paper format

Copyright ÂŠ 2014 Edizioni Nuova Cultura - Roma ISSN online 2281-5694 ISSN print 2281-4310 ISBN 9788868123253 DOI 10.4458/3253

Contents Sirpa Tani

National cases, international collaboration – an example from Finland Joop van der Schee

Looking for an international strategy for geography education Andrea Favretto

Scale factor and image resolution: some cartographic considerations Judit Ütő-Visi

Educational landscape and possibilities – Geography education (in the light of a survey) Lorena Rocca, Cristina Minelle, Francesco Bussi

Building geographical knowledge together: the case of a Geography teaching on line course

5 9 15 21

THE LANGUAGE OF IMAGES (Edited by Elisa Bignante and Marco Maggioli) Gianluca Casagrande

Spaces and places fifty years after the Vajont tragedy

MAPPING SOCIETIES (Edited by Edoardo Boria) Alessandro Ricci

A historical and war cartography for national identity in Eritrea

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND (PRACTICAL) CONSIDERATIONS Vladimir Kolosov

The International Geographical Union before its centennial: new challenges and developments Fengtao Guo

A Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education: Geography Education Research

TEACHINGS FROM THE PAST John Kirtland Wright

Terrae incognitae. The place of imagination in geography

with comments by Davide Papotti

Re-reading Terrae incognitae. The place of imagination in geography by J.K. Wright

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 5-7 DOI: 10.4458/3253-01

National cases, international collaboration – an example from Finland Sirpa Tania a

Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Email: sirpa.tani@helsinki.fi

In his recent editorial of J-Reading, Joseph P. Stoltman (2013) described some changes that have been going on within geography education in the United States. The changes in question concerned the launch of the new version of the national standards in 2012 (Geography for Life, 2nd edition), the Road Map project and the Social Studies Curriculum Framework for College, Career and Civic Life. He noted how there had been an ongoing interest from the colleagues outside the US to learn about the status of geography in the school system and the factors explaining some of the changes being witnessed. In this editorial, my aim is to continue the same kind of discussion by opening up some perspectives on Finnish geography education. Why Finland? (In addition to the fact that, as a Finnish geography educator, I find it natural to write something which I am familiar with.) I have realised that many colleagues have been interested in hearing more about the Finnish educational system and the status of geography in our schools. I hope that in this short text, I could open up some of the issues which are of interest also for the geography educators outside Finland. I will conclude by hoping to enhance international collaboration – or, at least – Copyright© Nuova Cultura

discussion of the factors affecting the status of geography education in different countries. One of the reasons for the remarkable interest in the Finnish educational system is its success in some international tests, especially in PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment). Finland got the top ranking in the tests for 2003, 2006 and 2009, which caused an interesting phenomenon, the so-called “PISA tourism”, when a countless number of foreign experts (teacher educators, educational administrative persons, politicians etc.) came to visit Finnish schools and universities, in order to find out the factors behind the success. Some explanations of the good results have been given by several researchers in education (see e.g. Simola, 2005; Sahlberg, 2011; Niemi et al., 2012). In my recent article, I made an overview of these explanations (see Tani, 2014). The main reasons for the success included, for example: 1) the idea of providing equal and free education for everyone during the nine-year comprehensive schooling, 2) freedom of teachers to plan and execute their teaching without any external control, and 3) academic teacher education (all the Finnish teachers, both in primary and secondary schools, must have a Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Master’s degree). From the viewpoint of geography education, it would be interesting to compare these factors to the status, aims and contents of the school subject – even when the subject itself has not been part of these international tests. There are, however, some other issues, which are especially relevant for geography education and these I will briefly introduce in the following. Geography’s position in the Finnish school system has been – and still is – closely connected with natural sciences. Most of the geography teacher posts in lower and upper secondary schools have biology as another teaching subject. This means that the majority of student teachers, who will be qualified as geography (and biology) teachers, is more familiar with the physical side of the subject and can thus easily feel that human geography is more difficult or even boring. This is one of the challenges that Finnish geography teacher educators have to face. On the other hand, the close connection to natural sciences has kept the relationship between the human sphere and the environment as an important element in Finnish geography classrooms. The close connection with natural sciences can also be seen in primary schools. At present, geography is taught as part of an integrated subject called “Environmental and Natural Studies” during the first four grades, after which it is taught together with biology as one subject in grades 5–6. The renewal process of the national framework curricula is now in progress, and the new curricula will be put into action in 2016. Then geography will be integrated with biology, chemistry, physics and health education which will form a subject called “Environmental Studies” for the whole primary school level (six years). In primary school education, student teachers will receive a very limited amount of knowledge from each discipline, which they should then be able to teach in practice. This easily means that especially the young teachers are willing to lean on the ready-made teaching materials. It can be said that the textbooks have a real power in steering teaching in the classrooms and even when the books are not controlled by any institution, they follow the framework curricula very closely. What is

nevertheless easily “forgotten” from the books is the higher aims of the subject. In the most recent PISA test, Finland was not as successful as earlier. Even when the ranking was still good, it has provoked a lively debate in Finnish society, when different interest groups have been eager to explain what is wrong with our school system. It is important to notice how the international tests can easily lead educators to stress certain elements in teaching, which are not necessarily in line with the broader educational aims or with some core ideas of each subject. It will be interesting to see how the concern for the performance level in the latest tests will affect the aims and contents of the forthcoming national curricula. What I am the most concerned about, is the status of the elements in geography education which are not easy to test or measure, and which should still belong to its core issues. With these I refer to different value-based themes (e.g. the localglobal education, education for sustainable development, intercultural education etc.) as well as the teaching methods which link the ideas of the academic subject together with geographies of young people. I hope that with my brief example from the contemporary issues in Finnish geography education I could encourage some readers to think about the possibilities to plan some international research projects or at least to enhance the sharing of knowledge between colleagues from different countries – and by doing that, learning with each other (Butt and Lambert, 2014, p. 9). J-Reading could be one of the places where the results and international debates could be published and thus shared with other geography educators.

References 1. Butt G. and Lambert D., “International perspectives on the future of geography education: An analysis of national curricula and standards”, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 23, 1, 2014, pp. 1-12. 2. Niemi H., Toom A. and Kallioniemi A. (Eds.), Miracle of education: The principles

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and practices of teaching and learning in Finnish schools, Rotterdam, Sense, 2012. 3. Sahlberg P., Finnish lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland?, New York, NY, Teacher College Press, 2011. 4. Simola H., “The Finnish miracle of PISA: Historical and sociological remarks on teaching and teacher education”, Comparative Education, 41, 4, 2005, pp. 455-470.

5. Stoltman J.P., “Geography education in the United States: Initiatives for the 21st century”, Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-Reading), 2, 2, 2013, pp. 5-9. 6. Tani S., “Geography in the Finnish school curriculum: part of the ‘success story’?”, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 23, 1, 2014, pp. 90101.

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 9-13 DOI: 10.4458/3253-02

Looking for an international strategy for geography education Joop van der Scheea a

Co-chair of the IGU Commission on Geographical Education, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands Email: j.a.vander.schee@vu.nl

Received: April 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Accepted: May 2014

Abstract Geography education is under pressure in many countries in the world. Many publications in the field of geography education and a lot of papers presented at geography conferences focus on the problematic position of geography in primary and secondary education. However, describing the problem is easier than finding a solution for it. To take a step forward some effort and creativity are needed. The good news is that at different places in the world new initiatives are developing to stimulate geography in education. The 2013 Rome Declaration on Geographical Education in Europe is one new initiative to help the teaching and learning of geography in schools. Elaborating on the Rome Declaration this contribution presents some ideas for a strategic plan for geography education and invites readers to contribute their ideas for how to take this forward. The Commission on Geographical Education of the International Geographical Union is happy to function as meeting place and to facilitate the sharing of good practices in geography education worldwide in close cooperation with EUGEO, EUROGEO and regional and national geographical organisations. Keywords: International Cooperation, Local Geographies, Good Practices, Improving Geography Education, Requirements for Geography Teaching

1. Introduction Ottens (2013) reported in this journal that the 2013 EUGEO congress in Rome included discussions about the state of geography education and resulted in the Rome Declaration on Geographical Education in Europe. The Rome Declaration is a joint response of the Association of European Geographical Societies (EUGEO), the European Association of CopyrightÂŠ Nuova Cultura

Geographers (EUROGEO), the Italian Association of Geography Teachers (AIIG), and the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on Geographical Education to recent threats to reduce or even abolish geography lessons in primary and secondary education. The Rome Declaration, addressing governments and educational institutions in the

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European countries, describes the focus of geography in schools and some minimum requirements for good geography teaching. In this declaration, De Vecchis et al. (2013) underline that the teaching of geography in schools is fundamental for the future of Europe and state: “With this firm conviction, we are committed to taking initiatives in the countries of Europe and with the relevant European institutions to provide standards and guidelines that will help authorities develop relevant syllabuses and school curricula, methods and approaches in geography that:  Apply geographical knowledge, skills and understanding to the main issues linked with processes of change in society, nature and environment at local, national, European and global levels; and  Highlight the educational values and the role of geographical education in a changing world. We urge those responsible in European governments and educational systems:  To recognize the educational value afforded by the study of geography as an essential school subject; and  To acknowledge its strategic role for realizing active citizenship and balanced social, economic and environmental development. We therefore request that:  Sufficient time for the teaching of geography is allocated in curricula for primary and secondary schools;  The teaching of geography is limited to teachers with a qualified training in geography and geography education”. The Rome Declaration is unique in the way that it is the first joint declaration of the EUGEO, EUROGEO, AIIG and IGU together. However, it is not unique in its content and scope. In and outside Europe earlier initiatives have been developed to improve geography’s position in schools. Many of the issues mentioned in the Rome Declaration are also important in countries outside Europe. It seems wise to extend the Rome Declaration to a worldwide initiative to improve the position and quality of geography education and to use the Copyright© Nuova Cultura

ideas from earlier plans to improve geography education. In the next section three initiatives from the whole range of national and international projects and strategies to strengthen the position of geography in schools are briefly described.

2. Different initiatives The international report on geocapabilities (Solem, Lambert and Tani, 2013) offers a useful approach for researching and improving teacher preparation and leadership in geography. This capabilities approach provides “a theoretical framework for understanding the broader aims of geography in education and how these aims may be shared internationally, irrespective of differences in the scope and sequencing of national curriculum standards”. The idea is that a capability approach can “empower teachers to become leaders of curriculum making by clarifying the ways geography imparts an essential perspective for life and citizenship in a highly interdependent world”. The synthesis of findings of the year 2012-13 presents shared capabilities and examples of implications for collaborations in curriculum making between the US, Finland and England. Another significant initiative is the US Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education. It brought together experts in geography, science, education and research to create a set of landmark reports (Bednarz, Heffron and Huynh, 2013). Stoltman (2013, p. 7) writes that this Road Map “is expected to have a major impact on the discipline that will continue for longer than a decade. It includes recommendations for collaborative research on the most critical issues that geography education is confronted with as curriculum, teacher preparation, student learning of geography, preparation of instructional materials, the uses of geospatial technology in geography education both in the classroom and in field study, and the developments in the discipline that, with time, may become forces of change for school level geography”. A third important initiative that can be helpful for geography education worldwide is the start of the Geography Education Research Collective (http://www.geography.org.uk/gtip/

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gereco), a group of geography teacher educators in the UK. GEReCo is a collective dedicated to the promotion of geography education through research and publications. One of its aims is to add value to the research activities of the wider geography education community. Another aim is to develop original thinking, and new and critical perspectives.

3. Next step As follow up to the Rome Declaration a small group meeting of EUGEO, EUROGEO and IGU took place at the end of February 2014. The representatives of EUGEO, EUROGEO and IGU stated that good geography education can make a difference and that the position of geography education can be improved by:  Making the focus and contribution of geography education for society more explicit. Although Morgan (2013) writes that we need to be cautious about rushing to define the subject once and for all, he also states that similar themes recur. Firstly, geography is concerned with humanenvironment interactions in the context of specific places and locations and with issues that have a strong geographical dimension like natural hazards, climate change, energy supplies, land use, migration, urbanization, poverty and identity (Haubrich, 1992). Geography is a set of fascinating stories of people that live on planet earth at different spots in different ways in conditions that change continuously (Van der Schee, 2012). Secondly, geography is very practical and useful in everyday life. Geography helps us to get an overview of locations and regions. Location is a key factor in life, especially in an era of globalization and internet. Geography is the discipline where location has its base. Geographical knowledge and more recently also geospatial technologies offer unique opportunities to show policy makers that without geography we cannot make sense of the modern world nor make plans for its future. Thirdly, geography is a way of thinking and looking at the world around us. The idea that geography education is a Copyright© Nuova Cultura

lesson in how to think geographically is clearly described in the manifesto “a different view” by David Lambert and his colleagues (Geographical Association, 2009). Connected with this way of thinking geography education has its core concepts. According to Taylor (2008) diversity, interaction, change, and perspective are key concepts. These concepts are what historians call “second order concepts” (Taylor, 2013) but not all of them are distinctly geographical.  Describing the minimum requirements for geography teaching in primary and secondary schools as well as for geography teacher training institutes. The teaching of geography should be limited to teachers with a qualified training in geography and geography education. Geography teachers in primary and secondary education should be well trained in physical and human geography as well as in geography education. The geography International Baccalaureate (IB) programme can be inspiring and useful to make a good start (Ottens, 2013).  Developing an (inter)national exchange of good practices. The teacher is the key to innovation in education. Co-operation between geography teachers can strengthen the position of geography in schools and help to promote geography as an essential part of future education. Some schools have geography teachers that do extremely well in modernizing and promoting geography while in other schools in the same city or region geography is almost dying. Cooperation between geography sections of different schools is rare and this cannot be explained by competition between schools alone. Groups of enthusiastic geography teachers supported by teacher training institutes should try to organize local and regional (virtual) meetings and help lines to develop a challenging school geography.  Developing a research agenda for geography education.

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The last decennia show a growing number of publications written by geographers in education. However, the quality of these publications is not always the same. Sometimes there is a lack of focus and often there are insufficient data- and evidence-based studies to support informed decision-making in geography education (Bednarz, Heffron and Huynh, 2013). Review studies in important sectors of geography education are an option to get a better view on the state of the art and where further research is necessary. Another way to achieve more focus in research in geography education is to organize international research groups. These groups should not be exclusive. Brooks (2010) states that we should take notice of research of those for whom research is part of their work as academics or educational professionals, but also take notice of research of practicing teachers.  Creating a strong professional network structure. Donert (2008) states that it is necessary to recognize the need to establish routes that enable our efforts for geography education to be long-lasting and sustainable. A professional network structure is necessary to open a new horizon for geography education. This network needs to get support from a large range of geographical organizations and stake-holders. Its visibility in the discipline and in the media is an important issue to work on. Organizing a community of learners in geography education using a set of core practices may be helpful.

4. Conclusion Apart from a discussion about main goals, minimum requirements, networking and PR for geography education it seems worthwhile to work in joint international projects in the field of teaching and research in geography education. Doing geography together is often a good way to get a different view. There are several national and international projects that can inspire us and help to learn about dos and don’ts. One of the older ones is the successful Land Use UK Survey for the 21st century project (Walford, Copyright© Nuova Cultura

1997). In this project 50,000 pupils were involved in systematic data collection scanning their part of the landscape or townscape. These pupils described and evaluated their own local environments. The fieldwork stimulated discussions about views and visions for a particular area. It also stimulated a discussion about the contribution of geography to environmental awareness and citizenship. More recently modern geospatial technologies help us to connect people all over the world to learn and think about the future of local environments as well as the future of planet earth. One example is the use of e-learning technologies to connect geography classes in different countries for online learning collaboration and discussions organized by the Center for Global Geography Education of the Association of American Geographers. At the EUROGEO Conference in Malta in May 2014 as well as at the IGU conference in Krakow in August 2014 the discussion about a joint strategy for geography education will continue. There will not be one solution that fits all, but it is possible to strengthen our community of learners in geography education by helping each other to exchange curriculum ideas, research results and good practices. Butt and Lambert (2014) state that attempts in the past to create forms of international solidarity in geography education met with only limited success as the impact of different unique contexts and traditions in geography is often underestimated. Although geography education may be expressed in different ways in different national settings, an exchange of views on geography education can be helpful. Different views may help to reflect on your own practice. No less important is geographical knowledge itself as it is a vital component in the education of young people in a globalizing world. Geography educators co-operating on regional, national and international scale can help to stimulate and structure the international exchange of geographical information and ideas across borders among the citizens of today and tomorrow. The IGU Commission on Geographical Education tries to help to facilitate such initiatives. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Acknowledgements The author thanks Dr. Clare Brooks, Institute of Education University of London (UK), for her helpful revisions and suggestions.

10.

References 1. Bednarz S.W., Heffron S. and Huynh N.T. (Eds.), A Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education: Geography Education Research, Report from the Geography Education Research Committee of the Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education Project, Washington, DC, Association of American Geographers, 2013. 2. Brooks C., “How does one become a researcher in geography education?”, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 19, 2, 2010, pp. 115-118. 3. Butt G. and Lambert D., “International perspectives on the future of geography education: an analysis of national curricula and standards”, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 23, 2, 2014, pp. 1-12. 4. De Vecchis G., Donert K., Kolossov V., Ottens H. and Van der Schee J., “Rome Declaration on Geographical Education in Europe”, Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 2, 2, 2013, pp. 101. 5. Donert K., “Future Prospects – a foreword about finding ways forward”, in Donert K. and Wall G. (Eds.), Future prospects in geography, Liverpool, Herodot, 2008, pp. 1-8. 6. Geographical Association, Geography: A different view, Sheffield, Geographical Association, 2009. 7. Haubrich H., International Charter on Geographical Education, Freiburg, IGU Commission on Geographical Education, 1992. 8. Morgan J., “What do we mean by thinking geographically?”, in Lambert D. and Jones M. (Eds.), Debates in Geography Education, London, Routledge, 2013, pp. 273-281. 9. Ottens H., “Reflections on Geography Education in Europe”, Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), Copyright© Nuova Cultura

11.

12.

13.

14.

2, 2, 2013, pp. 97-100. Solem M., Lambert D. and Tani S., Geocapabilities: A transatlantic Approach to Researching and Improving Teacher Preparation and Leadership in Geography, Washington DC, AAG, 2013, http://www. aag.org/galleries/education-files/GeoCap1 _Year1Report_FINAL.pdf. Stoltman J., “Geography Education in the United States: Initiatives for the 21st century”, Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 2, 2, 2013, pp. 5-9. Taylor L., “Key concepts and medium term planning”, Teaching Geography, 33, 2, 2008, pp. 50-54. Taylor L., “What do we know about concept formation and making progress in learning geography?”, in Lambert D. and Jones M. (Eds.), Debates in Geography Education, London, Routledge, 2013, pp. 302-313. Van der Schee J., “Geographical Education in a Changing World”, Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 0, 1, 2012, pp. 1-5.

15. Walford R., Land Use – UK, a survey for the 21st century, Sheffield, The Geographical Association, 1997.

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Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 15-20 10.4458/3253-03

Scale factor and image resolution: some cartographic considerations Andrea Favrettoa a

Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy Email: afavretto@units.it

Received: December 2013 – Accepted: March 2014

Abstract The preservation of our cartographic heritage has long advocated the transformation of historical maps or, more generally, of paper maps produced by analogue methods into digital format. The development of GIS techniques and cartographic databases has allowed increasingly rapid georeferencing of scanned maps into global datums like WGS84. The prerequisite for good georeferencing is, however, good digital transformation of the paper map format. This is of course a technical issue, but it also has some mapping implications connected to cartographic generalization theory. The subject of this paper is to connect the well-recognized cartographic generalization concept (the graphicism error) to the resolution of the scanned image (measured in SPI). The core of this paper’s issue must be of course clear to all the technicians that are involved in map digitalizations, for instance at the several public cartographic archives. Not only: because of the fact that most of the current maps are in digital format, we think that the given concept should also be taught to medium/high level students of Cartography and to base level GIS students. After a short introduction on some technical features linked to the scanning process (DPI, PPI, SPI), the scale factor of a map is briefly recalled. Then the numerical relation between the scanning resolution and the scale of the paper map is given. Awareness of this relation is useful to avoid scanner accuracy superseding the accuracy of the scanned map. Keywords: SPI, Scale Factor, Image Resolution, Graphicism Error, Georeferencing

1. Introduction Currently, the digital format is the predominant type of map produced in the world. Moreover, most digital maps are drawn “by query” (on demand) from geographic databases and are displayed only momentarily on the users’ monitors (Dodge et al., 2011). It has been generally recognized that GIS (Geographical Copyright© Nuova Cultura

Information Systems) have profoundly changed cartographic methods and Web 2.0 has had even further technical and social implications (see e.g. Gartner, 2009; Goodchild, 2007). However, it is also true that we have a large number of older paper maps that constitute a veritable heritage. To preserve and cherish this cartographic heritage, the transposition from paper into digital Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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pixels1 an image fills when displayed on a monitor or other device. Every monitor has its own PPI, usually given by the factor of width by height (for instance: 1366 x 768 pixels). Therefore, PPI is connected to the monitor, not the image. A high resolution monitor has a larger number of pixels available than a lower one.

format has been adopted. This has been facilitated by some IT developments like advances in scanning technologies and the refinement of compressed image formats (jpg). Mass insertion of paper cartography into digital format in the mass storage of the computer followed. Sometimes the scanned raster layers have been simply memorized in the various files of the computer or “at other times they have been organized into structures of relational-type databases, accessible via geographic queries and/or attribute” (Favretto, 2012).

Unfortunately the scanning process of a paper map is not a neutral operation. Back in 1959 Tobler conceptualized the map as a data storage medium and, consequently, as a computer input element. Considering the direct transfer of the map into a computation system, Tobler warned that “an offset camera can change the scale of the map and, to a limited extent, the projection”. The aim of this paper is to give some technical information on the digital transformation of a paper map. After a short introduction on some technical features linked to the scanning process (DPI, PPI, SPI), the scale factor of a map is briefly recalled. Then the numerical relation between the scanning resolution and the scale of the paper map is given. Awareness of this relation is useful in avoiding scanner accuracy exceeding the accuracy of the scanned map. Some concluding remarks are then given. 2. DPI, PPI, SPI Occasionally there is some confusion with digital image resolution. Acronyms are often used incorrectly: one replacing another although they are not the same. The following are some basic definitions: -

DPI (Dots Per Inch) refers to printer resolution i.e. how many dots of ink or toner the printer uses in order to reproduce on paper the text or graphics with reference to one inch (2.54 cm). Of course, a higher number of dots endows the print with a sharper aspect. PPI (Pixels Per Inch) refers to the display resolution, and is the number of

SPI (Samples Per Inch). The digital format of an image is composed of samples, which is the information the monitor uses when displaying the picture. So, when a paper format graphic element is passed under a scanning device, SPI refers to the amount of scanned samples per inch. SPI is therefore both the scanner and the digital image resolution. The more scanned the samples are, the closer the scanned file is to the original paper format image.

Unfortunately, PPI, DPI and SPI are often considered synonyms when specifying image resolution. The focus now passes to the scanner image acquisition process. To create a digital image, its continuous data2 has to be transformed into digital form. This is achieved via two processes: sampling and quantization. Sampling is the digitizing of the coordinate values and is done by overlaying a sample grid onto the continuous image data. Every cell of the grid becomes a pixel and its color is the mean of the samples that are inside the cell. Quantization is the digitizing of the amplitude values, which is the conversion of every pixel of the sampled image into a numerical value. It is easy to understand that the quality of a digital image is determined by the density of the grid and by the number of the discrete values used in the quantization process. The density of the grid sets the image resolution (which is measured by SPI). 1

As is well known, pixel stands for “picture element”. It is the smallest component of a monitor. Every pixel on the screen is identified by a specific x, y coordinate with the origin of the coordinate system in the top-left corner of the screen. 2 The image data are continuous with respect both to the position and amplitude of the samples which compose it. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Thus, when scanning a paper format map, SPI has to be adjusted to the required level. If the map is transformed into digital format only for display purposes, the chosen SPI will condition the successive printing DPI (in the sense that it is not possible to print a map image at a higher DPI level than the SPI of the scanning process). If the digital map is then later georeferenced, it also is necessary to take into account the scale factor of the original map before setting the SPI in the scanning procedure.

3. Scale Factor The Scale Factor (SF), which is the wellknown denominator in the scale ratio, is at first glance an easy concept. SF is obtained from the scale ratio. It is an a-dimensional quantity which states how many units of measurement on the ground correspond to one unit of measurement on the map. Nevertheless, sometimes a little confusion may arise, especially when the SF is considered in relation to the distortions connected to the projection of a curved surface on a flat one. Iliffe (2000, p. 60) defines the SF as a ratio between distances. It is: distance on the projection SF = −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−− distance on the sphere

[1]

Iliffe’s definition of the SF [1] is however referred only to the distortion caused by the projection transformation, not to the dimension of the map graphic elements with respect to the earth geographic element they represent. There are in fact two different SF values associated to every map. One is related to distortion and one to scale. To grasp this concept, map projection must be considered as a two-stage process (Robinson et al., 1995). The first stage is the reduction of the Earth to a sphere (or a spheroid) of the size chosen for the flat map. This is the stage in which only the dimension of the Earth is changed, not the type of geometry (from a curved surface to a flat one). The size of the reduced sphere (or

spheroid), is proportional to a parameter, known as scale factor and is specified in the scale ratio. The second stage is the mathematical transformation, point to point, of the curved surface of the sphere (or spheroid), into the flat surface of the map. Here we have no reduction in size but only in the geometry. The equation [1] assumes values around 1 (it depends on the distance from the tangency point between the sphere/spheroid and the flat surface/cylinder/ cone). For the scope of this paper, the “dimensional” aspect of the SF (the first stage of the map projection process) will be considered. This can in fact be connected with the scan resolution.

4. Image resolution and scale factor As is well known, one important factor that affects cartographic generalization is the socalled graphic limits. These can be further split into two: physical limits (imposed by the equipment and materials used by the map maker), and the limits connected to “the map user perceptions and reactions to the primary visual variables” (Robinson et al., 1995, p. 459). Connected to the first class of limits (the physical ones), one well-known mapping rule is the so-called graphicism error. It can be explained by the following: εg = εgm * SF

[2]

where εg: ground graphicism error (mm) εgm: map graphicism error (if the map has been produced with analogue methods, this is conventionally equal to 0.25 mm; if the map has been produced by fully automated methods, this is conventionally equal to 0.1 mm) SF: scale factor. On paper, conventionally, it is not considered possible to draw a line thinner than 0.25 mm. This, multiplied by the scale factor becomes a length on the ground. This length, named ground graphicism error, is the smallest dimension of a

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geographic element to be drawn on the map at the chosen scale3.

SPI is the Samples Per Inch at which the scanner acquired the image.

The equation [2] can also be applied to the raster layers and it is generally used to connect the spatial resolution of the remotely sensed images to a certain scale (see e.g. Favretto, 2006, p. 135).

We have calculated pix_prec by [3] using several SF and SPI values. The results are shown in Table 1. Each table column shows the scale factor of the paper map to be scanned. Each table row is instead the samples per inch at which the scanner device can be adjusted in order to acquire the paper map.

The equation [2] can also be used to connect SPI and SF. It must be remembered that, from a cartographic point of view, the SPI scanner accuracy should not be much higher than the original accuracy of the map. This is especially true when the digital format of the map has later to be georeferenced and inserted into a GIS. In fact, if SPI is much greater than the original accuracy of the map, then all paper imperfections and all possible sudden changes of tone in pixels of the same color could be interpreted by the rectifying algorithm (re-sampling method) as different land cover, instead of an accidental change of color, due to the imperfect status of preservation of the paper map. In order to connect SPI and SF we have to calculate the pixel ground resolution in cm (or also, the pixel precision) connected to each SPI. This can be done via the following equation: SF * 2.54 −−−−−−− = pix_prec SPI

[3]

where: SF is the scale factor of the map to be scanned 2.54 is one inch in cm pix_prec is the pixel ground resolution (in cm) 3

With regard to this it must be remembered that “Clarity demands geometric generalization because map symbols usually occupy proportionately more space on the map than the features they represent occupy on the ground” (Monmonier, 1996). Certain important geographic elements (streets, for instance), especially at medium scales (1:20000/30000), should be symbolized by very thin lines according to the graphicism rule. These elements should even disappear at lower scales. In order to draw these important features even at lower scales, the generalization procedures use the so-called “exaggeration”, which is the intentional enlargement or alteration of a feature “in order to capture its real world essence” (Robinson et al., 1995, p. 454).

Each cell of the table shows the pixel precision (cm) in correspondence to each different value of SF and SPI (column and row, respectively). Then each pix_prec value (at each SPI) has to be compared with its corresponding ground graphicism error (the graphicism error connected to the same SF). Table 2 shows some different SF ground graphicism errors (εg), calculated with equation [2] and transformed in cm. The first table column shows the different scale factor values of the paper map. The second column shows the corresponding ground graphicism error (it is the smallest dimension of the object that can be drawn at each scale). From a cartographic point of view a certain SPI should only be chosen if its corresponding pixel precision (from Table 1) is not greater than the ground graphicism error connected to the SF of the paper map to be scanned (Table 2). That is if scanner accuracy is desired not to exceed original map accuracy. Observing Tables 1 and 2, it can be seen that there is only one row in Table 1 which meets the condition set down: it is the row corresponding to SPI equal to 100 (check the values in cm at each SF). This seems to suggest not exceeding 100 SPI when scanning a paper map drawn with analogue methods, whatever the SF of the original map. This is, of course, only from an exclusively cartographic point of view, to avoid a high SPI making the scanner acquire paper imperfections that the successive georefererencing algorithm could interpret as geographic variability.

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SPI SPI SPI SPI SPI SPI

100 200 300 400 500 600

SF SF SF SF SF SF SF SF 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 25,4 50,8 76,2 101,6 127 152,4 177,8 203,2 12,7 25,4 38,1 50,8 63,5 76,2 88,9 101,6 8,467 16,93 25,4 33,87 42,33 50,8 59,27 67,73 6,35 12,7 19,05 25,4 31,75 38,1 44,45 50,8 5,08 10,16 15,24 20,32 25,4 30,48 35,56 40,64 4,233 8,467 12,7 16,93 21,17 25,4 29,63 33,87

SF SF 9000 10000 228,6 254 114,3 127 76,2 84,667 57,15 63,5 45,72 50,8 38,1 42,333

SF SF SF SF 15000 20000 50000 100000 381 508 1270 2540 190,5 254 635 1270 127 169,33 423,33 846,667 95,25 127 317,5 635 76,2 101,6 254 508 63,5 84,667 211,67 423,333

Table 1. Matrix table with the pixel ground resolution (pix_prec) in cm calculated with equation [3], using different SF and SPI values. Each table column shows the scale factor (SF) of the paper map to be scanned. Each table row is instead the samples per inch (SPI) at which the scanner device can be adjusted in order to acquire the paper map.

εg SF 1000 25 2000 50 3000 75 4000 100 5000 125 6000 150 7000 175 8000 200 9000 225 10000 250 15000 375 20000 500 50000 1250 100000 2500

Table 2. The ground graphicism error connected to some different SF, calculated with equation [2] and transformed in cm. The first table column shows the different scale factor values of the paper map (SF). The second column shows the corresponding ground graphicism error (it is the smallest dimension of the object that can be drawn at each scale).

5. Conclusions The preservation of our cartographic heritage has long advocated the transformation of historical maps or, more generally, of paper maps produced by analogue methods into digital format. The development of GIS techniques and cartographic databases has allowed increasingly rapid georeferencing of scanned maps into global datums like WGS84. The prerequisite for good georeferencing is, however, good digital transformation of the paper map format. This is, of course, a technical issue, but it also has some mapping implications connected to the carto-

graphic generalization theory. This paper aimed at connecting the wellrecognized cartographic generalization concept (the graphicism error) to the resolution of the scanned image (measured in SPI). In other words, some advice regarding the SPI adjustments of the scanner device was given with respect to the scale factor of the paper map. It was discovered that there is a trade off between the quality of the digital image (depending on the density of the sampling grid i.e. the number of SPI), and the ground graphicism error (connected to the SF of the paper map). This would suggest maintaining the SPI at a level so that the pixel precision (in cm) is not less than the ground graphicism error. If this rule is accepted unconditionally, all paper maps should not be scanned at more than 100 SPI, in order to maintain scanner accuracy at the same level as the accuracy of the original paper map (in the sense of the smaller dimension of the drawn elements). It is thus considered that: 1. 100 SPI level may be too small, if the image has later to be georeferenced and maintained as a rectified raster layer in the GIS (low image resolution: possibility of ugly contours or blur effect). In this case it is suggested scanning the map at a level of 250 SPI at the most (furthermore, this SPI level is low enough to keep file sizes reasonable for large maps). 2. 150 SPI could be enough if the rectified raster layer has later to be elaborated to extract some vector feature (considering the map generalization effects, see note 3).

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In any case, 100 SPI gives enough detail to recognize the geographic elements in the raster layer and rectify the image. This is because the original map could not be more detailed (due to the calculated ground graphicism error). Of course, if the only requirement is to scan the map in order to preserve its paper format and it will only be visualized using common image software, it may be desired to scan at 400 SPI or more (for better printing results). However, if the raster layer later needs to be rectified for elaboration and possible extraction of some vector features, it is suggested to follow the above advice, so as to be entirely cartogramphically correct. The core of this paper issue must of course be clear to all the technicians that are involved in map digitalizations, for instance at the several public cartographic archives. Not only: because of the fact that most of the current maps are in digital format, we think that the given relationship between data scanning and the scale of a map should also be taught to medium/high level students of Cartography and to base level GIS students. Often it has been rightly noted that GIS experts know the topology concept but ignore even the meaning of the word “Datum”. This is the reason for the presence of some elements of the Cartography and Topography disciplines in many GIS course programs. In the same way we think that the basics of graphic data digital acquisition should be taught at all levels of the Cartographic courses, taking into account the relationships between the fields.

4. Gartner G., “Applying Web Mapping 2.0 to Cartographic Heritage”, ePerimetron, 4, 4, 2009, pp. 234-239. 5. Goodchild M.F., “Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography”, GeoJournal, 69, 2007, pp. 211-221. 6. Iliffe J.C., Datums and Map Projections. For Remote Sensing, GIS and Surveying, New York, Whittles Publishing, 2000. 7. Monmonier M., How to Lie with Maps, University Chicago Press, 1996. 8. Robinson A.H., Morrison J.L., Muehrcke P.C., Kimerling A.J. and Guptill S.C., Elements of Cartography, New York, Wiley, 1995. 9. Tobler W.R., “Automation and Cartography”, The Geographical Review, 49, 4, 1959, pp. 526-534.

References 1. Dodge M., Kitchin R. and Perkins C., “Introductory Essay: Technologies of mapping”, in Dodge M., Kitchin R. and Perkins C. (Eds.), The map reader, Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, pp. 116-121. 2. Favretto A., Strumenti per l’analisi geografica GIS e Telerilevamento, Bologna, Pàtron Editore, 2006 (2nd edition). 3. Favretto A., “Georeferencing Historical Cartography: a Quality-Control Method”, Cartographica, 47, 3, 2012, pp. 161-167.

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 21-29 DOI: 10.4458/3253-04

Educational landscape and possibilities – Geography education (in the light of a survey) Judit Ütő-Visia a

Eszterházy Károly College, Eger, Hungary Email: visij@t-online.hu Received: October 2013 – Accepted: February 2014

Abstract The teaching of geography in Hungary has gone through a significant transformation recently regarding its structure and content. The questionnaire survey, which was carried out in the spring of 2009, examines the effects thereof. This study summarises the responses to the situation of geography education and teacher training. The answers suggest that in recent years there has been no improvement in geography education and the professional well-being of geography teachers. The biggest problems today are the low number of hours and the inappropriate consideration for the subject. This is contrary to the importance and usefulness of geographical knowledge and the role of the subject in the final exam. It can be observed that the changing needs arising from external circumstances do not always go hand in hand with the need for methodological transformation. Keywords: Geography Education, Geography Teachers, Transformation, Importance of Geographical Knowledge

1. Introduction Geography teaching in Hungary has gone through a significant transformation regarding its structure and content during the reforms of the national curriculum of the past period. This procedure demanded constant adjustment, the expansion and re-consideration of geographical knowledge as well as the transformation of educational methods by geography teachers. One of the factors triggering these changes was the significant reduction of the number of classes designated for geography teaching, which meant not only a drop in the number of weekly lessons, but also a decrease in the Copyright© Nuova Cultura

number of the years in which geography was taught. This loss of ground was detectable in every school type (Probáld, 1999; Ütőné Visi, 2007) (Table 1). The reduction in the number of lessons entailed changes in the content as well. Though the tradition that primary school students should receive a general overview of the geography of the Earth still exists, it is not possible to teach them details about individual countries or regions. Therefore teachers have to restrict it to introducing typical landscapes and significant countries and to teaching how to highlight the core content and how to think in models.

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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10.

11.

12.

The complete number of geography lessons

1978

1995

1-2

4-8

1998

1,5

2003

N/1

1-2

4-10

2013

The year the reform was introduced

The number of geography lessons taught in the primary school per week

The number of geography lessons in the grammar school per week

Table 1. Changes in the amount of time designated for teaching geography (E: environmental studies, N: natural sciences).

Globalisation, sustainability and introducing geography related processes in the monetary and financial world are new elements in secondary education. Determining whether changes in the content are necessary has divided geography teachers. Similarly to other foreign examples, Hungarian geography education has been seeking the possibilities of both content and conceptual reforms. (Lipovšek, 2003; Stimpson, 2005). Parallel to that, the social environment and the context of educational policies underwent a significant transformation as well (Imre, 2003). The results of educational policy analyses and surveys conducted among teachers and parents clearly show that there was a change in the social demand regarding the knowledge to be acquired in public education, which, of course, had an impact on the mentality and expectations of the students taking part in education (Csapó, 2002). The process of transformation was also influenced by the modernisation of the structure and content of the final school leaving exam closing the phase of state education. In this rapidly changing educational context full of constant challenges for geography teaching, there was a growing need to expose the real situation of the teaching of the subject. This

took shape in the form of a questionnaire survey in the spring of 2009 upon the initiative and with the professional assistance of the Educational Subcommittee of the Committee on Geography of Section No. X (of Earth Sciences) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The questionnaire examined the situation and the characteristics of geography teaching from several aspects. Part of the questions were aimed at the situation of the subject and its general consideration in schools. The drafters of the questionnaire wanted to find out more about the methodological culture of geography teaching, and about the implementation of the competence-development oriented approach in class. There were several questions concerning the general opinion on coursebook and teaching aid supply. The investigation set out to gain information about the needs and the opinion of geography teachers with respect to further teacher training as well as the geographical aspects of the new type of final exam. The questionnaire used in the survey contained 26 questions which were of three main types. There were open questions that required the expression of personal opinions, there were multiple choice questions and there were questions where personal opinions could be expressed by choosing a number on a 5-grade scale. The answers were recorded and processed with the aid of excel spreadsheets. When choosing the target institutes regional coverage and the proportional representation of various types of schools were taken into consideration. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Therefore the interviewed establishments were located in different parts of the country and concerned all three types of schools: primary schools, secondary schools and schools that provided both primary and secondary education. Via the Internet and personal contacts, the questionnaires were forwarded to 200 schools in the country, but they were returned by only 87 establishments. The answers given to the questions reflect the opinion of about altogether 200 geography teachers. Although the sample cannot be considered representative, based on the summary and the evaluation of the answers, certain conclusions can be drawn regarding the situation and the characteristics of geography education in Hungary. In this study, I will briefly summarise the most important lessons learnt from the answers given to the questions about the situation of geography teaching and further teacher training.

2. The personal and material conditions of geography teaching In the course of our investigation, our aim was to shed light on the personal conditions of geography education, i.e. whether the subject is taught by duly qualified colleagues. In the light of the responses, it can be declared that in the vast majority of the schools, geography is taught by teachers who have the appropriate qualification for teaching this subject. The proportion of those who teach without a degree in geography or any degree at all is negligible. In the case of secondary schools, the designation ”teaching without a degree” referred to university students in their final year, who were still looking forward to defending their thesis and passing their final exams. At the same time, it was also revealed that there are numerous colleagues teaching in secondary schools with a college degree. This may cause a problem in the organisation of final exams in geography, as these teachers cannot participate in the school leaving exam as examiners (entitled to ask questions). As for those who teach the subject with a different qualification (although, fortunately, their number is insignificant), the question of professional credibility may also arise. The evolution of the Copyright© Nuova Cultura

geography teacher supply allows us to conclude that by now, the lack of geography teachers, which was a problem at the time of the introduction of the national curriculum and the general curriculum in vocational and technical schools, has been resolved. Formerly, geography had not been taught in technical schools at all, and only a small minority of vocational schools had offered geography as a subject. However, the situation is not as bright if we look at the material conditions of education. In this question, respondents had to rate the material conditions of geography teaching on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = inadequate; 5 = fully adequate) from the given aspects. It can be observed that those who teach in primary schools are the most satisfied. The biggest inadequacy is the lack of specialised classrooms, which presents a problem especially in secondary schools. May we add that this is related to the planning and organisation as well as to the possibilities of the regular and efficient use of visual aids. Geography is a subject that demands a lot of visual aids, and if these aids have to be transported to the classroom every time, then, sooner or later, this inconvenience will backfire on demonstration. Among the material tools, the supply of geographical books is deemed to be relatively good. However, teachers are less satisfied with the supply of pedagogical materials. In the latter case as well, there is a significant difference between primary schools and secondary schools. Among the other factors influencing the quality of geography teaching, the possibilities of dealing with the subject outside the lessons (study circles, preparatory courses for higher education and competitions, catch-up courses) are considered to be mediocre. At the same time, teachers are relatively satisfied with the recognition of their professional work. This is especially true in the case of those teaching in primary schools, where the average value was 4.1. This means that geography teachers do not feel disadvantaged compared to their colleagues teaching subjects of higher prestige, when it comes to the recognition of quality pedagogical work. The opportunities and the standard of the teaching of a subject, and even the realistic Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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assessment of its importance can be influenced by the number of years it is taught as an independent subject. The modification of 2003 of the National Curriculum made it possible for geography to appear as an independent subject from the 6th year. We were curious to know whether schools seized this opportunity or not. It can be stated that in a smaller proportion of primary schools, geography is taught as an independent subject in the 5th and 6th years already. This means that geography is taught independently, receiving a special focus within natural sciences or even above the latter. However, it can also be noted that despite this option, the teaching of geography as an independent subject did not become widespread in the 6th year. This might also be due to the fact that although there is a curriculum for that year, there is no coursebook. In accordance with the generally applied curricula, geography is an independent subject in the 7th and 8th years. In secondary schools, the educational organisation is more varied. In the bulk of the schools, geography is taught in the 9th and 10th years. Wherever geography appeared in higher years in secondary schools, it was partly due to an individual educational organisation differing from the general practice, and partly to the appearance of preparatory classes for the school leaving exam as an obligation undertaken in the pedagogical programme. It should be noted that the idea of “shifting” geography teaching up to the 11th year has been suggested by experts several times. Older students, aged 16-17, are much more interested in certain social geographical and economic knowledge than students who are 1 or 2 years younger. Moreover, the ability to recognise connections would require a closer subject concentration of geography with modern history. In those schools that provide an opportunity for that, this practice must contribute to the success of the teaching of social geography.

3. The characteristics of geography education A separate set of questions was dedicated to the importance and the structural and contentrelated characteristics of geography education. We wanted to find out geography teachers’ Copyright© Nuova Cultura

opinions about the value attached to the subject by students and through them, indirectly, by parents. The subject of geography had to be rated on a scale of 1 to 5 in this case as well (1: not important – 5: very important). If we take a look at the responses, we can see that there is a difference in the opinion of teachers regarding the importance of geography with respect to parents and students and also to secondary school and primary school. Geography teachers believe that the parents of secondary school students attach less importance to this subject than their primary school counterparts. Among the answers pertaining to secondary school students, the proportion of ”not important” and ”a little bit important” is higher in both groups. In general, it can be concluded that in the opinion of geography teachers, both parents and students consider geography as studies of medium importance. It is sad that according to geography teachers, geography education is not deemed to be very important by the students or the parents in either type of school. It is alarming that these colleagues have the impression that the subject taught by them does not belong to the subjects transferring important knowledge! Unfortunately, this is not a novel claim, as previous surveys have also shown that geography teachers are more pessimistic about the attitude towards their own subject than their students (Ütőné Visi, 2002, 2007). We asked geography teachers to list the most important values of geography education. The values mentioned in the first place as the most important ones are presented in Figure 1. It is somewhat contradictory to the previous answers that geography teachers believe that their subject conveys values of key importance. They attach an extraordinary importance to the role of geography in presenting the characteristics of our immediate and broader environment as well as in orientating ourselves with respect to the Earth. Moreover, they think that geographical knowledge constitutes an essential part of the general culture. At the same time, there are significant differences between the views of those teaching in primary and secondary schools. While primary school teachers consider that geography plays a major role in shaping national identity, this role does not appear in the case of secondary schools. However, the Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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opposite is true concerning the shaping of mentality: this factor was only mentioned by secondary school teachers. This divergence of opinion is, of course, also related to the subject material taught in the different types of schools. The opinion concerning the role of geography in the shaping of national affiliation also reflects the effect of the organisation of the subject material, which has limited the teaching of the geography of Hungary almost entirely to the realm of primary school while also cutting down on the time frame available for this purpose. It is interesting to note that there was relatively little mention of the role of the subject in environmental education, and the forming of environmentally conscious behaviour, even though there had been a significant shift in that direction in the course of the curriculum reforms pertaining to geography education.

Figure 1. The most important values conveyed by the subject of geography. Key: 1 – presenting the environment, 2 – orientation, 3 – part of the general culture, 4 – national identity, 5 – getting to know other countries, 6 – integrative approach, 7 – environmental consciousness, 8 – shaping mentality, 9 – no response.

It is surprising that the role of geography in getting to know other countries was mentioned only to a lesser extent. This might be explained by the fact that recently the subject has focused Copyright© Nuova Cultura

more on the comprehensive geographical approach rather than on the regional one. This is especially true for the teaching of geography in secondary schools. At the same time, it is worrying that 5 per cent of the respondents did not name any values transmitted by geography and geography teaching. One of the key questions of the survey, possibly the most important one regarding the general opinion about the situation of geography teaching, inquired about the most serious problem of present day geography teaching as seen by geography teachers. The difficulties mentioned in the first place are summarised in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The most serious problems of geography education. Key: 1 – too much subject material, 2 – poorly organised subject material, 3 – the subject material only presents facts and figures, 4 – low number of lessons, 5 – the introduction of natural science, 6 – inappropriate coursebooks, 7 – too little topography, 8 – not needed for higher education, 9 – low prestige, 10 – undermotivated students, 11 – outdated subject material, 12 – no response.

If we look at the figure, there is a serious problem factor that stands out immediately: the low number of lessons. It is a fact that as a result of the curriculum reforms of the past 30 years, the time frame available for geography teaching decreased by more than half. (Probáld, 2004; Ütőné Visi, 2007). At the same time, our knowledge accumulated about the Earth

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significantly expanded. Being acquainted with the natural and socio-economic characteristics and relations of our planet is indispensible if we want to understand our world and preserve our planet as a living place for posterity. This tension affects geography teachers as well. Possibly as a result of this tension, it is not the quantity of the subject material that teachers object to, but the time frame available for geography teaching. When asked about the topics that could be omitted from the material owing to lack of time, they usually cannot point out such an element of content. (Ütőné Visi, 2002, 2007). The second most frequently mentioned problem is the inadequate recognition of the subject. Many teachers believe that the low prestige of geography is related to the small number of lessons. However, most of them put down the low prestige of the subject mainly to the fact that geography is only part of the entrance exam to get into higher education for geographers and geography teachers, while it is not required in such popular and acclaimed educational areas as economy or tourism. This holds true despite the fact that in the course of the latter training, many students take subjects related to geography. Dissatisfaction was expressed with regards to the arrangement and the content of the subject material from several aspects. It is interesting that teachers mention the preponderance of facts and figures and outdated material even though the modernisation of the curriculum brought about a tremendous transformation: for instance, the ratio of traditional objectives and descriptive geography shrank, and the focus shifted to a modern economic approach. Nowadays, this change of mentality can be detected in most of the coursebooks. The poor arrangement of the subject material is mentioned in relation to the teaching of Hungary’s geography as well to the suggestion that we have already touched upon, i.e. that it is too early to discuss the topics of global economy and financial world in 10th grade. Compared to the previous studies, the lack of student motivation is mentioned as a new element. This complaint was especially frequent

among secondary school teachers. Since teachers could indicate three reasons in order of importance, we also examined the factors in the second and the third place. However, there were barely any novel elements among them that would have been mentioned frequently. In the third place, several colleagues enumerated the outdated teaching materials and the lack of practical field work. It is interesting to point out that a few colleagues classified the foregrounding of competence-based education, and the obligation to meet the quick-changing methodological expectations as problems. At the same time, it should be noted that teachers, almost exclusively, indicated only external reasons as problems (curriculum regulation, subject material, number of lessons, students). The question of the quality of teaching was not raised, and neither was the issue of the potential lack of professional and methodological training of teachers. This is somewhat contradictory to the observations of professional experts made during lesson visits (Szabó, 2009), and the conclusions that could be drawn from the answers to the questions regarding methodological competence and the application of various approaches in class (Makádi, 2010). Naturally, besides revealing the problems, we were also interested in learning about the opportunities that teachers see for the improvement of the general consideration of the subject and its prestige. Thus, one of the questions inquired about that. The distribution of the changes proposed by teachers in the first place can be seen in Figure 3. When we look at the figure, two proposals seem to stand out: the increase of lesson numbers and the modification of the role of geography in entrance exam options and school leaving exams. The outstanding proportion of these suggestions is in harmony with the problems mentioned above. Geography teachers think that it is by changing the legal regulations that the prestige of the subject could be improved.

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mentioned here as well as a way of improving the general attitude towards the subject, and more up-to-date books and visual aids were also thought to have a beneficial effect.

4. What kind of further training would be the most supportive for the work of geography teachers?

Figure 3. What could improve the perception of geography education’s importance? Key: 1 – higher number of lessons, 2 – more motivated geography teachers, 3 – special classroom, better teaching aids, 4 – reflective geography teaching, 5 – better general opinion, 6 – more precise content, 7 – flexible subject material, 8 – making geography an obligatory subject at the school leaving exam and the entrance exam, 9 – pro-active geography teaching, 10 – more up-todate competitions, 11 – teaching geography for more years, 12 – teaching fewer facts and figures, 13 – no response.

At the same time, it should be highlighted that whereas the problems mentioned included almost exlcusively external factors, when asked about the improvement of the general perception of the subject, teachers named internal (teacherrelated) factors in the first place as well, even if to a lesser extent (the teacher’s knowledge and personality). The need for the further modernisation of the content of the subject was suggested from several aspects (flexibility, adapting to changes), but the mention of pro-active and reflective geography teaching also points in that direction. It is unfortunate, however, that 8 per cent of the teachers asked left this question unanswered. At this question also, it holds true that among the suggestions put forward in the second and the third place, there were no novel elements that would have been brought up by a significant number of respondents. Field trips were

Appropriate further training could significantly enhance the professional and methodological renewal of the work of geography teachers and their efficiency. Therefore, we considered it important to find out what kinds of training geography teachers would need the most. The distribution of the training and educational methods considered to be the most useful is shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5. With respect to content, there is a significant difference between the responses of primary and secondary school teachers. In primary schools, teachers would prefer to have methodological training in the first place, also covering special areas (e.g. competence development, the use of interactive whiteboards). Due to their situation, it is only in this type of school (or in the case of mixed-age schools, only in these years) that the need appears for courses promoting non geography related training. Those teaching in secondary schools attach less importance to methodological training, the only exception being the use of interactive whiteboards. However, there is a much greater interest in geographical training. The great number of teachers who mentioned training in psychology is also noteworthy. It can be stated that currently, geography teachers do not consider it important to participate in training focusing on the acquisition of up-to-date techniques of measurement and evaluation. Compared to the previous period, there is a drop in the demand for training promoting the use of the Internet in education.

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Regarding the forms of training, those involving active participation or pragmatic aspects (demonstration lessons, training) are much more popular among primary school teachers. On the other hand, those teaching in secondary schools prefer training requiring only passive attendance (e.g. courses). Accredited programmes are favoured by primary school teachers, whereas postgraduate training are more popular among secondary school colleagues. The responses are fully consistent with the findings of experts organising and holding courses and training. Experience also indicates that barely any secondary school teachers participate in methodological training. However, according to the conclusions of a survey exploring methodological culture, it is precisely the teachers working in this sector of education who would need this kind of training the most.

5. Summary The answers to the questionnaire provided useful information about the current situation of geography education. Based on the answers – and compared to the figures of previous surveys – it can be stated that there has been no improvement in recent years regarding the situation and the conditions of geography education and in the professional well-being of geography teachers. Geography teachers are still the most concerned about the low number of lessons and the poor general perception of the subject. With a view to boosting the prestige of the subject, they stress the recognition of the importance and the usefulness of the knowledge transmitted by geography, and the increase of its weight in the school leaving exam and the entrance exam in higher education. However, the growing unification of the demand to change the external circumstances is not accompanied by the manifestation of efforts aiming to change the traditional educational practice and the methodological and measurement-evaluation related culture.

Figure 4. The most useful teacher training topic. Key: 1 – psychology, 2 – science of geography (geographical knowledge), 3 – methodology, 4 – competence development, 5 – measurement and evaluation, 6 – the use of the Internet, 7 – the use of interactive whiteboards, 8 – the development of local curriculum, 9 – preparation for education not divided by branches of science (non subject based education).

Figure 5. The best form of teacher training. Key: 1 – accredited course, 2 – demonstration lesson, 3 – conference, 4 – postgraduate training, 5 – counselling, consultancy, 6 – course, workshop, 7 – training, 8 – tele-education (distance learning).

References 1. Csapó B., “A tudáskoncepció változása: nemzetközi tendenciák és a hazai helyzet”, Bp., Új Pedagógiai Szemle, 52.3, 2002, pp. 39-45. 2. Imre A. (Szerk.), Jelzések az oktatásról, Bp.,

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OKI, 2003. Lipovšek I., “Changes in Geographical Education during the Last 15 Years in Slovenia”, IGU CGE Newsletter, 12, 2, 2003, pp. 182-185. Makádi M., “A földrajztanárok módszertani kultúrája – konferencia előadás”, MTA (Budapest, 26 November 2009), 2010. Probáld F., “A földrajztanítás Magyarországon”, in Ütőné Visi J. (Szerk.), Vizsgatárgyak, vizsgamodellek II. Földrajz, Bp., OKI, 1999, pp. 11-34. Probáld F., “A földrajz helyzete a hazai oktatási rendszerben”, Iskolakultúra, 14, 11, 2004, pp. 78-83. Stimpson Ph., “A Hong Kong Reflection: Similar Theme, Different Story”, International Research in Geographical and

10.

11.

Enviromental Education, 14, 2005, pp. 8385. Szabó J., “Látlelet a földrajzról a szaktanácsadó szemével – konferencia előadás”, MTA (Budapest, 26 November 2009), 2009. Ütőné Visi J., “Földrajztanításunk egy felmérés tükrében”, in Ütőné Visi J. (Szerk.), Vizsgatárgyak, vizsgamodellek. Földrajz, Bp., OKI, 1999, pp. 79-99. Ütőné Visi J., “A földrajz tantárgy fejlesztési feladatai”, Új Pedagógiai Szemle, 52, 6, 2002, pp. 21-34. Ütőné Visi J., “A földrajz tartalmának, szerkezetének és szerepének átalakulása a hazai közoktatásban (doktori értekezés)”, Bp., ELTE, 2007, pp. 64-103.

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 31-48 DOI: 10.4458/3253-05

Building geographical knowledge together: the case of a Geography teaching on line course Lorena Roccaa, Cristina Minelleb, Francesco Bussic a

Sezione di Geografia DiSGeA, University of Padua, Padua, Italy Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Culturali Comparati, University “Ca’ Foscari”, Venice, Italy c Istituto d’Istruzione Superiore “Euganeo”, Este (Padua), Italy Email: lorena.rocca@unipd.it b

Received: December 2013 – Accepted: February 2014

Abstract This contribution introduces the experience of a geography teaching on-line course offered by the University of Padua. The course was planned paying particular attention to the organization of a socioconstructivist learning environment, which was supposed to foster a more and more autonomous learning process and the students’ ability to connect theory and practice. Special attention was given to interaction and knowledge construction, according to two models of analysis: the MDE TAT, elaborated by the Athabasca University research group, and France Henri’s Computer Conferencing and Content Analysis. The practical application of the models was to check the coherence between the epistemological assumptions and the methodological approach of the course, and to consider the organizational, methodological and teaching presence aspects in a socio-constructivist environment. As the course was mainly addressed to experienced teachers, we have tried to verify if their way of interacting, building and sharing knowledge could be related to a “community of practice”. Keywords: Geography Teaching, E-Learning, Computer Mediated Conference, Community of Practice, Learning Environment Planning

1. Introduction Geography is not only the “science of places”, offering fixed and unalterable images of territories; it is also a dynamic discipline making the students mature a “glance at the future”. This is the challenge we intended to take on in the course of “Geography Teaching”, activated in the academic year 2010-2011 by the Faculty of Education Sciences (degree course “Education Copyright© Nuova Cultura

Sciences for Infancy and Pre-adolescence”). The common denominator of the various activities was the attention paid to make geography an interesting, motivating subject, in order to bring about a profitable transfer of skills from the university context to the professional one. In particular, a work methodology referred to the principles of the Knowledge Building Community (Scardamalia, 2002; Cacciamani and

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Lorena Rocca, Cristina Minelle, Francesco Bussi

Giannandrea, 2004) was adopted for the course planning; the educational context we defined was meant to support a “blended learning community” integrating distance and face-to-face activities. The methodologies that were proposed were meaningful both as a means and a model of learning, and, most of all, as a “working style” aimed at promoting the capability to operate in a team, an essential skill for today’s teachers. Moreover, the theoretical framework was connected to the teaching dimension so that the students were offered, as future teachers, new tools and methodologies to experience and understand territory, landscape, space, environment and places, seen as “five doors” offering different entrances and suggestions. The analysis of the forum messages, with a parallel application of France Henri’s model and of the MDE TAT (two CMC – Computer Mediated Conference – analysis tools: see second part of this paper), has given interesting results: on line collaboration can be usefully employed to develop convergent thinking, as regards some basic concepts of geography, as well as divergent thinking, for the personal application of a richer and more complex idea of the discipline from the teaching point of view

2. Organization of the geography teaching course The educational itinerary proposed aims at having students reflect on geography, considered as a discipline which analyses the territorial forms of social action. It is not a geography which photographs static objects and offers performative visions of the world; it is a dynamic geography, following the traces of man on the Earth’s surface. Keeping in mind this objective, the work team1 planned a course aimed at promoting a different perspective of knowledge development (Scardamalia and Bereiter, 2003) oriented towards the elaboration of new ideas starting from problems, through the collaboration among the members of the community. 1

The group work is composed by a teacher (L. Rocca), a course coordinator (F. Bussi) and a tutor each 25 students.

According to Wenger (Wenger, 1998), learning is conceived as the result of a “practice” within a community. As Midoro observes (Midoro, 2002), a community of practices is a group which forms in a spontaneous way and is generally represented as a group of mutually engaged individuals, sharing a repertoire and a joint enterprise (Figure 1). In the case of e-learning, the challenge is to recreate the learning conditions of a community of practices in a context so to say “artificial”, a “Web territory” (Rocca, 2003) which, anchored to the real territory, could act as an amplifier for the development of skills addressed to the reading of the territory. In the following paragraphs we are going to introduce the planning of the “Geography teaching” course, which was meant to create a “Community of Practice” (Midoro, 2002).

Figure 1. A Community of Practice.

2.1 Mutually engaged individuals The students of the course belonged to a learning community2 created ad hoc for this educational itinerary. The students were 76, selected among the teachers on duty in nursery and primary schools who still did not have a degree3 and who were offered the possibility to 2

“Reduced to its fundamental elements, [a learning community] could be articulated as follows: a group of students and at least one educator who, for a while and motivated by common vision and will, are engaged in the pursuit of acquiring knowledge, abilities and attitudes” http://www.tact.fse.ulaval. ca/fr/html/prj-7.1/communy2.html. 3 Before the “Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica n. 471 del 31 luglio 1996” was issued, it was possible to teach in nursery and primary schools thanks to the high school diploma from “istituti magistrali” or “socio-pedagogical” secondary schools and to the teaching diploma through a state examination. Since the academic year 1998/1999 there are in Italy Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Lorena Rocca, Cristina Minelle, Francesco Bussi

attend the online course of Bachelor’s Degree named “Education Sciences for Infancy and Preadolescence”. The disciplines are the same as in the traditional four-year course but they focus on the enhancement of the teaching experience and on the reflection and meta-reflection on teaching practices.

perspective; c) a glossary with the most important “concept words” of geography which were linked to all the texts proposed so that they could be easily found; d) four learning itineraries proposed in a hypertextual form. The first one had the aim to clarify the key concepts of geography and to offer a look at the territory seen as a product of the social action (Turco, 1988). The second one considered the “territorialization actions” (Turco, 1988; Raffestin, 1981; Calandra, 2007), that is the actions that man accomplishes on the territory in order to control its complexity. The third one focused the attention on territorial processes teaching, that is on the methodologies to employ to “read” the territory while considering the variety of the involved actors. The fourth one aimed at clarifying the multiplicity of tools and methods potentially usable in the practices of territorial reading;

The group involved in this course appeared to be heterogeneous as for their working experience: 20% had been teaching for more than 15 years, 40% from 5 to 10 years, 40% from 1 to 5 years. In spite of this heterogeneity, the individuals were mutually engaged, with members linked one another by functional relations to reach the fixed aims. These aims, shared from the very beginning, were meant to mature geographical skills of territorial reading and teaching skills, for the re-evaluation of a discipline too often perceived as limiting and little stimulating (Rocca, 2008). 2.2 Shared repertoire A learning community employs a “shared repertoire” made up of objects and procedures. In the course of “Geography teaching” the “shared repertoire” was aimed at: a) getting the students to know some key concepts of geography; b) adopting and sharing a viewpoint for territorial reading; c) becoming familiar with the concepts, the tools and the languages of geography. More specifically, this repertoire consisted of:

e) some examples of operational itineraries created for nursery and primary school which became useful models for inspiration, together with videos and examples of territorial reading (the Po Delta, Padua “town of waters”); f) the technology employed in the course, that is Moodle (acronym of Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment)4, an open source platform (Figure 2) which is particularly fit for planning “learning environments” (Calvani and Rotta, 2000) as it provides a variety of possibilities for teacher-student interaction (Gaddi and Tonegato, 2006).

a) a course guide proposed with a video as well as with an hypertext, with the purpose to orient the students and to introduce the activities and the materials available; b) the book Geoscoprire il mondo (Rocca, 2007) written with the coordinator and some of the course tutors, and some working sheets drawn from Calandra (2007) and subsequently modified, useful to summarize the ideas about the theoretical framework (the geography of complexity, Turco, 1988) and functional to the teaching planning according to this specific university courses to prepare nursery and primary school teachers. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

As regards procedures, these are related to: the modes of development of the course; the ways of communicating; the ways participants interact with each other; the adaptation to schedule; the modes of the personal performance self-evaluation in order to monitor one’s learning process (Midoro, 2002).

http://moodle.org/?lang=en. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Lorena Rocca, Cristina Minelle, Francesco Bussi

Figure 2. Moodle learning environment.

2.3 Joint enterprise According to Midoro’s views (Midoro, 2002), to realize the joint enterprise three types of activities were planned: reification, participation and negotiation of meanings.

While planning the course and thinking about reification, we fixed some cognitive objectives (outcomes), that is the educational aims that each student had to reach in progress and at the end of the course, as well as the detail of each requested outcome. Specifically (see Figure 4) a type of outcomes was planned taking into account on the one hand the importance to “situate” learning – to create continuity with the previous experiences – and on the other hand to develop skills able to recognize the epistemological approaches to geography in one’s teaching style, in the class materials and in the activities already carried out or simply planned. What is represented in figure 4 obviously illustrates the ideal organization and results of the course: actually, as we will see in the second part, the objectives were not fully achieved.

Figure 3. Structure of a Community of Practice.

2.3.1 Reification The reification is realized by carrying out some “tasks” assigned to the learning community which constitute “formative experiences”, that is operational ways to practice and not simple “drills” (Galliani, 2006).

To make clear the centrality of the students as regards the educational itinerary, the first activity proposed was a questionnaire meant to shed light on the students’ personal relationship with geography: the purpose was to start a reflection process on the personal beliefs and opinions about geography and, at the same time, on the potentialities of the discipline both at nursery and at primary school.

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Figure 4. Outcomes of the course.

2.3.2 Participation This aspect considers the continuity with which the course is attended. During planning, the moments of participation of the different members of the community were detailed, together with the relational objectives supposed to be fundamental also for reification. In the first face-to-face lesson there was the presentation of the project and its negotiation, not about objectives or evaluation, but as regards the schedule of activities and their organization. It has to be observed that the participative approach is considered as an operational dimension searching for a new sociality through the action of influencing the other subjects and of taking decisions jointly (Branca and Colombo, 2003). In fact, we aimed at mutual influence through dialogue so that the students could come to a common decision especially in the first two activities, which had intentionally been placed at the beginning of the process. The facilitator of such a process was the key figure of the tutor who was responsible of a virtual classroom made up of 25 to 30 students and had the role of coach and mentor with the task of fostering, encouraging and facilitating participation, writing a report of the most significant contributions and assigning the tasks. The team of tutors had both technological and content skills5, which was an ideal condition to 5

The tutors were Francesco Bussi (disciplinary expert) as coordinator, Cristina Minelle (expert in on line learning processes and methodologies) and

help students achieve both cognitive and relational aims. 2.3.3 The negotiation of meaning It is the most delicate phase of the practice, as it concerns the moment of joint metareflection on the learning processes, on the developed knowledge and on their meaning within the contents of the course. In the course each phase was concluded with a moment of negotiation of the meanings, summarized and formalized by the tutors through a story board completed step by step. 2.4 Evaluation According to the model of the “learning community which constructs knowledge” used for the course planning, evaluation was meant to be a transformative and distributed activity: transformative as it was oriented towards the continuous improvement of the knowledge produced by the community and of the work strategies adopted; distributed because each member of the community participated to such a process. Both the cognitive and the relational spheres were considered, with a particular focus on collaboration and socio-affectivity (Figure 5), which are indispensable skills in the teaching activity.

Michela Grotto (with a degree in Education Sciences – thesis on geography teaching – with previous experience of on line tutoring). Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Lorena Rocca, Cristina Minelle, Francesco Bussi

environment where a learning community would work needed attention to several aspects, most of all as far as coherence with the chosen model was concerned.

Figure 5. Evaluation.

Evaluation was carried out taking into consideration several elements: a.

scaffolding through the analysis of all the produced materials and the assessment of participation in the different activities; in this way, the student had an idea of the trend and of the evolution of his/her performances. The interaction in the forum, assessed also as regards the relational aspect, considered the collaboration in terms of organization efficacy and taskorientation, as well as the attention to create a positive climate in the work group. In particular, we took into account the relevance and the clarity of the conceptual elaboration; the critical thinking and the ability to argue one’s ideas; the significance and originality of the ideas (cognitive aspect);

b. final assessment, through the assessment of the “quaderno operativo” proposed to the students with the objective to summarize the knowledge acquired through the realization of an operational itinerary, potentially immediately exploitable in a class; c. content assessment through a semistructured test. This concerned the comprehension of the course contents and the acquisition of the key concepts. The score was assigned automatically and constituted 30% of the overall mark.

3. Analysis of a forum section in order to reflect on the course organizational and methodological aspects and to improve them An online context designed to be the

On the other hand, a posteriori, the teaching group carried out a careful analysis of the results and of the products created by the students as well as of the levels of learning attained (reification). The results of the analysis were also interpreted through the students’ positive feedback, which confirmed the process emerged from the analysis and their satisfaction with the course6. Three points of view7 were considered in qualitative terms: 1. the teacher’s point of view (mainly referred to the results); 2. the students’ point of view (referred to the perception of the efficacy of the course and of the collaboration with the colleagues); 3. the tutors’ point of view (referred to the perception of efficacy of their work, in terms of scaffolding of the learning process and of interaction with each student and with the virtual class as a whole). Moreover, the teaching group thought it useful to study the interaction in the forums in detail – on a qualitative and quantitative basis – by applying two different models of analysis in order to verify the coherence between the aim to achieve (to build an online community of practice) and the result. The intention was not to carry out a complete analysis of all the aspects implied in the learning process – which goes beyond the scope of this paper, too –, rather to look for its improvement by intervening on the organization and the methodologies chosen for the next courses. For this reason, it was necessary to choose a part of the discussion which could show the process that was taking place; the selected section 6

As students attend the geography course during their third year at university, we considered that they were able to express a critical opinion about the fulfilment of their expectations. 7 A lot of literature deal with the multiplicity of the points of view needed for evaluation; see, for example, Castoldi (2009). Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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was situated in the middle of the course, when the “community” was already formed but the students were not under the pressure of the final paper yet. What we are going to propose is therefore the qualitative/quantitative part of a more complex and wide evaluation process realized by the teaching group. 3.1 Analysis of a forum section through two models: MDE TAT and France Henri’s The two models we employed have complementary features and partially super-posed functions. The first one, fruit of the research of a group operating at Athabasca University, is influenced by socio-constructivism while the second by cognitivism. Starting from the classification of the messages, the first model highlights the modes of communicative interaction for the construction of shared meanings, while the second one uses the same analysis to focus on the “quality” of the cognitive processes at work (the meaning of this distinction will be more clear in the models introduction). Their characteristic is to be congruent with the planning of the course. This emerges from the “pact” made with the students: if the achievement of an individual meaningful learning is quite implicit (this is tested especially with Henri’s model), less expected is the way this result is proposed and the idea guiding the learning processes. Students were in fact not only invited to study the materials, but also to participate in discussion forums. The activities to be done in the forum were matter of assessment also in terms of the quality of the students’ participation. Therefore, through the choice of an essentially cognitivist analysis model, it was possible to understand if there had been some knowledge construction while the use of an assessment tool of socio-constructivist type tested if the relational climate of the forum activity was coherent with its assumptions and if it had achieved the expected results. After the analysis, it was clear that even if the case study could be traced back to an actual

collaborative learning situation8, problem solving skills, group work skills and new knowledge construction skills9 – by sharing one’s own experience with the others’ one (Trentin, 1999) – were only partially activated. The use of the two models requested the division of the messages into meaningful units, the same for both models; we chose as “unit” (as the solutions proposed in literature are various) the phrase or the sentence or, in some cases, some closely related sentences. The analysis – with both models – was carried out through the computation and the classification of these units. 3.1.1 The MDE TAT The model of Patrick J. Fahy, Gail Crawford, Mohamed Ally, Peter Cookson, Verna Keller and Frank Prosser (2000)10, the MDE TAT, uses the following classification categories of messages or of meaningful parts of the message. 1. Vertical questioning: the focus is on the acquisition of data or information; the question is addressed to the person considered as most likely to have what is supposed to be the right answer. 2. Horizontal questioning: the aim is to start or invite a dialogue (see also Zhu, 1996). Horizontal questions ask for collaboration and discussion in order to find an 8

“Collaborative learning” is now a very common expression in education but it is often wrongly employed. Pierre Dillenbourg explains why it is necessary not to take it for granted: “When a word becomes fashionable – as it is the case with ‘collaboration’ – it is often used abusively for more or less anything. The problem with such an overgeneral usage is two-fold. Firstly, it is nonsense to talk about the cognitive effects (‘learning’) of ‘collaborative’ situations if any situation can be labeled ‘collaborative’. Secondly, it is difficult to articulate the contributions of various authors who use the same word very differently” (Dillenbourg, 1999). 9 According to “Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning”, especially as regards “Learning to learn” and “Social and civic competences”. 10 The model has been revised and integrated up to now (2003, 2005, 2008, 2010). Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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acceptable answer (or a “compromise solution”) or to obtain consensus; participants do not think there is necessarily a “correct” answer. 3. Statement: it does not contain a “selfrevelation” or invite dialogue. The speaker offers information to the other participants who are supposed to be “uninformed or in error”. The speaker thinks he/she owns the right answer. 4. Reflection: the speaker “reveals his or her internal conflicts, values, beliefs, reasoning processes, misgivings, and doubts and provides other insights into his or her personal, individual, and usually invisible thinking processes” (Fahy et al., 2000). The speaker thinks that listeners are interested in what they say and that they will be empathetic, accepting and supporting. 5. Scaffolding: the speaker invites the other participants to comment. This kind of comments include those referring to others’ views or to shared experiences11. In a following version, Fahy (2005) defines some support indicators to analyze in depth the nature of scaffolding: these indicators were partially adapted to the specific situation of analysis of this forum, especially with the unification of the various types of messages salutations, greetings, thanks and signatures, due to a simplification need. 3.1.2 France Henri’s model In the method proposed by France Henri in her contribution “Computer Conferencing and Content Analysis” (1992), emphasis is put on the content analysis, which on the one hand reveals cognitive and metacognitive dynamics and strategies (the written track permits to seize elements which are hardly isolable in an oral exchange) and, on the other hand, takes into 11

Fahy clearly states the idea in his article of 2003: “Scaffolding and engaging comments (TAT 4) are specifically intended to initiate, continue or acknowledge interpersonal interaction, and to “warm” and personalize the discussion by greeting, welcoming and recognizing others” (Fahy, 2003). In 2005 he clarifies the so-called Support Indicators. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

account also the social and interactive aspects. The approach used is of a prevalently qualitative type and is based on a cognitivist idea of learning, which insists more on the process than on the product (learning is meaningful when the learner elaborates in an active way the information and succeeds in integrating it in his/her cognitive pre-existing structures). The framework establishes five dimensions – participative, social, interactive, cognitive and metacognitive – distributed on three levels: what is said (the “raw material” of the analysis), how (first three dimensions taken into account, divided into more detailed categories) and the processes and strategies which were used (last two dimensions, also divided into other categories12). Each dimension is characterized by a description and by some indicators which permit the application of the model of analysis; this takes place in a matrix where each message is cut up into units of meaning, which are afterwards studied as content in order to identify the presence of the five dimensions. France Henri’s model has not been updated and revised as the MDE TAT and therefore it could seem obsolete: actually, the fruitful combination of the two models had already been tested13, proving that the model was still valid especially if integrated in the parts which were considered to be weak in the later literature. 3.1.3 Features of the forum and of the participants The activity we considered for analysis (the third one) lasted five weeks. It was not the first cooperative activity of the group, but it came after an individual study phase supported by a modest interaction in the forum, more centered on the dimension of individual expression of what was studied than on the interactive construction of new knowledge. It was, in short, 12

In the following analysis we will introduce the other categories. 13 An application of the two models was carried out by Francesco Bussi and Cristina Minelle as the final paper for the “Master in Metodologie della formazione in rete” (University of Venice – Ca’ Foscari): as far as we know, it was the first time that the two models had been applied jointly to an online interaction for the construction of geographical knowledge. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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the first fully structured interaction in the forum. 14

The group working with the tutor M. was formed by 26 students. The forum discussion, which concerned the whole group, was about geography tools and languages. Those are usually two of the most interesting topics for teachers; as teachers usually have a lot of personal examples to share and discuss. The tutor, as we have seen, had to provide scaffolding and to guide the discussion: she explained the task indicated in the student’s guide and in the introduction to the forum, supported the clarification of the concepts and summarized messages. The analysis of the messages, divided into units of meaning (Table 1), concerned a part of the forum, the first one, where it was possible to see the students’ development of cooperative behaviors. Summary of forum participation Messages of the forum

Messages of the tutor

Students belonging to the group

Participants to the discussion

Messages analyzed

First part of the forum (43 messages, 18 of which are from the tutor)

participants did not take the final exam, while only one of the other 7 was heavily damaged in the overall evaluation of the course. In addition to the “visible” participation, the analysis of the logs (that is, the number of times the participants enter the learning environment) proved to be very significant: in fact, it was possible to discover that many of the students who did not actively participate to the forum actually followed frequently the specific discussion as “observers”. It is difficult to understand if it depended on the type of cognitive style, on emotional difficulties to intervene in a public space (which should have been actually overcome on the third year of an online degree course), on students’ typical “opportunism” or (at least partially) on wrong choice of the activity: the point is that this invisible participation limited the possibilities and the number of interactions but actually it did not necessarily undermine the results of the students involved in it15. 3.1.4 The analysis with the MDE TAT Here is a summary (Table 2) of the main data emerged from the analysis with the MDE TAT: Type of unit of meaning

total

tutor

students

Units of the analyzed messages

212

Horizontal question

Units of the tutor’s messages

Vertical question

Referential statement

Non-referential statement

Reflection

Scaffolding

Quotation and paraphrase

Citation

Table 1. Forum participation.

13 students out of 26 participated to this first part of the activity (which was compulsory). As regards assessment, this forum was associated to another one which had to lead to the production of the “quaderno operativo”. 6 out of 13 non14

The forum has been chosen for several reasons: 1) it did not involve directly F. Bussi and C. Minelle (tutor of the other two groups) but, as the structure of the activities was known, it could be analyzed exploiting a lot of details of its planning, of the activities, etc.; 2) as we aimed at obtaining an objective perspective, the choice of a “third” forum allowed to keep separated – even if not completely, as the course involved everybody – people who had to evaluate and the object of the evaluation; 3) the different skills of the two “observers” made it possible a more complete and varied analysis. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

Table 2. MDE TAT Analysis.

The transformation of the data into graphs suggested some interesting reflections. 15

Woo and Reeves consider that this situation is actually quite common: “Admitting and supporting the naturally occurring role of “lurker,” i.e., someone who reads the messages of an interaction but does not contribute in online interactions [68], is a challenge not to be ignored” (Woo and Reeves, 2008). Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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If we pass to the analysis of the data concerning the Support Indicators (Table 3), some elements typical of interaction are reinforced.

Figure 6. Types of messages.

Out of the overall number of the messages, “reflection” and “scaffolding” represent the prevailing types (Figure 6). Anyway, the lack of horizontal questioning indicates that peer interaction is modest: in fact, the following graphs, concerning the tutor and the students separately, show that the scaffolding was carried out mainly by the tutor (Figure 7)…

students

tutor

total

acknowledgements

agreements

apologies

Salutations, greetings and closings

emoticons

Horizontal questions

humour

Invitations references

Rhetorical questions thanks

signature

Table 3. Support indicators.

As it appears from Figure 9, the simple signature of the message and the opening and closing lines are the main part out of the total amount of the supporting elements16.

Figure 7. Tutor’s messages.

...while the reflections answering the tutor’s suggestions were mainly due to the students (Figure 8).

Because the analysis with France Henri’s model will highlight similar results as regards social presence, it is necessary to take into account that it can take place through other channels and tools (students’ community and instant messages from the platform as regards Moodle; mail, skype, messenger, telephone, etc. as regards communication “extra Moodle”), so it is not possible to state that social presence is totally absent: the organization of this degree course (not only of this specific course) offers the students several interaction and reciprocal help possibilities, so, in the forum analysis, we need not forget that a part of the social dimension, but also of the cognitive and metacognitive ones (it is sufficient to think about the exchange of reports, summaries, recordings, maps, etc. which normally takes place in the students’ community, where there is a specific forum which teachers and tutors cannot enter), passes through vie we cannot know. To be aware of it permits to modulate the results of the analysis and to Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Lorena Rocca, Cristina Minelle, Francesco Bussi

Figure 9. Support indicators.

The graph concerning the tutor shows a variety of scaffolding actions (Figure 10), especially if we remove the simplest elements (signatures, opening and closing lines):

Figure 11. Support indicators – Students.

3.1.5 The analysis with France Henri’s model The analysis carried out with the method proposed by France Henri featured some elements which confirmed and integrated what had been pointed out with the MDE TAT. As regards the participative dimension, as stated before, only by looking at the logs does the two-faced reality of this forum emerge: few students participated actively though almost all the group followed its development. The “manifest” dimension, in fact, highlights only the scanty participation to this first part of the activity.

Figure 10. Support indicators without closing and signature.

The fundamental role of invitations is evident: we will see that these invitations constituted the guide for an in-depth investigation of concepts and knowledge. On the contrary, the dimension of reciprocal scaffolding was really limited, as it was very often a sort of one-to-one dialogue with the tutor (Figure 11).

Also the analysis of the social dimension confirmed the data already emerged with the MDE TAT: it was an extremely scant dimension17, totally absent for some students, although it was very present in the tutor’s messages; in some messages the unit of meaning which indicated the social presence coincided with the signature (some messages were in fact not signed and lacked any kind of greeting or introduction18). The analysis of the interactive dimension was particularly interesting: except for two cases (the tutor suggesting a radio program and a student 17

What has been explained in note 16 has to be taken into account also in this analysis. 18 Even if Moodle forums clearly show the authors of the messages (also with a photo if the students have inserted it), the impersonal and automatic identification provided by the platform can hardly be compared to a signature). Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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wishing Merry Christmas), all the messages turned out to be answers and comments to what had previously been written; answers and comments (implicit or explicit19) were however always determined by what had been suggested, proposed or asked by the tutor. Therefore, although the communication implied several people, it appeared to be essentially bidirectional; only two messages, one of which is quoted below, explicitly mentioned a colleague’s contribution: […] per riprendere la proposta di Lavinia, conoscere, ad esempio, il paesaggio nel quale è inserita la scuola – l’aula attraverso le percezioni […]”. M.A.N. (referring to Lavinia’s proposal, to know, for example, the landscape in which the school is located – the classroom through the perceptions). Other references can be found in a sort of final recapitulation provided by a student; here are some excerpts: Mappa mentale: è la rappresentazione mentale che ognuno possiede di un determinato ambiente. Come dice Ilaria i bambini osservano e fanno esperienza di un territorio e solo dopo riescono ad organizzare mappe mentali […] (Elisabetta). (Mind map: it is the mental representation that everybody has of a certain environment. As Ilaria says, children observe and experience a territory, and only after that they succeed in organizing their mental maps […]). Libri: per i bambini della Scuola dell’Infanzia è utile avere libri che rappresentano immagini, disegni, foto, … (Elisa). (Books: for nursery school children it is helpful to have books with images, drawings, photos, ...). Utilizzo di plastici: introduce il concetto di tridimensionalità, quello di scala e permette osservazioni da punti di vista diversi. (Loredana). (Use of plastic models: it introduces the concepts of three19 The interactive dimension is divided into “explicit interaction”, “direct answer”, “direct comment”, “implicit interaction”, “indirect answer”, “indirect comment”, “independent statement”.

dimensionality and of scale, and it makes it possible to observe things from different points of view). S.B. Actually, Henri’s model does not allow to understand precisely the direction of the interactions (this is in fact one of the most frequently noticed weaknesses20); moreover, if we separate the units of meaning that compose the messages, it is more difficult to notice that also statements which could seem “independent statements” can be traced back, at a “macro” level (namely the message), to answers, comments, etc. This difficulty can be solved looking at the first units of the messages, where generally the aspect of “answer” is more evident; as regards “bidirectionality” (communication tutor-student and, most of all, student-tutor), it can be seized from the association of this continuous interaction with the lack of references to the other students: the favorite interlocutor is definitely the tutor. 3.1.6 The results of the analyses If we join the results of the analysis of the interactive dimension with those concerning the cognitive dimension, we notice that not only did the tutor stimulate the discussion, but she also made it advance from the point of view of the contents and of knowledge construction. As previously explained, the course was addressed to teachers already working in schools: the enhancement of their professional experience and the reflections on their teaching practices had a major function; that is why one of the objectives of the forum discussion was the shift from the reflection on theory to the mastering of the concepts, and from this to their use in order to interpret experiences and activities already carried out, or as basis for future planning. In this part of the forum, this shift (theory --> exemplifications, but not about personal teaching activity --> personal experience and examples) was started in each stage by a precise incentive from the tutor, who invited the students to take a step forward. This shift will be considered also in the analysis of the geographical aspects and illustrated by some examples. 20

Henri dealt with issues connected with interaction also in other articles. See Henri, 1992b; 2007. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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The units of meaning of the messages can be assigned mostly to the skill that France Henri defines as “elementary clarification”21 (also the tutor’s incentive questions can often be described with the indicator “asking a relevant question”, belonging to this skill); this wording must not deceive into thinking about trivial reflections22, as a further division proposed in the model allowed us to distinguish a “surface processing” and an “in-depth processing”. Thanks to the analysis of the communicative exchange carried out in this way, it was possible to grasp the complexity of many contributions belonging to the category “elementary clarification”, as in the following example, which is a good illustration of the indicator “identifying relevant elements” with in-depth processing like “offering new elements of information” and “providing proof or supporting examples”. Ciao, cerco di inserirmi nell’intervento di Marco con delle esemplificazioni. Cos’è una mappa mentale? La tecnica delle mappe mentali sviluppata da Tony Buzan negli anni ‘60 si basa sulla prerogativa fondamentale della mente umana di associare idee e pensieri in maniera non lineare […]. Ecco un esempio: […] M.R. (Hello, I try to integrate Marco’s contribution with some examples. What is a mind map? The mind map technique, developed by Tony Buzan in the 1960s, is based on the essential prerogative of the human mind to associate ideas and thoughts in a non-linear way […]. Here is an example: […]). Finally, if we consider the metacognitive dimension, this is not very visible; only a few “traces” indicate some processes in the knowledge construction, as in the following example: Riflettendo sugli strumenti nella scuola dell’infanzia, bambini dimostrino, se dall’insegnante, un grande 21

della geografia credo che i ben sostenuti interesse per i

The other skills are “in-depth clarification”, “inference”, “judgment”, “strategies”. 22 The indicators are clear: “identifying relevant elements”, “reformulating the problem”, “asking a relevant question”, “identifying previously stated hypotheses”. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

libri. E.B. (Thinking about the tools of geography in nursery school, I believe that children show, if well supported by the teacher, great interest for books). Another example of metacognition is the final summary (partially already presented), which can be seen as a strategy to organize knowledge: Provo a fare una sintesi degli strumenti da utilizzare in geografia ognuno dei quali prevede […] un linguaggio particolare, funzionale alla didattica disciplinare […]. S.B. (I try to summarize the tools to be used while teaching geography, each of them implying […] a special language, meant to support geography teaching […]). A last remark: also in the second part of the forum (conclusion of the activity and of the course) there is no “explicit declaration” about the activities and the results supposed to be achieved; anyway, messages of this type can be found in the common forum (with the teacher’s participation). Here are two examples (both messages were written by students of this group): Sono partita che mi sembrava di essere in un enorme labirinto […] ma la tutor era sempre presente e mi ha accompagnato e incoraggiato. Sbirciare e partecipare ai forum non era un peso... anzi... era un momento piacevole e gratificante... i commenti precisi e puntuali della tutor lanciavano ogni volta delle piccole sfide cognitive. S.B. (At the beginning I felt as if I was in an enormous labyrinth […] but the tutor was always there, she accompanied and supported me. To participate in the forums was not a burden, on the contrary it was a pleasant and gratifying moment… the tutor’s accurate and timely comments were each time a little cognitive challenge). Non posso fare altro che confermare in pieno le parole di Marco, ci avete dato davvero un nuovo modo di intendere e vivere la geografia. M.A.N. (I cannot but confirm Marco’s words, you really gave us a new way to understand and experience geography). At the end of the analysis, the fruitful integration of the two models was confirmed and Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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permitted to seize some key elements of the course. The analysis carried out with the MDE TAT, in fact, highlighted from a quantitative and “synchronic” point of view some peculiarities about the ways knowledge is socially constructed that France Henri’s model allowed us to investigate thoroughly and follow in its development (in a more “evolutive” dimension) as well as in its level of complexity. What distinctly emerged was the necessity to reflect about how to improve participation, especially if we wish to emphasize the process and not only the outcome, or, rather, if we consider the acquisition of the ability to collaborate with other people as an outcome. 3.1.7 Geography and geography teaching From a more “disciplinary” point of view, the most significant aspect in the part of the forum which was analyzed is the students’ maturation and their personal mastering of geographical concepts (as “space”, “place”, “landscape”, “environment”, “territorialization”, “structure”, etc.).

the learning meaningful and personal23. In effetti con i bambini piccoli è importante rendere chiare le conoscenze e quindi in un lavoro di ricerca sul territorio, per esempio, ritengo indispensabile fotografare, e /o videoregistrare i luoghi […], per poi osservare, confrontare e condividere emozioni e idee scaturite dall’esperienza concreta. L.B. (Actually, with small children it is important to clarify knowledge; therefore, in a research activity on the territory, for example, I think it is essential to take photos and/or to videotape the places […], and then to observe, compare, and share emotions and ideas derived from concrete experience). The idea that mastering the tools (maps, mindmaps, drawings, photos, but also songs, clothes, food, etc.) and the languages (graphic, figurative, literary, mathematical, etc.) of geography passes concretely through the planning of activities inspired by the children’s experience emerging from the examples provided by some students, which often came from their daily experience.

The object of the third activity was in fact “to focus the attention on the tools and on the different languages of geography for nursery and primary school”. As previously observed, at the beginning of the forum the students replied to the tutor’s suggestions mostly with messages which repeated ideas drawn from course materials or from other texts and books: In riferimento alla disciplina geografica e ai suoi strumenti, Staluppi G.A. […] individua alcuni linguaggi che si relazionano con le altre discipline: […] L.R. (As far as geography and its tools are concerned, Staluppi G.A. […] identifies some languages which are related to other subjects […]). After this introduction, the author of the message added the list of the languages indicated by Staluppi, with no element of personalization of the content or support indicators; anyway, the progressive consolidation of the basic concepts induced the most active students to follow the tutor and to make

…nelle classi prima e seconda direi che l’ideale sarebbe concentrarsi su ambienti molto conosciuti […] poi possiamo spaziare un po' più in là […]. S.B. (in the first and second year classes I think it would be better to focus on well-known environments […] then we can go a little farther […]). This represents the premise so that the “performative” images of geography (learned by heart) undergo a critical analysis thanks to the multiplication of the points of view. But even more significant is the moment when the students recognize in their own activities the way to implement the new vision of geography 23

“Constructivist teaching of geography places emphasis on the fact that the individuals should think more and understand that they are responsible for their own learning, and should learn to control their own behaviours. Geography teaching introduced a holistic perspective according to the constructivist approach. Geography teaching should take a place in the active participation of students in the process of holistic and meaningful relationships, while processing topics and multi-dimensional thinking skills in students related to events should be developed” (Aydin, 2010). Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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they are acquiring: […] la foto è molto evocativa, mi fa pensare a quando i miei alunni hanno provato a rappresentare il parco-giochi che avevano deciso di “adottare”. E.F. ([…] the photo is very evocative, it makes me think about my pupils trying to represent the playground they had decided to “adopt”). In una classe quarta per la rappresentazione del proprio territorio dal punto di vista geografico ho pensato di attivare un ipertesto multidisciplinare in cui sono inseriti link […] costruiti dai ragazzi, che rimandano ai vari e significativi elementi presenti in esso. […] L.C. (In a fourth year class, for the representation of the territory from the geographical point of view, I decided to activate a multidisciplinary hypertext […] with links made by the pupils, referring to its various and significant elements. […]). In the following message, the teacher’s ability to plan is oriented to promote the skill of children to become active subjects according to the needs of the activities they intend to realize and to the concrete problems they are confronted with. […] ritengo sia molto importante che i bambini possano “manipolare” il territorio, in classe ad esempio cambiamo spesso la disposizione dei banchi […] sono piccole, piccolissime cose, ma li aiuta ad impadronirsi e affezionarsi alla loro aula e a gestire meglio lo spazio a loro disposizione. S.B. ([…] I think it is very important that children can “handle” their territory; for example, in our classroom we often change the arrangement of the desks […] these are small, very small things, but they help them to take possession of their classroom and to love it, as well as to manage their space better). The sequence of the messages, copied here in chronological order, clearly shows the direction of the tutor towards a progressive construction of the skills in terms of “education to/in/for the territory”. The results achieved are coherent with the organization of the course, indicated by the epistemological and methodological models, in terms of geographical skills and awareness. Anyway, what emerged from the application Copyright© Nuova Cultura

of the models also urged to modify the tutors’ interaction in the forums (that is, the kind of “teaching presence”) in order to make more profitable the learning environment of the following courses. In particular, the teaching group aimed at maintaining a very high level of cognitive and social scaffolding and at monitoring – in progress – the formulation of the new geographical concepts shared by the students by orienting the tutors’ interventions mostly towards the virtual class as a whole rather than towards each single student. Furthermore, a similar in-depth socioconstructivist and cognitive analysis applied to the new forum discussions and students’ satisfaction at the end of the course seems to confirm that the class evolved from a community of learning to a community of practice.

4. Conclusions Several considerations emerge from the experience of the “Geography teaching” course: on the one hand, there is the confirmation of distance education potentialities (as we have seen, it is possible to construct new knowledge and, at the same time, to consolidate and systematize the skills which were previously acquired); on the other hand, there is the necessity to organize and to manage a learning environment which was planned so that the students can be active and mutually engaged, not only when “reacting” to the tutor’s and the teacher’s incitement, but also assuming participative and proactive attitudes which really place them at the centre of the learning process. Through the collaboration developed in the “Geography teaching” course it is possible: a) to exploit the “mediatic” dimension of geography, by offering “geographical experiences” as operational ways to practice the discipline in its multiple forms and languages; b) to master the tools and languages of the discipline, re-interpret them with specific role and meaning, and apply them in the daily teaching practice; Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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c) to discredit some of the preconceptions that accompany geography which had emerged in the very first part of the first discussion and in a questionnaire about the students’ beliefs and opinions about the subject. The results said that geography was often considered as a subject which demands reasoning but most of all memory, and which is easily forgotten; at the end of the course, several students declared having changed their mind, thanks to the discovery and the satisfying implementation of tools and methodologies exploitable in their teaching practices; d) to plan a change supported by reflections joining geography and teaching research. The distance between what was planned and what was actually realized which emerged thanks to the analysis highlights the need to increasingly stimulate meaningful interaction24 and cooperation between students, in order to give the tutor the possibility to become a real facilitator and to entrust the students with the construction of communication and knowledge: the teacher and the tutor have therefore to employ the data which emerged as a “compass” to make the course really “learner-centered” and to exploit the knowledge and the skills the students already own25 in order to give meaning to what they learn. A meaning which, obviously, will be the starting point for new reflections, new projects, new challenges. Acknowledgements Even if the paper is the result of the close collaboration between the Authors, L. Rocca wrote paragraph 2; F. Bussi wrote the para24

Interaction is not sufficient if it simply means that the messages are connected one another: what is needed is a “meaningful interaction”, as Woo and Reeves (2010) underline according to Vrasidas and McIsaac remarks: “Meaningful interaction is not just sharing personal opinions. Instead, the interaction must stimulate the learners’ intellectual curiosity and directly influence their learning” (Woo and Reeves, 2010, p. 181). 25 Some useful suggestions can be found in Woo and Reeves, 2008; Pelz, 2010. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

graphs 3.1.1 and 3.1.4; C. Minelle wrote the paragraphs 3.1.2 and 3.1.5; F. Bussi and C. Minelle wrote together paragraphs 3, 3.1, 3.1.3, 3.1.6 and 3.1.7. The Introduction and the Conclusion were written jointly by Rocca, Bussi and Minelle. The whole text was translated into English by C. Minelle. The Authors thank Lorenza Gramegna for revisions.

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10. Calvani A. and Rotta M., Fare formazione in Internet. Manuale di didattica on-line, Trento, Erickson, 2000. 11. Castoldi M., Valutare le competenze. Percorsi e strumenti, Rome, Carocci, 2009. 12. Chirichilli E. (Ed.), L’università verso l’e-learning, Rome, Tipografia Città Nuova della P.A.M.O.M., 2006. 13. Dematteis G., “Zeus, le ossa del bue e la verità degli aranci. Biforcazioni geografiche”, Ambiente Società Territorio. Geografia nelle Scuole, 3-4, 2008, pp. 3-13. 14. Demetrio D., “Diventare adulti nelle organizzazioni”, in Demetrio D., Fabbri D. and Gherardi S., Apprendere nelle organizzazioni – Proposte per la crescita cognitiva in età adulta, Rome, La Nuova Italia Scientifica, 1994, pp. 13-109. 15. Dillenbourg P., “What do you mean by collaborative learning?”, in Dillenbourg P. (Ed.), Collaborative-learning: Cognitive and Computational Approaches, Oxford, Elsevier, 1999, pp. 1-19, http://tecfa. unige.ch/tecfa/publicat/dil-papers-2/Dil. 7.1.14.pdf. 16. Fahy P.J., Crawford G., Ally M., Cookson P., Keller V. and Prosser F., “The Development and testing of a tool for Analysis of Computer Mediated Conferencing Transcripts”, The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, XLVI, 1, 2000, pp. 85-88. 17. Fahy P.J., “Addressing some Common Problems in Transcript Analysis”, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 1, 2, 2001a. 18. Fahy P.J., Crawford G. and Ally M., “Patterns of Interaction in a Computer Conference Transcript”, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 2, 1, 2001b. 19. Fahy P.J., “Use of Linguistic Qualifiers and Intensifiers in a Computer Conference”, The American Journal of Distance Education, 16, 1, 2002, pp. 5-22. 20. Fahy P.J., “Indicators of Support in Online Interaction”, International Review Copyright© Nuova Cultura

of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 4, 1, 2003. 21. Fahy P.J. and Ally M., “Student learning style and asynchronous computer-mediated conferencing”, American Journal of Distance Education, 19, 1, 2005, pp. 5-22. 22. Fondazione CRUI, 2007, http://www.fon dazionecrui.it/e-learning/link/?ID=4362. 23. Gaddi M.T. and Tonegato P., Usare strumenti per la formazione a distanza, Lecce, Pensamultimedia, 2006. 24. Galliani L., La scuola in rete, Rome, Editori Laterza, 2004. 25. Galliani L., “Questioni di valutazione istituzionale: prospettive di ateneo tra facoltà e corsi di studio”, in Semeraro R. (Ed.), Valutazione e qualità della didattica universitaria – Le prospettive nazionali e internazionali, Milan, Franco Angeli, 2006, pp. 97-134. 26. Galliani L., “Le nuove forme della didattica in una Università cambiata”, Conference “L’università italiana università europea. La convergenza dei percorsi formativi da Bologna 1999 a Londra 2007”, Camerino, February 1st, 2007, http://www.miur.it/Miur/UserFiles /Dossier/NuoveClassiLaurea/Intervento% 20L.%20Galliani.pdf. 27. Henri F., “Computer Conferencing and Content Analysis”, in Kaye A.R. (Ed.), Collaborative Learning Through Computer Conferencing: The Najaden Papers, New York, Springer, 1992a, pp. 115-136. 28. Henri F., “Formation à distance et téléconférence assistée par ordinateur: Interactivité, quasi-interactivité, ou monologue?”, Journal of Distance Education/Revue de l’enseignement à distance, 1992b, http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/412. 29. Henri F., Peraya D. and Charlier B., “La recherche sur les forums de discussion en milieu éducatif: critères de qualité et qualité des pratiques”, Revue Sticef.org, 14, 2007, http://sticef.univ-lemans.fr/num/vol2007/18henri/sticef_2007_henri_18.htm. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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30. Khan B.H., E-learning strategies, Italian translation by Ranieri M., E-learning: progettazione e gestione, Trento, Erickson, 2004. 31. Midoro V., “Dalle comunità di pratica alle comunità di apprendimento virtuali”, TD, 22, 1, 2002. 32. Minelle C., “Applicazione del modello di France Henri (Computer Conferencing and Content Analysis, 1992) a un forum didattico del ‘Corso di Perfezionamento in Metodologie della Formazione in Rete’, a.a. 2006-2007”, Final Paper for the “Master in Metodologie della formazione in rete”, a.a. 2007-2008, Venice, University Ca’ Foscari, 2008. 33. Pelz B., “(My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 14, 1, 2010, http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v14 n1/my-three-principles-effective-onlinepedagogy. 34. Raffestin C., Per una geografia del potere, Milan, Unicopli, 1981. 35. Rocca L., Il territorio della rete. Studio di un progetto educativo on line, Lecce, Pensamultimedia, 2003. 36. Rocca L., Geoscoprire il mondo, Lecce, Pensamultimedia, 2007. 37. Rocca L., “La territorializzazione in pratica: esperienza di laboratorio SSIS”, in Zabbini E., Dallari F. and Sala A.M. (Eds.), Emilia-Romagna. Regione della coesione e dell’ospitalità. La didattica della geografia: metodi ed esperienze innovative, vol. 1, Bologna, Pàtron, 2008, pp. 161-170.

Education in a Knowledge Society, Chicago, Open Court, 2002, pp. 67-98. 41. Scardamalia M. and Bereiter C., “Knowledge Building”, in Guthrie J.W. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd edition, New York, Macmillan Reference, 2003, http://ikit.org/fulltext/2003_knowledge_building.pdf. 42. Schmidt R., “Dal carico di lavoro ai crediti: la problematica della misurazione dell’apprendimento”, in Schmidt R. and Michelotti S. (Eds.), Verso l’integrazione dei sistemi formativi in Toscana – Materiali, metodi, modelli, Prato, Giunti, 2002, pp. 77-104. 43. Trentin G., Dalla formazione a distanza all’apprendimento in rete, Milan, Franco Angeli, 2004. 44. Turco A., Verso una teoria geografica della complessità, Milan, Unicopli, 1988. 45. Wenger E., Community of Practice, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988. 46. Woo Y. and Reeves T.C., “Interaction in Asynchronous Web-based Learning Environments: Strategies Supported By Educational Research”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12, 34, 2008, http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln /v12n3/interaction-asynchronous-web-based-learning-environments. 47. Zhu E., Meaning Negotiation, Knowledge Construction, And Mentoring In A Distance Learning Course, Indiana University, 1996.

38. Rocca L., Partecipare in rete. Nuove pratiche per lo sviluppo locale e la gestione del territorio, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010a. 39. Rocca L., “La geografia vista da dentro la scuola”, Ambiente Società Territorio, 2, 2010b, pp. 27-31. 40. Scardamalia M., “Collective Cognitive Responsibility for the Advancement of Knowledge”, in Smith B. (Ed.), Liberal Copyright© Nuova Cultura

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THE LANGUAGE OF IMAGES Edited by Elisa Bignante and Marco Maggioli

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 51-62 DOI: 10.4458/3253-06

Spaces and places fifty years after the Vajont tragedy Gianluca Casagrandea a

Geographic Research and Application Laboratory (GREAL), European University of Rome, Rome, Italy Email: gianluca.casagrande@greal.eu

Received: October 2013 – Accepted: January 2014

Abstract The Vajont disaster (Eastern Alps, 1963) is mostly – and righteously – remembered for its almost 2,000 victims. One among the greatest tragedies of technological development, the disaster was caused by the operation of an artificial lake whose left shore became progressively unstable and finally collapsed. The resulting water overflow caused death and destruction in a large area, both downstream and upstream from the dam. Reconstruction of devastated places took decades and much of the population who had survived the disaster moved away from their original neighborhood. In addition to the tragedy of those who died and of those who could never overcome pain and trauma, another story of the Vajont disaster is the story of life-long exiles from beloved places. The future of the communities now living in the once destroyed areas stems from the disaster and from the new genius loci originated by the disaster itself. Keywords: Vajont Disaster, Post-Disaster Reconstruction, Atopic Contexts, Dam

1. Introduction Year 2013 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Vajont1 disaster, and this fact is important for the geographer at least as it is for the historian. The tragedy occurred at night on Wednesday, October 9th, 1963. At 10.39 PM a 260 million 1

In the toponym “Vajont” there is an Italian semivowel “j”, whose correct pronunciation may cause some difficulty to the English speaker. For this reason, the variant “Vaiont” is sometimes used in English texts, due to its easier correct reading (Semenza, 2005, p. 249, endnote 1. See also http://archive.is/ak6Wp). The sound of the two variants is almost identical in Italian and both were used historically. In the recent past, however, the variant “Vajont” became prevalent in Italy and it is therefore used in this paper.

cubic-meter rocky landslide moved from the northern slope of Mount Toc, in the Dolomiti Friulane, and fell into the Vajont hydroelectric reservoir (Müller, 1964). A 50 million ton water mass was pushed by the landslide against the opposite shore, raising up to about 230 meters above the original level. It then divided into two almost equal halves. One moved upstream, into the eastern section of the reservoir. It devastated the shores, taking 158 lives in the Erto-Casso area. The second water-mass flowed over the dam, falling almost vertically for 430 meters into the narrow Vajont canyon. It then moved downstream, acquiring further speed and energy, until it reached town Longarone, lying 1.8 Kilometers ahead. Several inhabited areas were

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destroyed. 1,752 people died downstream from the dam, in less than four minutes. There were 1,910 casualties2. The Vajont dam was supposed to become a world technological marvel: 261.6 meters of height, 190 meters of length at the crowning3. The dam had been sited near the confluence of two valleys, the wide Valle del Piave on the west, a glacial valley whose orientation is perfectly north-south in the area; and the Valle Ertana on the east, narrower and deeper, cut by torrent Vajont almost perfectly along an east-west axis. The orographic division coincided with an administrative boundary between Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia: it crossed the Valle Ertana just a few meters downstream from the dam. The environmental configuration of the two valleys was similar, but from an anthropization point of view, the so called “Longaronese” and the Valle Ertana hosted two relatively different landscapes. Both areas had century-long histories of forestry; the Longaronese had a strong Venetian identity and as early as 18th century it had hosted an active enterpreneur bourgeoisie. When works at the dam began, in summer 1957, Longarone had acquired the nickname of “Piccola Milano” (Small Milan) (Zangrando, 1988, p. 51). It had dozens of economic activities and it was driving the largest and most efficient industrial district in the Province of Belluno4. In the early Sixties Italy was enjoying the beginning of the so called “Economic Miracle”; this was also the case in the Longaronese. Longarone, the 2

The final complete list of casualties was available at the Comune di Longarone no earlier than 2008. The document was prepared by survivor Mr. Gianni Olivier. He took more than a year of painstaking work, along with his wife, merging archive data with personal memories and witness accounts. Before that publication, most lists of casualties, even those included as documents in official prosecutions, contained errors and inaccuracies. 3 There are several publications regarding the dam and its technical features. Suggested readings for a first approach to this important element in the history of hydroelectric technology are: Società Adriatica di Elettricità, 2001; Sacchet, 2003. 4 For an overview of this aspect of Longarone’s history, see Deon Cardin 2008. A wider historical discussion for the entire province of Belluno, and for the early decades of the 20th century, can be found in Larese and Sandi, 2012.

small 4,500 people town was in fact the “central place” for a much wider area in the surroundings; it had industries, a growing tertiary sector and, most of all, the taste and the appearence of the city it had always aspired to become (Zangrando, 1988, p. 52). The Valle Ertana, in turn, was a microcosmos in which small communities kept two different geocultural backgrounds: the Venetian and the Ladin ones, respectively represented by the tiny towns of Casso and Erto. The former was, in fact, a hamlet under the jurisdiction of the latter even though the two communities showed a sort of typical antagonism. Erto and Casso took care of small farmlands and shared a common tradition for wood-cutters, timber freighters, cableways builders. Through the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, a common feature of Erto-Casso and the Longaronese was a high number of emigrants. 2. Before the Disaster The future landscape of the area, as it was conceived in 1960-1963 was partially captured in the Piano Regolatore Intercomunale, established between nearby Castellavazzo and Longarone: A well organized modular system which could provide services to a wider geographic area. In 1957 most people in the region saw no reason to worry about the presence of the dam. It was the best structure of that kind ever built, by the most expert technicians on behalf of one of the most powerful and whealty energy service providers in Italy, SADE, or Società Adriatica Di Elettricità. Had not it be safe, they would have not built it there (Merlin, 1997, pp. 62-63). Unknown to the builders, their work was bringing to reality an ancient profecy, which is told to have existed in the Erto community through the ages. According to this legend, based evidently on the experience of landslides blocking Alpine rivers, Erto was supposed to become, someday, a large town. After a time of prosperity, however, it was going to disappear in the abyss of a lake5.

This fact is reported by De Fozza, 1959, pp. 137139, and Semenza, 2005, p. 173. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Figure 1. General map of the Vajont disaster as published in Semenza, 2010 (pp. 142-143) modified from Carloni and Mazzanti, 1964.

Figure 2. The Vajont reservoir in 1962 in a well known Ghedina postcard. At the time of this image, the facility was undergoing its second load test. The water was being risen up to 700 meters a.s.l (the top of the dam was at level 722.5). The level was reached for the first time during the summer. Near the top of the image it is possible to see Casso. Closer to the dam are SADE service buildings. Mount Toc can be partially seen on the right; the landslide moved from the slope on the right of the picture and impacted against the opposite shore of the lake, pushing the water mass ahead. The foremost part of the unstable mass, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Punta del Tocâ&#x20AC;?, is visible as the rocky promontory on the lake, near the right margin of the image. Photo: Ghedina. CopyrightÂŠ Nuova Cultura

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Figure 3. Downtown Longarone shortly before the disaster (above) and in the aftermath of the catastrophe (below). References for comparing the images are the century-old “Murazzi”, i.e. thick walls protecting farming terraces, and the long relief which hosted the railway. A small group of buildings survived at the northern margin of the town; the most damaged ones were later torn down. Photo: Ghedina.

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An artificial lake began indeed its existence in the Valley in 1960 as testing of the reservoir was initiated. Throughout its history before the disaster, the reservoir affected primarily the Valle Ertana. As a matter of fact, the local residual forestry and agricultural activities went into their final decadence as several farmlands of the Valley were expropriated and then flooded by the new reservoir. For a new “landscape” to settle into the valley, however, tests of the facility were to finish and regular operation of the plant was to start6. Many of the villagers felt that the lake had flooded and buried memories of beloved places. They adjusted to the change, while proudly keeping much of their ancestors’ habits and worldviews. During the entire period of existence of the reservoir, though, Erto’s community strongly felt and repeatedly communicated – even at high official levels – a deep concern about the risk of landslides caused by the presence of the lake. These concerns led to public statements, political and legal actions, whose echo reached the press. Reporter Tina Merlin7 published three articles on this topic between 1957 and 19598. In most cases, either Merlin’s articles or the Erto township’s public 6

Full test of the reservoir would have required a filling to full capacity, several additional load tests and the demonstration that in such conditions there was no major instability or dangerous condition affecting the infrastructures. Had the disaster not occurred, the full testing of the facility would have taken long after year 1963. 7 Clementina “Tina” Merlin (1922-1991) was a journalist, reporter and writer. From 1943 to 1945 she operated as a partisan in the Italian territories controlled by German and Fascist troops as the socalled “Alpen Vorland”. After WWII she began to work for “L’Unità” newspaper (1951-1980). From 1964 to 1970 she was as a member of the Belluno Province Council with the Italian Communist Party (PCI). She remained politically active while continuing her work as a writer and journalist through the rest of her life. 8 Articles were published on the “L’Unità” on May 5th 1959 “La SADE spadroneggia ma i montanari si difendono”, November 8th, 1960 “Una gigantesca frana precipita ad Erto nel lago artificiale costruito dalla SADE” and February 21st 1961 “Un’enorme massa di 50 milioni di metri cubi minaccia le vite e gli averi degli abitanti di Erto”. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

statements were inexact or wrong in specifying the actual nature of the threats (Semenza, 2005, pp. 151-152)9; but the final outcome was that the fears about a catastrophic disruption of the life in the valley became real due to other phenomena. The possibility of a landslide was actually forseen in accurate terms about four years before the event. Edoardo Semenza10’s studies had demonstrated the presence of a potentially unstable mass, involving a large portion of the left shore of the lake, i.e. Mount Toc northern slope. Semenza, a SADE consultant geologist, had correctly estimated the sliding volume and had properly recognized some of its main features. Carlo Semenza11, SADE chief engineer 9

The disaster was caused by a landslide from Mount Toc. The unstable mass coincided with rocky walls, woods and a farming area which normally hosted a very limited, seasonal population. The primary concern expressed by Erto in the years before the disaster referred to other areas downhill from Erto itself, at the opposite side of the valley. The same concern was referred to by Erto alderman Osvaldo Martinelli in a letter to ENEL and public offices about one month before the disaster (Martinelli, 1976, p. 213). However, repeated geologic surveys near Erto had excluded, as early as 1959, the risk of landslides in the area (Semenza, 2010, pp. 35, 45-46). This was finally confirmed as not even under the powerful pressure of the disaster waves did any significant terrain slide occur in Erto. However, there was widespread concern, though rather vague in its terms. The slopes of Mount Toc were only a part of such concern since a first, premonitory landslide occurred there on November 4th, 1960, three years before the disaster. 10 Edoardo Semenza (1927-2002). A geologist since 1955, Semenza was both a scientist and an expert in applied geology, a field that he pioneered in Italy. Since the beginning of his professional activity he was a consultant for SADE and, later, for ENEL. He thoroughly studied the Vajont landslide before and after the disaster. He later became full professor in Applied Geology at the University of Ferrara. He continued an active work as a researcher while training new generations of geologists. His advise helped Alfred Hendron and Franklin Patton in clarifying the specific causes of the Vajont landslide (Hendron and Patton, 1985). 11 Carlo Semenza (1893-1961). A civil engineer, Carlo Semenza was SADE’s director of hydraulic constructions when he designed the Vajont dam. He both designed and supervised the building of at least Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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and Edoardo's father, considered to undertake radical actions to solve the problems and ensure both the citizens’ safety and the efficiency of the reservoir. Such actions would have been possible, but extremely hard to implement12. Therefore, more conventional solutions13 were chosen, which proved inadequate to prevent a catastrophic outcome. Limited knowledge of some phenomena; wrong interpretations about the sliding motions and their causes; wishful thinking and a rather stubborn belief that everything could be kept 10 dams, mostly in the eastern Alps. As awareness of problems involving the Vajont reservoir began to surface, he kept an overall prudent approach by thoroughly studying individual phenomena and by delaying operation of the facility in order to ensure safety. He died of a stroke a few days after the Vajont dam was inaugurated, two years before the disaster. 12 Expecting some quantitative relationship between water pressure under the unstable mass and the instabilities, due to joint action of both rain and reservoir manoeuvres, Carlo Semenza proposed to discharge excess water as a measure to stabilize the landslide. Such discharge was to be obtained through the excavation of a drainage tunnel below the slide bank. Initial surveys were conducted in order to determine the depth of the baserock. Two possible variants of the project were hypothesized. A first one considered building the drainage tunnel at about level 900 m a.s.l.; a initial sketch was prepared (Semenza, 2010, pp. 90-91), but as it was demonstrated (p. 118) such a configuration would have not been successful. Another hypothesis was to excavate the tunnel around level 720. Had it been undertaken, the work was probably to prove feasible and likely to solve the instability problem. 13 An important measure was to ensure that the reservoir level remain controllable in case of an obstruction by landslides. This required the excavation of a by-pass tunnel which connected the eastern section of the lake with the reservoir volume behind the dam. The tunnel had a diameter of 4.50 meters; the inlet was at level 617.4 m a.s.l. by the “Mulini delle Spesse” and the outlet at 600.7 m a.s.l. about 50 meters upstream from the dam (Semenza, 2010, p. 106). The by-pass tunnel had no effect in mitigating the disaster; still, it proved valuable after the catastrophe. Although obstructed by debris, the tunnel was re-opened in 1964 and fitted with a short additional segment to enable water discharge beyond the dam. The tunnel is still operational nowadays, to convey Vajont stream waters. A modification program is planned to allow for a minor energy production. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

under control led decision-makers to progressively loose ability to recognize an overall worsening situation. In the final days before the disaster, fatal warnings, though impressigly evident, were not properly understood and did not cause effective responses. On that quiet autumn night, Mount Toc released a 520 million-tons landslide which violently collapsed into the reservoir. In that moment, history diverted its course in Longarone and Erto-Casso.

3. Through the blank spaces When survivors and returning migrants met on the wide desolated space which had once been Longarone, they realized that not only their dear ones and properties were gone; but the entire surrounding space was gone with them. The whole world that used to be there had just disappeared, taking away all material referents to memories. In the Valle Ertana, the difficult logistic conditions and the – unjustified – fear of further landslides, led authorities to decide the mandatory evacuation of inhabitants (Merlin, 1997, p. 125; Semenza, 2005, p. 165). All citizens from the damaged area were recovered in other locations. In the Valle del Piave there were very few surviving buildings and they were generally not damaged in a critical way. Most other houses had simply been eroded away from their foundations.

Figure 4. A central road in old Erto (2013). Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

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Figure 5. A testimony of the diaspora. Old writing on the wall of a house in Erto. It reads: “Go, you’ll come back, Ertano… Come back to your village that is so nice…”. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

The dispersal of inhabitants was to be a temporary measure to ensure their safety and comfort, but it turned out to be excessively long. It therefore led to various outcomes. There was a strong political debate on whether to reconstruct the settlements were they had been before the disaster, or rather to relocate them somewhere else. In the case of Longarone, relocation would have been the easiest technical solution: it would have allowed to add living spaces to already existing service and supply networks, whereas in the destroyed area there was nothing to connect to. Survivors and people from the former Longaronese surged. In late 1963 and early 1964 there were several protest outbreaks and road blocks to call for the towns to be reconstructed where they had been. Meanwhile, the Valle Ertana was still an off-limits space and there also, first clandestinely, then more and more openly, some of the inhabitants moved back to their houses (Merlin, 1997, pp. 128-132). Longarone’s reconstruction began. A first urban plan was prepared in 1964; as construction progressed, variants and new plans followed (Calafiore, 1984, p. 44). After the 1963 landslide the former Vajont reservoir had remained obstructed and there was no way to discharge water from it. It therefore went on filling up naturally for months, until technical measures were taken to control its level. In the following years, a new settlement Copyright© Nuova Cultura

for Erto, called Stortàn, was slowly built uphill from the old town, in a zone which was considered to be altimetrically safer. Old Erto was populated again, though partially, in the years. A large part of Erto’s citizens moved away to a totally different area in 1966. After a local (and controversial) vote they had accepted a relocation proposal in the flatlands near Maniago, in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The site, Ponte Giulio, was supposed to become part of a major industrial district. A whole new town was built, about 40 kms away from the Valle Ertana. Its initial name should have been Nuova Erto (Martinelli, 1976, p. 315) and the intention of the local community was to remain administratively united to the township of origin. That was not the case, and in 1971 the new township of Vajont was officially created. Despite its relative proximity to the community of origin, Vajont ended up showing several features typical of an emigrant’s colony: artificial and regular shapes; toponyms which recall places and facts of the “motherland”. At least in the minds of the first generation of settlers, Vajont in the Maniago plains remained a substantially atopic context and, in some respects, it is still so today (Merlin, 1997, pp. 163-164, Gervasutti, 2013). Yet, the diaspora was not over. A “Nuova Erto” was finally established in another, different location. It is a small area in Ponte nelle Alpi, Veneto region.

Figure 6. Vajont (Pordenone). The townhall. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

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Many suvivors suffered severe post-trauma psychological effects through the rest of their lives and, in some cases, to these very days (Demichelis et al., 2012).

Figure 7. Vajont (Pordenone), houses along Via Massalezza. The Massalezza was a stream of Mount Toc. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

Other survivors and former inhabitants of the disaster areas moved somewhere else. They began their personal journey in new places and new lives; another part of the story, one that is more difficult to track for the historian. By the early 1980s, Longarone was already reconstructed for the most part (Calafiore, 1984). Criteria adopted for this work indicate a “will to move on” which may sound perplexing. In a few years much work was completed on the town and the residential areas. The industrial area and other functional networks, pushed by financial aids, were reconstructed and resumed their activity. This was achieved, in many cases under non-local administrations. Structures and services were re-established but no attempt was made to reconstruct Longarone in resemblance to its original appearence. The old “little Milan” was gone for ever; the new Longarone, whose increasing population was mostly coming from other geographical areas, seemed to be projected towards a future which had little to do with the past.

Figure 8. Old Longarone lives today only in a very small area spared by the disaster, at the northern extremity of Via Roma. Among the few surviving ancient buildings, there is Palazzo Mazzolà (18th century), Longarone’s townhall (with the two chimneys). Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

Figure 9. Longarone. A large building on present-day Via Roma. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

4. From memory to history New inhabitants lived next door with survivors of the disaster for years, but in most cases no particular sense of community arose14. 14

disaster survivor and former Longarone mayor Gioachino Bratti (also current President of the Associazione Bellunesi nel Mondo), published online by Corriere delle Alpi in 2013 (http://temi.repubblica.it/corrierealpi-diga-del-vajont-1963-2013-ilcinquantenario/longarone-a-longarone-la-ricostruzio ne-difficile/). Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Gianluca Casagrande

Figure 10. Longarone. Piazza IX Ottobre. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

Figure 11. Longarone’s church, designed by architect Giovanni Michelucci was completed in 1975. It was built on the place of the 18th century Santa Maria Assunta church, totally destroyed on the night of the disaster. Very few fragments of the old church and of its fittings are preserved in the basement of the new building. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

In Longarone, the evident lack of a unified architectural concept brought to creating artificial places, sometimes with questionable solutions15. The new residential texture seems to be formally inconsistent and does not keep 15

See the video interview to Renato Migotti (a disaster survivor and current President of the Associazione Superstiti del Disastro del Vajont) published in 2013 by Correre delle Alpi (http://temi.repubblica.it/ corrierealpi-diga-del-vajont-1963-2013-il-cinquantenario/longarone-a-longarone-la-ricostruzione-difficile/). Copyright© Nuova Cultura

anything of the old Longarone’s typical unity and harmony. In some instances, there is even the impression that every line in the drawing of the new town is a constant and definitive recall to the shape of the dam and to a stylized wave: sometimes explicitly, sometimes with lesser evidence, builders carved in stone and concrete the presence of a new genius loci for Longarone: Half a century from the disaster, many details in the new place seem to proclaim that its birth and existence are directly (and everlastingly) originnating from the night of the catastrophe16. The Vajont dam and Mount Toc are no longer a threat; and nature is not felt as an enemy. The warning to humans not to provoke the forces of nature is echoed by the very places where this truth was learnt so harshly. The story of survivors is the story of the end of a world17. It is a story of places which were cancelled or still exist, although with breaks of impressing sharpness.

Figure 12. Houses in the high area of Stortàn. Like Old Erto, the new town keeps the nature of a ripid and obviously dense urbanization, although in the framework of present-day living standards. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

For hints and / or discussions of this aspect, see: Zangrando, 1988, p. 157. 17 In the aftermath of the catastrophe, a typical problem faced by both survivors and rescuers was the almost complete spatial disorientation due to the destruction of previously existing spaces. In many cases, surveyors had to be deployed in the area so to geometrically calculate position of lost buildings and premises. For a first idea of this “perspective of annientation” see Zangrando, 1988, p. 23. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Gianluca Casagrande

It ends up being a story which disintegrates in many individual stories of life in the “elsewhere” whether this “elsewhere” is in far off lands, in relatively close places or even in spaces which had been familiar, but in which there is no longer any previously recognizable espace vecu nor perspective of experience (Fremont, 1974; Tuan, 1977). Looking around, then, for physical referents of the past landscape, it becomes necessary to put some effort in trying to at least locate some traces of it. Most of them are in the bare geomorphological configuration: really not much, for trying to have the true feeling of being there. What about today? The Valle Ertana is now part of the Dolomiti Friulane Regional Park. The existing inhabited areas are occupied by survivors of the disaster, by their descendants and by a relevant number of new residents. The valley is a beautiful natural environment, very attractive for tourism.

Figure 13. The Vajont dam as it appears today, seen from the western section of the landslide. Both the gravelish areas and the relatively young woods visible between the observer and the dam are parts of the slidden mass. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

The Longaronese is once again a central place whose influence range got even further. Since many years now, it is certainly back in the status of the main industrial district of the province of Belluno. It features elements of excellence at European level. It has a busy tertiary sector, and is becoming a hub for several cultural events and initiatives.

Figure 14. Casso on the slope of Mount Salta, formerly the right side of the Vajont reservoir. On the night of the disaster, the hamlet was protected by its height and by the presence of the limestone cliff in the foreground, which partially blocked the wave. The rocky wall is currently a renowed training site for climbers. The road, visible in the lower part of the image, and the trees on the right, stand on the landslide mass. Photo: G. Casagrande (September 2013).

Fifty years after the disaster, the Longaronese and the Valle Ertana are no longer a world of their own; their path rejoined the path of the whole surrounding region. But as memory fades into history and for the very first time the word “forgiveness” begins to echo in those lands (Priante, 2013), a significant heritage remains. In Italy and not only here, absolute faith in technological progress was given, by Vajont, an unprecedented strike. In the past fifty years the construction of hydroelectric facilities in Italy was slowed down radically as it was the case of other large installations which might have directly or indirectly affected the environment. Technology remains the acknowledged driver of better life conditions; but at least in the common perception a need is felt, to achieve a higher environmental sensibility and a greater ethical awareness (Petley, 2007). A generally-shared new attitude towards nature is now common, although it often proves unable to prevent disasters. Ironically, the Vajont catastrophe per se faded away quickly, and for decades, from Italian public conscience. In fact, the disaster was barely known by the general public until 1997, when a famous TV show by actor Marco Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Paolini brought it suddenly back to the full attention of the country18. However, in the work of technicians, decision makers and in the general culture of the people, the horrible loss of life of that night, along with other tragedies occurred in similar contexts throughout Europe, did contribute to move minds towards a new worldview; a worldview about technology, environment and landscape. In this different state of mind, that an entire nation learnt almost unknowingly through half a century, lays the true hope that at least some mistakes made then will not be repeated.

5. 6. 7.

References 1.

Calafiore G., Longarone, rinascita di una città, Pubblicazioni dell’Istituto di Geografia, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Rome, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, n. 25, 1984. Carloni G.C. and Mazzanti R., “Rilevamento geologico della frana del Vaiont”, in Selli R., Trevisan L., Carloni G.C., Mazzanti R. and Ciabatti M., La frana del Vajont, Giornale di Geologia, 2, vol. 32, 1, 1964. De Fozza S., “Il magnifico marmo della cava di Buscada farà di Erto la ‘città’ voluta dalla profezia?”, il Gazzettino, 30 dicembre 1959, in Martinelli O., Il Mio Vayont, Vajont, Comune di Vajont, 1976, pp. 137139. Demichelis O., Coletti M. and Toffolo G., Psicologia dell’emergenza: il caso Vajont, Savigliano, L’Artistica Editrice, 2012.

Marco Paolini is an Italian actor. Deeply touched by Tina Merlin’s work, Paolini decided to divulgate the story of Vajont. He did so by preparing a monologue, which he presented for years in theaters, schools and public spaces. On the night of October 9th, 1997, the monologue took place at the Vajont dam in front of survivors, relatives and common people. The performance, broadcasted live by RAI-2, a major Italian network, had a stellar success. The script of the show was published by Garzanti in the form of a booklet with a chronological appendix by F. Niccolini (Paolini and Vacis, 1997). Sixteen years later, recordings of that broadcast are still published in several formats and widely circulate in Italy. Copyright© Nuova Cultura

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

16.

17. 18.

Deon Cardin E., “Il lavoro nelle valli del Piave e del Vajont prima del 9 ottobre 1963”, Quaderno Pulchra, 5, 2008. Frémont A., “Recherches sur l’espace vécu”, Espace Géographique, 3, 3, 1974, pp. 231238. Gervasutti S., “Ritorno alla diga, 50 anni dopo. Il paese senz’anima figlio del Toc”, Messaggero Veneto, 13 agosto 2013, http://messaggeroveneto.gelocal.it/tempolibero/2013/08/18/news/ritorno-alla-diga50-anni-dopo-il-paese-senz-anima-figliodel-toc-1.7594766. Hendron A.J. and Patton F.D., The Vaiont slide, a geotechnical analysis based on new geological observations of the failure surface, Technical report GL-85-5, Washington, D.C., Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers, 1985. Larese G. and Sandi M. (Eds.), La società e l’economia bellunese nei primi decenni del Novecento, Belluno, Camera di Commercio di Belluno, 2012. Martinelli O., Il Mio Vayont, Vajont, Comune di Vajont, 1976. Merlin T., Sulla pelle viva. Come si costruisce una catastrofe. Il caso del Vajont, Verona, CIERRE Edizioni, 1997. Müller L., “The rock slide in the Vaiont valley”, Felsmechanik und Ingenieurgeologie, 2, 1964, pp. 148-212. Paolini M. and Vacis G., Il racconto del Vajont, Milan, Garzanti, 1997. Petley D., “The Vajont (Vaiont) landslide”, http://archive.is/ak6Wp. Petley D., “Vajont’s Message for the Three Gorges”, Chinadialogue, 5.11.2007, https:// www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/ 1448-Vajont-s-message-for-the-Three-Gorges. Priante A., “È giunta l’ora di perdonare il Vajont?”, Corriere del Veneto, 31 luglio 2013, http://corrieredelveneto.corriere.it/ veneto/notizie/cronaca/2013/31-luglio-2013 /-giunta-ora-perdonare-vajontsi-tempo-nonon-sara-mai-222 2413465475.shtml. Sacchet A., Vajont la diga, Longarone, Associazione Pro-Loco Longarone, 2003. Semenza E., La storia del Vajont raccontata dal geologo che ha scoperto la frana, Ferrara, K-flash, 2005.

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19. Semenza E., The Story of Vajont Told by the Geologist Who Discovered the Landslide, Ferrara, K-flash, 2010. 20. Società Adriatica di Elettricità, Le dighe e le centrali idroelettriche del bacino del Piave. Elenco completo degli impianti, con i dati tecnici al 1963, Ristampa di pubblicazioni ufficiali della SADE, Società Adriatica di Elettricità, Treviso, Camillo Pavan Editore, 2001. 21. Tuan Y., Space and Place. The Perspective of Experience, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1977. 22. Zangrando F., Vajont l’acqua e la terra, Longarone, Associazione Proloco e Comune di Longarone, 1988.

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

MAPPING SOCIETIES Edited by Edoardo Boria

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 65-69 DOI: 10.4458/3253-07

A historical and war cartography for national identity in Eritrea Alessandro Riccia a

Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Filosofico-Sociali, dei Beni Culturali e del Territorio, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy Email: alessandro.ricci@uniroma2.it

Received: March 2014 – Accepted: April 2014

Abstract This contribution proposes an examination of the symbolism of some war maps to be found in the Northern Red Sea Regional Museum of Massawa, in Eritrea. The Museum, built for the 10th anniversary of independence, shows the main symbols of Eritrean national identity and the maps assume a key-role in such exposition, since they reproduce the winning battles of Eritrea against Ethiopia fought right in Massawa. The first part of the article is about the main concepts on the different functions of the maps, seen not only as instruments for the fighting of battles and for other practical reasons, but even as a symbolism of a common national feeling: in the proposed case, the maps are shown at the entrance and in the last section of the Museum, assuming great relevance in the nationalistic purposes of the Museum. Then, a short assay of the Eritrean history during the struggle for independence is directly linked with the war maps analyzed. Particular attention will be paid to the map of the “Operation Inner Massawa” of 15 February 1990, which greatly contributed to the final victory. In conclusion, some geographical considerations are proposed on the strategic position of Eritrea and Massawa, the significance of the maps during the war and for the future generations, and the consequences of the war on the social situation today. Keywords: Cartography, War Maps, Historical Maps, Eritrea, Battles of Massawa, Eritrean People’s Liberation Front, Eritrean War of Independence

1. Introduction It is well known that cartographic production can be used for multiple functions. First of all, for practical ones: for the orienteering, navigation and management – not only administrative – of lands and territories. Furthermore, there is a typology of cartographic representation that can be put into the category of maps that aim to symbolize something. They can be defined as a “symbol” (Casti, 1998): firstly of a territorial

conquest and then of a national identity. We can better understand this affirmation by just referring to what Brotton wrote about it in the first pages of his book (2013, pp. 22-23). Indeed the British author, by tracing the languages lines of the word “map”, from different regional provenances, underlines the intrinsic meaning of this word as an idea of representation, of “picture” of the world. In the several languages considered, the word “map” is always linked to a visual expression, to a direct image in front of Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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those looking at it. In the immediate depiction of the terrestrial globe, both partial or entire, in fact, the cartographer can give an image of the world in a very direct way. That image comes, above all, from a vision of it at a precise historical moment. Those observing the map are led to read it from the cartographer’s perspective, that always corresponds to a message which can be cultural, political, functional. In other words, maps can offer a view of the world, an idea of it, with a sometimes even symbolic message. This is possible also owing to the position where it is placed, and the place where it is. This has been true for the example of the Leo Belgicus (Heijden, 2006), which in the Netherlands of the 16th and 17th centuries was taken as a symbol of Dutch independence. In some cartographic representations, it has been the metaphor of some significant steps of national history. In many other cases, maps can assume the same symbolic significance, and this is also the case of the Eritrean maps we are taking into consideration. They are war maps of some key war operations for the history of the country, and they are used in order to give relevance to the country’s independence, and to enforce the national – sometimes nationalistic – feeling.

2. Maps for national identity The Northern Red Sea Regional Museum of Massawa, visited during a scientific-cultural trip organized by the Italian Geographical Society last November and December, was inaugurated in 2000, for the 10th anniversary of Operation Fenkil that liberated the city. In the Museum are collected and shown all the symbols of national identity, with particular reference to the struggle for independence. In the yard just in front of the entrance, three tanks are exhibited, there to remind the visitors of the battles fought in the city during 1990. In the Museum, you can see several sections in which are shown the typical local costumes, old people’s pictures, ancient tools for working, archaeological finds, musical instruments, other demo-ethno-anthropological symbols, and even flowers and plants. They all

aim to underline the unique and precise national identity of the Eritrean people. In the last section are the emblems of the war of independence: guns, uniforms, propaganda posters, the pictures of the war heroes and the women, who had a key-role in the final victory (Wilson, 1991). At the end of the last section, among the photos of the dramatic moments of independence, the key-figures of the battles and the slogans used for popular engagement, are exhibited two military maps. They are right at the end of the Museum and reproduce the movements of the troops during the crucial battles of the war of independence in the early 90s. At the starting point of the museum, as a first image for visitors on the right-hand wall, there is another military map, which shows the land and sea movements of the Eritrean troops in the “Operation Inner Massawa” of 15 February 1990 (Figure 1). That was a fundamental step for the Eritrean troops for the taking of Massawa and for the incursion into the inner territories, which significantly contributed to the final achievement of national freedom. That was a very important moment for Eritrean independence, after about thirty years of war against Ethiopia. The war was fought mostly by the People’s Front for Eritrean Liberation (PFEL), which in the “Fenkil Operation” of February 1990 took the strategic costal city. With it, they could also take control of the city-port, after which a reaction of the Ethiopian forces was baited, bombing the city and destroying part of it (Gessini, 2011, p. 29). Indeed, just after that Operation, the FPLE forces marched towards Asmara, where the Ethiopian militias of the North Army of the Derg, with 200,000 units surrendered about one year following the taking of Massawa. The final victory in Asmara was possible also because Mengistu escaped on 21st May 1991 (Gessini, 2011, p. 34). Three days later, on 24th May, the Eritrean autonomy of the State was declared.

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most influent and active leaders of the Front, Isaias Afewerki, became the President of the new Eritrean State (Iyob, 1995, p. 140). After the popular liberation had been concluded, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front was renamed in 1994 as the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). In the provisional government, from 1991 to 1993, the relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia were basically good: even the port of Massawa, the centre of several battles in the years before, was declared free even to the traffic of goods to Ethiopia. Iyob underlines that “Ethiopia’s need for access to sea, which had been a major justification for its control over Eritrea, was met without recourse to violence” (Iyob, 1995, p. 137).

3. The map and the nationalistic spirit

Figure 1. Map of the “Operation Inner Massawa” hanging on a wall of the Regional Museum of Massawa.

At the end of the war, and with the establishment of an ad interim government, a political process started. It ended in 1993, with the legitimacy of the independence, officially recognized after the referendum of 24th May 1993. On that occasion 99% of voters of the Eritrean people voted for national freedom from Ethiopia. From a military point of view, the independence was in the end obtained after the battles of Massawa and with the taking of Asmara, and the action of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) was of great importance in this. The EPLF was massively involved in the 80s, as the most active front in Eritrea, “having conducted the most harsh and bloody battles” (Gessini, 2011, pp. 31-32). When the government was formed, one of the Copyright© Nuova Cultura

In this “nationalistic frame”, of struggle for national independence, linked to the sense of belonging to an autonomous culture, different from the Ethiopian one, with its own symbols of that national identity, even the military cartography can assume a key-role. An instrument able to point out a key moment of the independence and to focalize the collective memory on that crucial moment for military victory. The showing and celebration of the military map, indeed, has a deep significance, as a glorification of the war winning moment and then of the political autonomy obtained with the military struggle. In the young national Eritrean entity, which is only about twenty years old, the corroboration of the national feeling is a crucial moment in the life of the nation. It is mostly used for giving the young generations – which were not actually part of the struggle for independence – the elements to maintain a local identity. It is also useful as an element of counter position against the Ethiopian culture, which has represented, in the collective imaginary, the first enemy from whom it was necessary to set themselves free. Right now, Ethiopia is considered the first threat to Eritrean freedom and to the right definition of national borders: it could be considered one of the most relevant reasons why Eritrea is progressively becoming even more enclosed,

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with a sort of fear of losing its hard fought freedom. Eritrean identity, as for other national cases, is above all a question of the recognition of its own cultural, ethnic and even folkloric aspects, that have to be distinguished from others, with their own characteristics – and even more so when they are present or past enemies. National identity passes also through the maps that represent the most evident symbol of territorial conquests. The conquests of territories are strictly associated with the acquisition of military and then political power: that is what happened in the Eritrean case. As Monique Pelletier pointed out: “maps tell even the victories and the territorial progresses; and they may become documents for the propaganda, whose diffusion is warmly encouraged” (Pelletier, 2001, p. 93). It seems that Pelletier’s assertion could be applied very well to the case being dealt with, because from being instruments of military strategy and “territorial progresses”, maps assumed a status of “documents for the propaganda”, necessary for the “diffusion” of national identity.

4. Geographical considerations Eritrea’s geographical position has guaranteed a natural access to the sea, mostly after the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ethiopia could use it as a direct way to the Red Sea and to the related traffic from the Mediterranean Sea to the East. Why did the battles of Massawa have such a great importance in the history of Eritrea, being so strategic for the final victory, and why do they have such a primary role in the collective feeling even today? It is possible to find the answers to these questions by just looking at the maps and studying the morphology of the country. First of all, Massawa was the first port of Eritrean territory, with direct access to the sea, and it was strategic both economically and commercially; secondly, because the taking of the city would have meant a significantly more rapid and easier way to reach Asmara. The capital city is 2,300 m. in altitude, “protected” by the upland, which represents a natural barrier, and it is connected Copyright© Nuova Cultura

with Asmara only by one road that is easily controlled. In short, the taking of Massawa would ensure a natural access to the Red Sea, and then the guarantee of starting the march towards Asmara. Massawa, the second city of the country after Asmara, had a great, very beautiful and fascinating architectural development, in a mixture of Italian rationalism and Ottoman style (Montesanto, De Marchi and Traverso, 2009). In the past it was known for its beauty as “The pearl of the Red Sea”. Today, Massawa shows all of its consequences of the war. The traces of the battles are visible even today in the holes in the palaces, in the dust on the streets, in the deterioration of the buildings and in the ruins on the squares. The streets are desolated. The population lives in degraded conditions, with no services, with few street lights: this situation is mostly due to the lack of commercial and port activities, which caused a dramatic impact on the city’s economy and life. Before the crisis with Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000, the city was a hub of activity, as most of the local people are keen to remind us during our visit. It is sufficient to have a look at the graphic (significantly entitled “the wars stops the economic growing”), elaborated by Treccani in the “Atlante geopolitico 2013”, that shows the trend of the GDP (in $) and the per capita GDP between 1993 and 2011, to outline the considerable decrease during the years of the second war between 1998 and 2000 (Figure 2). In its apparent state of abandon, visible to the eyes of just a few tourists, Massawa seems to be a set of an apocalyptic movie. Nevertheless it exerts a timeless and undeniable fascination and a great touristic potential. The charm of the city can be felt in the silence and inactivity of the port, the signs of the past battles fought in the city. The maps of those battles, which hit the beauty of “the pearl of the Red Sea” and which contributed to the independence of the country, are now exhibited as symbols of the national Eritrean identity. This identity is today exalted in the Museum of the city, which has been “soothed” since 1952, when Ethiopia annexed Eritrea.

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Figure 2. GDP growth rate (%) and GDP per capita (international $), in Eritrea, 1993-2011. Source: Treccani.it (“Atlante geopolitico 2013”).

The map, once an instrument for war developments and strategies, now has a further function: the one we have defined as “symbolic” and which might have a greater force compared to the merely functional one. As Emanuela Casti wrote, “the conquest of a territory has the consequence of the cartographic production that attests the happened belonging of it” (Casti, 1998, p. 29) and the diffusion of that cartographic production among the population, in fact, is “warmly encouraged”, as outlined by Pelletier.

References 1. Bottaro L. (Ed.), Gli Italiani in Eritrea. Esploratori, Missionari, Medici e Artisti, Asmara, 2003. 2. Brotton J., La storia del mondo in dodici mappe, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2013. 3. Casti E., L’ordine del mondo e la sua rappresentazione. Semiosi cartografica e autoreferenza, Milan, Unicopli, 1998. 4. Casti E., Cartografia critica. Dal Topos alla Chora, Milan, Guerini, 2013.

5. Gessini M., La Guerra tra Etiopia ed Eritrea. 1998-2000, Rome, Gan, 2011. 6. Giordano A., Eritrea-Italia. Scenari politici, economici e culturali: atti del seminario del 13 ottobre 2010, Rome, Società Geografica Italiana, 2011. 7. Heijden van der H.A.M., Leo Belgicus. An Illustrated and Annotated Carto-bibliography, Utrecht, Canaletto Alphen aan den Rijn, 2006. 8. International Crisis Group, Eritrea: the Siege State, Africa report n. 163, 21 September 2010. 9. Iyob R., The Eritrean Struggle for Independence. Domination, resistance, nationalism 1941-1993, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995. 10. Montesanto G., De Marchi G. and Traverso G., Viaggio a Massawa. Storie, immagini e personaggi della perla del mar Rosso, Asmara, Liceo Marconi, 2009. 11. Nigusie A.A., Eritrea’s policy in the Horn of Africa (1993-2008), Saarbrücken, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2011. 12. Panetta E., L’Italia in Africa. Studi italiani di etnologia e folklore dell’Africa orientale. Eritrea Etiopia Somalia, voll. I-II, Rome, Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 1973-1974. 13. Pelletier M., “Carte e potere”, in VV.AA. (Eds.), Segni e sogni della Terra. Il disegno del mondo dal mito di Atlante alla geografia delle reti, Novara, De Agostini, 2001. 14. Péninou J.L., “The Ethiopian-Eritrean Border Conflict”, Boundary and Security Bulletin, 1998, pp. 46-50, https://www.dur. ac.uk/resources/ibru/publications/full/bsb62_peninou.pdf. 15. Reid R., “Old problems in new conflicts. Some observations on Eritrea and its relations with Tigray, from liberation struggle to interstate war”, Africa, 73, 3, 2003, pp. 369-401. 16. Saleh M.A., The Saho of Eritrea. Ethnic identity and national consciousness, Zurich and Berlin, Lit Verlag, 2013. 17. Wilson A., The challenge road. Women and the Eritrean revolution, London, Earthscan, 1991.

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND (PRACTICAL) CONSIDERATIONS

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 73-79 DOI: 10.4458/3253-08

The International Geographical Union before its centennial: new challenges and developments

Vladimir Kolosova a

President of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Email: vladimirkolossov@rambler.ru

Received: June 2014 – Accepted: June 2014

The International Geographical Union (IGU, http://www.igu-online.org) is the only truly global organization reuniting geographers from about 100 countries – scholars, teachers, practitioners. It is one of the oldest academic associations in the world. The IGU was officially founded under the auspices of the International Research Council in Brussels in 1922, having been conceived some years earlier in Paris. However this debut was formal: the IGU was established as part of the broader organization of inter-national science that occurred in the early decades of the last century. Its creation was preceded by ten International Geographical Congresses, the first of which was held in Antwerp in 1871. The IGU is preparing to solemnly celebrate its centennial soon at the extraordinary congress symbolically planned in Belgium and France: a special commission comprising well known geographers from all over the world should suggest a great number of events devoted to this date. Early IGU congresses addressed such specific topics as the international standardization of the prime meridian for mapping and the agreement on the world’s time zones. In later years up to 1922 the congresses became more Copyright© Nuova Cultura

general in scope, establishing commissions to address salient aspects of geography and cartography. The IGU was a founding member of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and remains an active member of that organization, in addition to its membership in the International Social Science Council (ISSC); both function under the auspices of UNESCO. IGU membership is constituted by countries which are represented either by the national geographical society or by a special national committee, or sometimes by the leading geographical institution. The heads or other officials from each member country participate in the General Assembly which normally meets every four years during International Geographical Congresses, elects the Executive Committee, the President and the Secretary General, appoints the Chairs of the Commissions, approves the venue of the next Congresses and takes other important decisions. The latest 32nd International Geographical Congress and the General Assembly were held in Cologne, Germany, in August 2012. The Congress was attended by about 2,900 geographers from 90 countries. Attendance was restricted to the results of peer reviewed abstracts by a special International Scientific Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Committee, including well known experts from many countries. The Union relies mainly on dues from member countries to support its operations, and is supplemented by grants from outside organizations for specific projects (especially ICSU) and donations. Payments of dues fluctuate from year to year depending on national funding cycles. The IGU has a travel grant programme aimed at facilitating the participation of young scholars and colleagues from low income countries at its Congresses and Regional Conferences. In the period between the Congresses the IGU activity is guided by the Executive Committee of 11 members and functions through its 41 Commissions, two Task Forces and one Special Committee. Commissions and Task Forces are, respectively, the research and action components of the IGU. Commissions, Task Forces, and Special Committees are created in response to the changing needs of international geography. They are specialized in both different sub-disciplines (like, for instance, geomorphology, geography of transport or political geography) and in particular problems (for example, coastal systems, cold regions environment or mountain response to global change). The mandate of each Commission is confirmed by the Executive Committee every four years; some of them are replaced with the new ones. The Commission on Geographical Education is one of the most active and is now co-Chaired by Professors Joop van der Schee (the Netherlands) and John Lidstone (Australia). The IGU’s Commissions consist of the 11 members of the Steering Committee and a considerable number of people (not necessarily geographers) who more or less regularly participate at the meetings and conferences organized by them at least twice a year and are subscribed to the E-Newsletter of their Commission. Their number varies between a few hundred and a few thousand. The growth in the number of Commissions reflects the further differentiation in geographical science. Geographers still remain all too often divided by institutional and even mental boundaries. At the same time, the major challenges of the contemporary world – climate Copyright© Nuova Cultura

change, the goals of sustainable development on a local and global scale increasingly require a better understanding of the nature-society interface, i.e. close cooperation between Earth sciences and social disciplines, between the natural and social wings of geography. The IGU pays great attention to the involvement of geographers in large international programmes, its own interdisciplinary projects and welcomes the participation of all commissions at the Congresses and Regional Conferences organized in the in-between periods. In 2010-2016 such Conferences were held annually; the most recent one being in Kyoto, Japan, which gathered about 1,500 participants. The next Regional Conferences before the Congress in Beijing, China (2016) are scheduled in Krakow (Figure 1), Poland (2014), and Moscow (Figure 2), Russia (2015). The IGU Executive Committee is working out its mid-term strategy including several priorities. The first one is to keep and to strengthen the role of the IGU as a truly global organization, i.e. to increase the participation of geographers from the countries with low incomes and at the same time to make the IGU attractive to geographers from the “North”, particularly the young generations. IGU meetings and publications have to be important milestones in their careers. In 2013-2014 a few countries have either formally re-established membership or become new IGU members (for instance, Kazakhstan and Serbia) or indicated their intention to enter the IGU shortly. The EC paid special attention to networking African geographers and worked out a “roadmap” to promote membership in African and other developing countries. The first conference of African geographers initiated and co-sponsored by the IGU should be held in late 2014 in Libreville, Gabon. The second IGU priority is communication and the integration of the IGU Commissions’ activity, the development of interdisciplinary research by promoting problem- and regionoriented programmes and the cooperation between natural and social wings of geography in studying future environmental conditions and their consequences for people, and institutional, economic, and behavioral changes enabling effective steps toward global sustainability. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Figure 1. IGU Regional Conference in Kraków, Poland, 18-22 August 2014. Source: http://www.igu2014.org/.

The IGU believes that the involvement of geographers is very important in the implementation of Future Earth, the most ambitious international research programme integrating natural and social sciences that has been ever created. Through its national committees, the IGU carefully selected the candidates for its Future Earth’s Science Committee. The world geographical community is represented in it by several members, including IGU Vice-President Dahe Qin (China, Beijing). The IGU also encourages joint and special workshops, sessions and research projects sponsored by two or several Commissions. The EC worked out the

criteria for an IGU Commission excellence award and established the committee to administer it. The third priority is cooperation with local organizing committees (LOC) of IGU Congresses and Regional Conferences in order to keep their high standards, look for new flexible formats, and to bridge the gaps between geographers, policy makers and community leaders. The IGU EC closely cooperated with the LOC of the next Regional Conference in Poland and for the first time signed the Memorandum of Agreement establishing mutual commitments and financial responsibility. Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Figure 2. IGU Regional Conference in Moscow, Russia, 2015, and the General program. Source: http://www.igu2015.ru/. CopyrightÂŠ Nuova Cultura

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According to the fourth priority – the cooperation with the leading international organizations in contributing to the cohesion of geography and its better international visibility – the IGU participated in the activity of the ICSU and ISSC in involving the IGU in global research programmes and networks. The IGU has established closer relations with the Association of European Geographical Societies (EUGEO) and the European Association of Geographers (EUROGEO), and signed with them the Memorandum on cooperation. The IGU EC is also organizing “the IGU lecture” at the International Geographical Festival in Saint Dié (France). The IGU sponsors the activity of the joint Commission on Toponymy with the International Cartographic Association and maintains working contacts with the International Union of Geological Sciences (IGS) and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), in particular in Geounions, the association of international unions in the field of Earth Sciences within the ICSU. The IGU strongly supports the transdisciplinary project of the International Year on Global Understanding (IYGU, http://globalunderstanding.info). It was initiated, though in another form, by the former IGU President Professor Adalberto Vallega and is coordinated by Professor Benno Werlen, Chair of IGU Commission on Cultural Geography (Germany). The main idea of the project is to bridge the gap in awareness between local actions and global effects and to stress the urgent need for global action in an effort to resolve the problems arising from global, social and climate change. It was stressed that geographical education for global understanding is critical for addressing global challenges – for providing sustainable sources of clean water, food and energy, and for maintaining an intact environment for the wellbeing of all people. The interdisciplinary project embraces scientific research and vast programmes in the field of education and knowledge dissemination. The IGU initiative obtained the support of the ISSC and ICSU and a great number of other international and national institutions. Last year was marked by spectacular progress in the implementation of Copyright© Nuova Cultura

this project. The UNESCO Executive Board and later the UNESCO General Assembly have unanimously adopted the resolution of the IGU initiative for the IYGU presented by the group of the East African countries in the name of Rwanda. Therefore, there is a real chance that the UN General Assembly could proclaim 2016 as the IYGU in 2014. There are many journals globally that deal with the broad range represented by the discipline of Geography. In recent years the domination of major publishing houses in the scientific journal market has become much stronger and it is clear that many geographical journals are published that have a much lower profile and yet could provide a very valuable resource for geographers – researchers and teachers alike – in particular national or regional contexts. It was for this reason that the IGU embarked on a project to establish a searchable global database of geographical periodicals. Regularly updated information, including contact details, impact factor (where appropriate) and website addresses of more than 1,000 journals from more than 80 countries worldwide are now available online on the IGU website. The IGU also supports the project of making the site on cities’ sustainable development (OurSus) created in 2010 on the initiative of Dutch and Chinese geographers and coordinated by Professor Ton Dietz (the Netherlands) of the world information and certification centre working under the sponsorship of the IGU. This project is based on the idea that despite their different size, location and functions, all cities are facing similar challenges in terms of sustainable features, such as green R&D, environment-friendly consumption, green campaigns, challenges, and education, etc. In 2013 the project had a full double Internet infrastructure, in English and Chinese (http://www.oursus.org and http://zh.oursus.org). There were numerous cities presented on its website and many academics and professionals made use of it, albeit still mainly from China. It is expected that the project will reach full maturity in 2016 towards the IGU Congress in Beijing. It should have a wide and internationally balanced representation of both cities

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and users. It is necessary to mobilize geographical communities in many countries and to create national project centres. Geographical education is one of the major raisons d’être of the geographical community and its main priorities. The IGU is engaged in continuously showing the value of geographical education in various international and national academic and policy contexts. We believe it is necessary to reunite the efforts of all international and national geographical unions and associations in strengthening the positions of geography in school curricula and in adapting the teaching of geography to the needs of every person in the XXI century. In September 2013 during the IY Congress of EUGEO in Rome the joint Declaration on Geographical Education was adopted at the meeting of the representatives of the IGU, the Italian Association of Geography Education (AIIG), EUGEO and EUROGEO. This declaration (published in the October 2013 IGU E-Newsletter) stresses the role of geographical education in a changing world and expresses the growing concern of the international geogra-phical community over the shrinking role of geography in secondary school curricula. The declaration is now being transformed into real research projects and dissemination programmes. The Roadmap of its practical implementation was approved at the recent meeting of the Presidents of all three international geographical organizations. The first general objective is to work out basic requirements for geographical knowledge of each citizen in the 21st century. Such document could serve as reference point for national geographical communities, ministries of education, and other educational bodies. The second general objective is to prove the need for geographical knowledge in the everyday life of different communities via interviews and other methods, and to find the evidence that geographical knowledge obtained in secondary schools can help solve or contribute to a solution of a great number of local problems, insofar as geography is very practical and useful in everyday life. Geography is concerned with human-environmental interactions in the context of specific places and Copyright© Nuova Cultura

locations and with issues that have a strong geographical dimension like natural hazards, climate change, energy supplies, land use, migration, urbanization, poverty and identity. Geographical knowledge is at the basis of the everyday use of new information technologies. It is necessary to improve the image of geography in society and among decision makers. Geography plays the unique role in culture and education, in shaping our identities and understanding of the world. Answering the question “Where, in which country and locality do I live?”, we unavoidably answer the question “Who am I?”, “What are my ideals and values?”. Geography is the only school discipline forming an integrated vision of the world, helping young generations to appreciate its biological and cultural diversity, making them aware of the global interdependence and global implications of everyday living, showing the relationships between local and global natural and social processes. The third general objective is cooperation between geography teachers. The first step is the collection and analysis of national geographical curricula for the identification and dissemination of best practices and the development of a research agenda on geographical education. Despite the growing number of publications in this field, they lack focus and are often not grounded in data- and evidence-based studies to support decision making in geography education. There still is a gap between academic geography and geographical education. That is why a special programme, “School at the IGC and the IGC at school”, was created by the organizers of the International Geographical Congress in Cologne. School teachers came to the Congress for a full day of sessions and lectures. The programme was supported by the federal and regional ministries of education and sponsored a series of lectures by well-known geographers at high schools of North Rhine– Westphalia. It will now become a tradition of large international meetings held by the IGU. Each Congress and Regional Conference hosts the World Geographical Olympiad (Figure 3). For instance, in Cologne the Olympiad reunited 128 high school pupils from 32 countries. Its agenda consisted of written and multimedia tests and a field tour. As well as this the participants Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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of the Olympiad had to prepare a presentation on water resources and the problems of water use. The winners are traditionally honoured by high officials at the opening ceremony of the Congress. Thus, at the end of the first century of its existence the IGU is a living, developing and complicated body open to cooperation with other disciplines, teachers, governmental organizations and practitioners. It communicates with its community via the quarterly Newsletter, compiled by Vice-President

Giuliano Bellezza and via the website, maintained by Secretary-General Mike Meadows. Four issues of the new series of the E-Newsletter were published in 2013 and can be downloaded from the website by following the newsletter link from http://www.igu-online.org. The IGU now has a Facebook page and the new website design. In 2013 volume 61-62 of the IGU Bulletin was published representing the years 2011-12. The IGU also issued a leaflet on its current activity and updated the handbook for its members.

Figure 3. The 11th International Geography Olympiad webpage. Source: http://www.igeo2014.pl/.

CopyrightÂŠ Nuova Cultura

Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 81-86 DOI: 10.4458/3253-09

A Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education: Geography Education Research [by Bednarz S., Heffron S. and Huynh N.T. (Eds.), Washington, DC, Association of American Geographers, 2013] Fengtao Guoa a

Western Michigan University (Resident Scholar) and East China Normal University Email: fengtao.guo@wmich.edu

Received: January 2014 – Accepted: March 2014

1. Introduction Improving the status of geography education in the United States, whether as a stand alone subject or within the social studies curriculum as an integrated subject, will depend upon the type and quality of research. Increasingly the United States federal and state governments are basing educational policy on research evidence regarding reading and mathematics (Feuer, Towne and Shavelson, 2002). Research that investigates the learning progressions of students studying geography, the spatial thinking that is conducive to using maps and other graphics, and the content and methods used by successful teachers of geography are all researchable topics. The Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education includes three volumes: Research; Curriculum Materials and Professional Development; and Assessment in Geography. The Geography Education Research report is reviewed here. The research topics suggested in the report are considered to be necessary underpinning information for charting a new and improved pathway for education in geography, particularly in the United States.

The Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education: Geography Education Research proposes a research agenda over the next several decades. The report begins by setting the context for geography within U.S. education with a short update on its status. Dismal news from the past is reiterated, mainly that the majority of American students are geographically illiterate. The lack of geographic knowledge is verified by student performance on several geography assessments, both national and international. The report then turns its focus to the future and the ways that a well planned research agenda could provide improvements in teaching and learning geography, as well as enhanced recognition for the discipline in the school curriculum (Bednarz, Heffron and Huynh, 2013). The initiative for a major project on teaching geography began with a memo recommending that federal agencies “work with external partners with experience in geographic education to improve geography teaching, training, and researching in our Nation’s schools” (U.S. House of Representatives, 2009, p. 767). The recommendation being made at the national level of policy making, the U.S. Congress was viewed as an invitation to address Italian Association of Geography Teachers

Fengtao Guo

the issue. In response, four national geography organizations (NGS, AAG, AGS and NCGE1) collaborated to respond to the suggestion by proposing that a project be funded that would provide specific suggestions for research in geography, education, cognitive science and science education and would in turn impact the teaching of geography. The Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education Project (referred to as the Road Map Project) was conceptualized to provide specific suggestions for research on teaching and learning geography. The participants in the Road Map Project who compiled the research report included geographers, geography educators, science educators, cognitive scientists, psychologists, and social science educators. The project began with two compelling questions: 1. What areas of research will be most effective in improving geography education on a large scale; and 2. What strategies and methodologies are relevant to research communities and that can be developed and adopted to maximize the cumulative impact of education in geography (Bednarz, Heffron and Huynh, 2013).

2. The Road Map Report The report on research in geography education includes an executive summary, five chapters, an appendix and references. Chapter 1 presents a rationale for and discusses the contexts of geography education largely from a U.S. perspective. Chapter 2 examines and discusses one of two major questions presented by the report. The first question is: What areas of research will be most effective in improving geography education at a large scale? The report suggests two ways to address the question. The first way is the careful examination of educational research in related fields and the second is the development of a research framework for geography education. Chapter 3 1

NSG: National Geographic Society; AAG: Association of American Geographers; AGS: American Geographical Society; NCGE: National Council for Geographic Education.

presents a comprehensive review of geography education research that examines, often critically, the traditions of the discipline associated with educational research. Chapter 4 addresses the second major question presented within the report: What strategies and methodologies can relevant research communities develop and adopt to maximize the cumulative impact of education research in geography? This question has numerous implications due to the relatively small community of geographers who are engaged in educational research. The solution is to link the research they do with the broader community of researchers in education, cognitive science, and closely related subjects. A critical mass of research projects and endeavors, along with forward momentum in presenting their results will be necessary to gain recognition and have an impact on other research, teaching, and policies that influence geography education. The report implies that geography education in the United States is caught in a time warp between the 20th century and the scientific geography of the 21st century. Initially the Road Map reflects on the conceptual nature of and fundamental themes that have persisted in the discipline over the decades. At times in the past there have been initiatives that have boosted the visibility of geography as a school subject (Geography Education Standards Project, 1994; Joint Committee on Geographic Education of the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers, 1984). The result was a very successful attention to and reemergence of geography within the social studies curriculum. However, there remained an “understand gap” between where geography had been and where it was going, and this served as a source of resistance to change within geography education (Bednarz, Heffron and Huynh, 2013). A small, but dedicated community of geographers and educators has been engaged in an ongoing struggle to promote the multi-faceted nature of geography as perspectives, skills, and content. The nature of geography as an evolving discipline gives rise to addressing a balanced and integrated view of the discipline. That balance must include the learning of essential place names, locations, and terminology to complement powerful geographic Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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concepts, critical thinking, spatially reasoning, and dispositions towards geography as an essential source of knowledge and skills. The spirit of that movement is captured in the report. The report also gives attention to the scientific inquiry and problem-solving that are the practice of academic geography. Those traits must be transferred to “thinking geographically” and “doing geography” within elementary, secondary, and general education university level geography courses. As the basis of the transition to inquiry and problem-solving are three important geography skills: formulating geographic questions; acquiring, organizing, and analyzing geographic information; and explaining and communicating geographic patterns and processes. The Report suggests a pathway to improve geography education research that will be scalable to the regional or national level? While there has been considerable research by individual scholars, there are relative few large scale research projects, inclusive of large populations, that examined the theories and practices of geography education. There are studies from other disciplines, such as psychology and education that are somewhat related to geography education, but did not often make their way into the research literature of geography education. Several of those studies are citied in the references (Feuer, Towne and Shavelson, 2002; National Research Council, 2002). The Road Map makes two suggestions to address this misalignment between convenient research and scalable research. The first is to draw on education research in related fields, such as the research methodology used in science education. Science education research has been very influential in the development and testing of learning processes, including materials and classroom methodologies. Research in mathematics education also presents applicable models, such as those devoted to learning trajectories and progressions of cognition that are complemented by carefully designed instructional strategies. The Road Map suggests that those studies be examined as models for planning comparable research in geography education.

The second suggestion from the Road Map promotes the idea that scholars need to identify educational practices and theories that have considerable reach in the field and formulate research questions to pursue either as individuals or as a member of a collaborative project. Within that suggestion the Road Map identifies four research questions that are considered a priority to the students, teachers, the discipline and the practices of geography education. The questions are presented below. Each question is further divided into one or more recommendations regarding the topic or type of research that would answer, at least in part, the research question. The questions are designed to assist the researcher in identifying, but without necessarily recommending the scales of research projects that would be necessary. It is left to the researcher’s judgment regarding the scale of the research. Question 1: How do geographic knowledge, skills, and practices develop across individuals, settings, and time? Recommendation 1: The Committee recommends that geography education researchers engage in systematic efforts to identify learning progressions in geography both within and across grade bands (e.g., K–4, 5-8, 9-12). The goal of developing learning progressions is to establish core geographic ideas that are coupled with using knowledge, skills, and practices. Question 2: How do geographic knowledge, skills, and practices develop across the different elements of geography? Recommendation 2: The Committee recommends research that examines the components and characteristics of exemplary geography curricula. This should include curricula that are in use within geography education as well as newly designed experimental curricula. Question 3: What supports or promotes the development of geographic knowledge, skills, and practices? Italian Association of Geography Teachers

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Recommendation 3:

researched in geography education.

The Committee recommends research to investigate the characteristics of effective geography teaching. Geography teaching may be both formal and informal and each is subject to research regarding it effectiveness and transferability to a broad scale of implementation.

Recommendation 7:

Recommendation 4: The Committee recommends research about fieldwork and its impact on learning geography knowledge, skills, and practices. Direct engagement with geographic observation, data collection and observations outside the classroom may have significant enduring effects on student knowledge and values that do not occur with classroom experiences. Question 4: What is necessary to support the effective and broad implementation of the development of geographic knowledge, skills, and practices? Recommendation 5: The Committee recommends that research about teacher preparation in geography be conducted with the goal of determining the scholarship, pedagogical, and induction experiences preservice education students need to both understand and teach for student mastery in the content and practices of geography. Research based strategies and methodologies are necessary to maximize the cumulative impact of a geography education both at the classroom and at the curricular levels. Recommendation 6: The Committee recommends interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, drawing on relevant research results. Geography is a significant aspect of scholarship in its own right, but a second significant role is the integrating and complementary nature of the discipline and its importance to other school subjects. Concepts and skills, such as mapping with Geographic Information Systems, are commonly used in courses in government, history, economics and earth science. The important geography concepts of location, pattern, spatial relationship and other concepts and the manner in which they complement other disciplines are not widely CopyrightÂŠ Nuova Cultura

The Committee recommends that geography education researchers follow established principles for scientific research in education (National Research Council, 2002) and that they collect data scientifically from large samples of students in schools, other natural learning environments, and laboratory settings. Recommendation 8: The Committee recommends researchers develop and study exemplary programs, curricula, tasks, measures, and assessments to build the body of knowledge about effective geography teaching and learning. Models regarding the progressions in which students develop geographic skills as part of instruction and the applications of skills used informally outside of school are important research needs. Both in school and out of school experiences are a means to acquire and apply knowledge. Models that reveal the relationships among the formal and informal educational experiences in learning geography are necessary. Recommendation 9: The Committee recommends building partnerships with formal and informal educators to conduct research in a range of learning contexts and to share findings among the community of geography education researchers. Partnerships will enable geographers to participate in large scale research to provider results that are generalizable. The value of geography education research will likely gain greater recognition for its quality and have greater acceptance by practitioners through high quality partnering to answer common research questions. Recommendation 10: The Committee recommends the creation or designation of an institution to coordinate the implementation, dissemination, and knowledge transfer of research results. The establishment of a national or international clearing house for research in geography education and the support of a national center or laboratory for research on geographic learning.

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Recommendation 11: The Committee recommends development of “learning research” opportunities. Pre- and postdoctoral training programs, similar to NSF’s Fostering Interdisciplinary Research on Education (FIRE), can prepare participants for a range of career opportunities that will promote and disseminate geography education research. Research traditions and new paradigms for research are important in moving the research agendas of individuals and collaborative groups forward. Geography education is located at the interplay of the physical and social sciences. As a synthesizing discipline, the educational aspects of geography have much to gain through interdisciplinary research collaboration. In addition to advancing the field, it will also bring greater attention from scholars, policy makers, and funders regarding the significant role that geography plays in both formal and informal education. Recommendation 12: The Committee recommends the development and publication of a handbook that includes online tools and exemplars and that suggests areas in need of additional research. A formal Handbook for Research in Geography Education that encompasses the breadth of the discipline and its potentials within the educational process is needed. Such handbooks are published in social studies, language arts, mathematics, and other curricular subjects. An online Handbook could be updated frequently, would provide research assistance for early career researchers, and would be available to the general research community to demonstrate the progress on research in geography education. Recommendation 13: The Committee recommends that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Geography assessment be conducted at more frequent and regular intervals and that more funding for greater analysis of the test results be provided. The NAEP is the only national measure of geography education. The data are an invaluable source of research information regarding the level of proficiency in geography exhibited by U.S. students. The NAEP would permit the analysis of large Copyright© Nuova Cultura

samples of students and the changes that are occurring with samples of individuals following their formal schooling (Gallagher and Downs, 2012, pp. 56-61).

3. Conclusions A Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education: Geography Education Research was completed principally for an audience of potential researchers in the United States. However, it seems the report has a considerable reach into the international community of geography educators. In most countries there is concern that the visibility and prestige of geography education be maintained in academic and professional education. One means to accomplish that end is to present a strong, well designed and relevant research agenda that presents the benefits and advances as well as convinces policy makers of the merits and national and international advantages students exhibit as a result of a powerful foundation in geography, spatial thinking, and environmental decision making. Second, the prestige of geography education as a research oriented, academic field will also be enhanced if there is a well reasoned approach to the impact of research. Fields such as mathematics and reading have benefited from very specific step wise research that builds on prior research through replication and the evolution of additional research questions. Third, the beneficiaries of research should be the students and teachers of geography and social studies. Research that will help them be more effective learners and teachers will have a significant reach for geography into the professional education field. Acknowledgements Fengtao Guo is a doctoral student in the Department of Geography at East China Normal University, Shanghai, China 200241. During the 2013-14 academic year he was awarded a scholarship by the China Scholarship Council and has been a resident student scholar at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA 49008, where Prof. Joseph P. Stoltman has been his supervisor.

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References 1. Bednarz S., Heffron S. and Huynh N.T. (Eds.), A Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education: Geography Education Research (A report from the Geography Education Research Committee of the Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education Project), Washington, DC, Association of American Geographers, 2013. 2. Feuer M.J., Towne L. and Shavelson R.J., “Scientific Culture and Educational Research”, Educational Researcher, 31, 8, 2002, pp. 4-14. 3. Gallagher S. and Downs R. (Eds.), Geography for Life (2nd edition), Washington, DC, National Council for Geographic Education, 2012. 4. Geography Education Standards Project, Geography for Life, Washington, DC, National Geographic Research and Exploration, 1994. 5. Joint Committee on Geographic Education of the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers, Guidelines for Geographic Education, Washington, DC, Association of American Geographers, 1984. 6. National Research Council, Scientific research in education, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press, 2002. 7. U.S. House of Representatives, Conference report to accompany H.R. 3288, Washington, DC, Library of Congress, 2009.

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TEACHINGS FROM THE PAST

Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 1, 3, June, 2014, pp. 89-100

Re-reading Terrae incognitae. The place of imagination in geography by J.K. Wright Davide Papottia a

University of Parma, Parma, Italy

It may seem strange perhaps at a first glance, to see the famous pioneering essay by John Kirtland Wright, Terrae incognitae. The place of imagination in geography, re-presented in this section devoted to classic writings in the field of geographical teaching and education. I firmly believe, though, that the research perspectives indicated by the American geographer are not only still valid and challenging today, but that they also offer stimulating perspectives in a didactic perspective as well. In my brief introduction, after providing some information about the essay, I will try to explain why I think that geographical teaching can still profit from Wright’s words. Terrae incognitae was first presented as the Presidential address at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Geographical Society held in Columbus, Ohio, on December 30, 1946. It was later published in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers the following year (vol. XXXVII, 1947, pp. 1-15)1. John Kirtland Wright (1891-1969), after a training in history (he received his PhD at Harvard University), worked as a librarian at the American Geographical

For a critical reading of the essay see Keighren I.M., “Geosophy, imagination, and terrae incognitae: exploring the intellectual history of John Kirtland Wright”, Journal of Historical Geography, 31, 2005, pp. 546-562.

Society. He spent his whole professional career with the Society, eventually becoming its director2. Besides the essay we are re-proposing here, the relationship between geography and history is another issue that Wright investigated and that is still at the center of a current debate on the epistemological status of the discipline. In his book Geographical Basis of European History (New York, Henry Holt, 1928), he thoroughly investigated the close links between the two disciplines, which in his view could reciprocally profit from each other’s discourses. In his essay Terrae incognitae Wright links the pleasure of investigating with the pleasure of communicating what we have learned to other people. Teaching with enthusiasm comes directly from learning with enthusiasm: “Satisfaction in what we know and in imparting it to others, as distinguished from curiosity regarding what we do not know, is often a powerful factor” (p. 4). But the real key in the delicate balance between what we know, what we teach, and what we want to learn is the consciousness that we are always missing something: “The more brightly the light of our personal knowledge shines upon a region or a problem, the more attracted we are by the obscurities within it or concerning its entire extent” (p. 4). Presenting geography as a discipline that still has and will always have to discover many terrae incognitae, no matter how advanced technologies and sciences are, is in my opinion a very useful suggestion that immediately stands out in the elegantly written pages by Wright, a sincere 2

For a historical reading of J.K. Wright’s contribution to geography, see Koelsch W.A., “William H. Tillinghast, John K. Wright, and some antecedents of Americam humanistic geography”, Journal of Historical Geography, 29, 4, 2003, pp. 618-630.

praise to a useful practice of wonder and curiosity: “[…] the less imaginative we are the less fresh and original will be our writing and teaching, and the less effective in stimulating the imagination of others” (p. 5). The very process of transmitting knowledge, in Wright’s vision, is strictly linked to the practice of imagination: “[…] the dominant interest promoted is a desire to enjoy the process of imagining itself, and to give satisfaction to others by communicating the results in written or graphic form” (p. 6). One of the key actions that geographers could adopt, in these difficult times when the teaching of the discipline is in many countries threatened by budget cuts, severe time constraints, and diffused attacks on its meaning and role, is the adoption of a sincere dose of poetic attitude in communicating the lure of the subject: “Repression of the poetic in our imaginative faculties may deprive us of much of the satisfaction that geographical studies could otherwise yield and render our teaching and writing less powerful than they might well be” (p. 10). Another notion that we can learn from Wright’s essay is the idea that a new interest in geography is linked not only to techniques of teaching or to the re-elaboration of programmes, but to an overall renovated conception of the discipline, that could be linked to its original dimension of “thirst of knowledge”, as a “drive to explore the unknown”. The dimension of “incognitus” lies in the eye of the observer. In a world where we have ubiquitous and powerful means of registration of the visual landscapes, the experience of “being there”, of experimenting the physical immersion in a place, appears to be a fascinating frontier. In his essay Terrae incognitae Wright balances the dimension of geography as a scientific discipline, with its rules and its consolidated history, with the intimate dimension of the personal geographies, the individual geographical knowledge that permeates the imagery and the conscience of each personality. One of the most interesting suggestions that Wright’s argumenttation gives to a renovated teaching of the discipline is the centrality of the personal involvement of each student in acknowledging the borders of his/her personal geographies, while stimulating the inevitable lure of the terrae incognitae. For the very reason that nowadays our lives are constantly inundated by images, news, texts and videos from all the parts of the world thus exposing us to an incredible amount of

potential geographical information, it is crucial to find once again and to transmit new stimuli to students in order to recover the enthusiasm for exploring the allure of the “unknown”. In this perspective, Wright’s thoughts still invite us to be curious about the spaces that surround us: a basic attitude that seems a suitable perspective for a reconsideration of geography as a discipline that can help us in understanding our environment and push us towards a peaceful “conquest” of what we have not yet experienced directly with our own senses: “In the course of field work or on a summer holiday we have all climbed a mountain and gazed over inhabited and unfamiliar country. Behind us has lain the valley out of which we have come, the farm or ranch where we have sojourned. Before us has spread, if not a land unknown to the United States Geological Survey, at least a personal terra incognita of our own” (p. 2). In this perspective, Wright’s invitation is also to re-assert the centrality of the fieldwork in the teaching of geography: it is important to bring the students to a sensorial immersion in the environment, so that they can directly experience the recognition of the terrae cognitae (or supposed ones) and the fascination of the constantly moveable terrae incognitae. The implicit suggestion in Wright’s essay is that a renovated interest in geography can be sparked by the possibility to feel again a “pleasurable sense of the mysterious” (p.2). His wish for all the teachers and the students of geography could be interpreted as the possibility to “hear the Sirens’ voices” (p. 2). Keeping in mind that “the Sirens, of course, sing of different things to different folk” (p. 2). In the end, if we believe, together with John Kirtland Wright, that the realm of personal and collective geographies is the new frontier of terrae incognitae, we still have in front of us the challenging consciousness that what we have explored so far is a “pool of light in the midst of a shadow” (1947, p. 1). ---------------------------------------------------------

Terrae incognitae. The place of imagination in geography3 John Kirtland Wright 1. The sirens of terrae incognitae In earlier times literal terra incognita was seldom far from the hearthfires of men. To our stone-age ancestor a blue mountain range on the horizon might have marked its border. Beyond lay a country - of evil spirits, perhaps - into which he must often have wished to penetrate but dared not. If, finally, curiosity mastered his dread and with a few hardy companions he crossed the forbidden range, as like as not he found a region not so greatly different from his own. Thus the encircling border was pushed back a little way and a short step taken in a process that has not even yet quite reached its end. But although our stone-age ancestors and their descendants down until the dawn of modern times moved back the rim of terra incognita bit by bit, their “known world” was only a pool of light in the midst of a shadow, limitless, for all that was definitely understood and proven. Voyages into this shadow became a favorite theme of poets and story tellers; the theme of the Argonautic myth and the Odyssey, of the legends of Sinbad and Saint Brandan. Out of its darkness wild hordes poured forth from time to time to carry fire and sword across Europe: Scyths, Huns, Tartars; it was a mysterious shadow, whence came rumors of strange men and monsters, of the priestly empire of Prester John, of the Apocalyptic tribes of Gog and Magog shut behind Alexander's wall until, on the day of judgment, they shall burst out to ravage the world. Terra incognita was not without contact with the known world, and throughout most of history awareness of its menacing presence must have aroused an abiding wonder in all but the least imaginative. Possibly this wonder became rooted in the inheritable subconscious of sensitive folk and was thus transmitted from generation to generation down to our day; but, whether or not so inherited, the innermost impulse that makes us take satisfaction in geographical studies seems akin to 3

The present text was taken from the version converted by Sara Davis, Jesse Langdon, Fred Lopez, Tim O’Neill for the Geographers in the Web Project (www.colorado.edu/geography/giw/wright-jk/1947_ti /body.html).

the urge that impelled our stone-age forefathers toward the lands beyond the range. In the course of field work or on a summer holiday we have all climbed a mountain and gazed over uninhabited and unfamiliar country. Behind us has lain the valley out of which we have come, the farm or ranch where we have sojourned. Before us has spread, if not a land unknown to the United States Geological Survey, at least a personal terra incognita of our own. In the contemplative mood that mountain tops induce, we have brooded over the view, speculated on the lay of the land, experienced a pleasurable sense of the mysterious, perhaps felt even a touch of the sinister. We have heard the Sirens’ voices. The Sirens, of course, sing of different things to different folk. Some they tempt with material rewards: gold, furs, ivory, petroleum, land to settle and exploit. Some they allure with the prospect of scientific discovery. Others they call to adventure or escape. Geographers they invite more especially to map the configuration of their domain and the distribution of the various phenomena that it contains, and set the perplexing riddle of putting together the parts to form a coherent conception of the whole. But upon all alike who hear their call they lay a poetic spell. Nowadays geographers seldom or never have the opportunity to enter literal terrae incognitae totally unexplored territories - and at first glance it may seem farfetched to compare the allurement of such unknowns with the attraction that draws us toward the regions and problems with which we must actually be concerned. However, the Siren voices heard by a Columbus, a Magellan, or a Livingstone differed only in intensity but not in tone and quality from those that call us to explore our seemingly more prosaic and humdrum terrae incognitae. Let us, therefore, examine a little further into the nature of terrae incognitae of various magnitudes and types.

2. Some varieties of terrae incognitae Obviously, whether or not a particular area may be called “unknown” depends both on whose knowledge and on what kind of knowledge is taken into account. As used literally on the early European maps, the words terra incognita signified a land unknown to the map maker after he had presumably consulted all available sources of information; but if such “unknown territories”

were beyond the ken of the geographers and cartographers of Western civilization, they were known to their inhabitants, if any, and frequently to peoples of other civilizations as well. China lay deep in the heart of terra incognita to the Romans, but the Roman Empire was equally lost in “unknown land” to the Chinese. We are familiar with maps depicting the extent of the “known world” at different dates, most of which illustrate, somewhat crudely, stages in the development of the geographical knowledge of a single cultural tradition, that of the West. To round out the record, similar maps would be required for other traditions, showing the progress of the regional knowledge of Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, Hindus, Mayas, and other less advanced peoples. It would also be revealing if the dynamics of this process could be illustrated cartographically, as, for example, in the sixteenth century when the establishment of contact between Europe and the Far East produced a partial coalescence of the known worlds of Occidental and of Chinese geography. When we say “the world as known to the Greeks of the time of Eratosthenes” or “to the Americans in 1945 A.D.” we mean the areas about which certain Greeks and certain Americans were in a position to ascertain something without having to conduct exploring expeditions for the purpose. The world as actually known to the great majority of Greeks or Americans was smaller. That which is terra incognita for all practical purposes to an isolated community of hill-billies, is more extensive than that which is terra incognita to the members of this Association. Hence, depending on our point of view, there are personal, community, and national terrae incognitae: there are the terrae incognitae to different cultural traditions and civilizations; and there are also the terrae incognitae to contemporary geographical science. The meaning of terra incognita depends no less on the kind of knowledge that we are considering. There are two grades of geographical knowledge: knowledge of observed facts and knowledge derived by reasonable inference from observed facts, with which we fill in the gaps between the latter. On the basis of reasonable inference, for example, I know that the climate in those parts of Antarctica that have never been seen by human eyes is too cold to support tropical rain forests, and that it is too warm and dry in the unexplored heart of Southern Arabia for tundras and ice fields. Thus, if terra incognita be conceived in an

absolute sense as an area concerning which total human ignorance prevails, no terrae incognitae exist today on the earth’s surface. At no place on this planet is the shadow so utterly dark as it was in former times. Science has reached a point where we may interpolate sound, if incomplete, geographical knowledge into every gap. I have a summer place on the Maine coast. You geographers know nothing of it except what you could reasonably infer from your general familiarity with the region in which it lies. You might infer something about its climate, and you could also draw some conclusions as to what it is not, as we do regarding the interior of Antarctica; but as to its relief, drainage, soils, vegetation, houses, roads, and other aspects of its internal geography no published information is available to you. You might fairly surmise that the vegetation includes firs, spruces, and tamaracks, but, for all that is really known to geographical science, my land might not have a single tree upon it. If, therefore, terra incognita be conceived as an area within which no observed facts are on record in scientific literature or on maps, the interior of my place in Maine, no less than the interior of Antarctica, is a terra incognita, even though a tiny one. Indeed, if we look closely enough - if, in other words, the cartographical scale of our examination be sufficiently large - the entire earth appears as an immense patchwork of miniature terrae incognitae. Even if an area were to be minutely mapped and studied by an army of microgeographers, much about its geography would always remain unknown, and, hence, if there is no terra incognita today in an absolute sense, so also no terra is absolutely cognita. 3. The imagination in geography Naturally, other motives than our magnetic attraction toward the geographically unknown play their part in making and keeping us geographers. Satisfaction in what we know and in imparting it to others, as distinguished from curiosity regarding what we do not know, is often a powerful factor. We may relish the assimilative processes of collecting data in the field or library, or the intellectual process of thinking through complex problems, or the altruistic process of contributing something that we hope will be of use, or at least of interest, to our fellow men. But these motives are not distinctive of us as geographers, since they impel others besides ourselves. What distinguishes

the true geographer from the true chemist or the true dentist would seem to be the possession of an imagination peculiarly responsive to the stimulus of terrae incognitae both in the literal sense and more especially in the figurative sense of all that lies hidden beyond the frontiers of geographical knowledge. Indeed, the more brightly the light of our personal knowledge shines upon a region or a problem, the more attracted we are by the obscurities within it or concerning its entire extent. Geographical research seeks to convert the terrae incognitae of science into terrae cognitae of science; geographical education to convert personal terrae incognitae into personal terrae cognitae. In both cases the unknown stimulates the imagination to conjure up mental images of what to look for within it, and the more there is found, the more the imagination suggests for further search. Thus curiosity is a product of the imagination. Now, as to curiosity, it seems a little unfortunate that this word, used to designate a nosy, impertinent characteristic of monkeys, small children, and gossips, is also applied to the loftier and more impersonal impulse that drives the astronomer to search the depths of the universe and the geographer to penetrate the mysteries of terrae incognitae. “Wonder” would be a preferable term for the latter could we not experience wonder in contemplating things without seeking to understand them. At all events, the less imaginative we are, the less open to either wonder or curiosity, and geographers of weak imagination – for a few do exist, it must be admitted – are impelled by different motives. They follow in the footsteps of others, imitating stereotyped patterns, and, if their industry and imitative ability be considerable, they may succeed in teaching and even in research, serving well to maintain geography as it is and to advance it along beaten trails, if not to mark out new ones. The imagination not only projects itself into terrae incognitae and suggests routes for us to follow, but also plays upon those things that we discover and out of them makes imaginative conceptions which we seek to share with others. In the words of the late Sir Douglas Newbold: “Knowledge must pass into vision, that state of mind and heart which does not merely swallow evidence, but changes that evidence into a judgment, an appreciation, a living picture of a country”4. Unlike the mental images that we can

merely invoke from the memory - such as the remembrance of views once seen - an imaginative conception is essentially a new vision, a new creation, and consequently the less imaginative we are the less fresh and original will be our writing and teaching, and the less effective in stimulating the imaginations of others. But a powerful imagination is a dangerous tool in geography unless it be used with care. Indeed, the imagination might better be compared to a temperamental horse than to an instrument that operates precisely and with objectivity. A highly sensitive function of the mind, it is easily swayed by subjective influences, and for this reason has come in for a share of the disrepute in which subjectivity is often held in scientific circles. As I shall have a good deal to say about subjectivity in what follows, it may be well to stop here and analyze it. The disrepute in which it is held, I feel, is not altogether deserved and may be due to a mistaken belief that subjectivity is the antithesis of objectivity. Objectivity, we might all agree, is a mental disposition to conceive of things realistically, a disposition inherent partly in the will and partly in an ability to observe, remember, and reason correctly. The opposite of objectivity would, then, be a mental disposition to conceive of things unrealistically; but, clearly, this is not an adequate definition of subjectivity. As generally understood, subjectivity implies, rather, a mental disposition to conceive of things with reference to oneself, that is to say, either as they appear to one personally, or as they affect or may be affected by one’s personal interests and desires. While such a disposition often does, in fact, lead to error, illusion, or deliberate deception, it is entirely possible to conceive of things not only with reference to oneself but also realistically. Were this not the case, the human race would long ago have become extinct. Thus we may distinguish between (1) strictly impersonal objectivity, (2) illusory subjectivity, and (3) realistic, or one might even say, objective, subjectivity. To illustrate: my conception of the skunk as a small furry animal with certain distinctive abilities – not, in this case, an imaginative conception – is impersonally objective; an unobservant person's wishful conception of a particular skunk as a cat, would be a product of illusory subjectivity; and a careful observer’s accurate conception of a personal

Sudan Geography, published by the Education Department of the Sudan Government, 1946, p. 147.

In a passage from his inaugural lecture delivered at the Sudan Cultural Centre, quoted by Hodgkin R.A.,

encounter with a particular skunk would be a product of realistic subjectivity. There are three imaginative processes of importance in relation to geography, in each of which subjectivity of one form or another plays a large part. These might be called promotional, intuitive, and aesthetic imagining. The first, promotional imagining, is controlled by a desire to promote or defend any personal interest or cause other than that of seeking the objective truth for its own sake. It is subjective imagining dominated by such emotions as bias, prejudice, partiality, greed, fear, or even love, all of which may lead the imagination to produce illusory or deceptive conceptions conforming to what one would like rather than necessarily to the truth. Realistic subjectivity, however, may also influence promotional imagining. Passionate devotion to a personal or social cause may result in a no less passionate quest for realistic conceptions useful in advancing or defending that cause. Human greed for wealth and power and human partiality for particular forms of religious doctrine have yielded, as by-products, rich fruit in objective geographical knowledge. The purpose of intuitive imagining, the second type, is objective, in that the intent here is to secure realistic conceptions. It is, nevertheless a subjective process because it makes use of one's personal impressions of selected facts instead of impersonally considering and weighing all pertinent evidence. Much of the world’s accumu-lated wisdom has thus been acquired, not from the rigorous application of scientific research, but through the skillful intuitive imagining – or insight – of philosophers, prophets, statesmen, artists, and scientists. 4. Aesthetic imagining The third type of imagining – the type of which I should like to speak more especially – I have called “aesthetic,” though I use this adjective reluctantly because of its frequent, though mistaken, mental association with the disagreeable noun “aesthete.” Aesthetic imagining is merely a sub-species of promotional imagining, in which the dominant personal interest promoted is a desire to enjoy the process of imagining itself, and to give satisfaction to others by communicating the results in written or graphic form. The end purpose, therefore, is either the creation of an independent work of art or the introduction of artistry into a work of utility or of science. Much aesthetic

imagining is the product of illusory subjectivity, of a disposition to create conceptions that are fictitious or fanciful, as when a painter paints a cow as she looks to no one else on God’s earth. Much of it, however, is the result of realistic subjectivity, as when he paints the cow as she would look to you or me. This he can do either with or without the aid of aesthetic imagination. Not all cows are equally worthy of being painted and not all aspects of a given cow are equally worthy of emphasis. The imagination can guide the selection of a noteworthy cow to paint, or of an ordinary cow in a noteworthy setting, or of noteworthy aspects of either a noteworthy or an ordinary cow. And by the same token, a geographer may portray a place or region, either with conscientious but unimaginative attention to all details, or with aesthetic imagination in selecting and emphasizing aspects of the region that are distinctive or characteristic. What is the attitude of geographers toward intuitive and aesthetic imagining? There are some who believe that we should explore only such terrae incognitae as lend themselves to exploration in accordance with rigorous scientific principles, that the purpose of such exploration should be to determine exactly what these terrae incognitae contain, and that in presenting the results to others we should aspire to strict, impersonal objectivity. It may be left, these say, to the artists, poets, philosophers, novelists, and politicians to develop the aesthetic and intuitive faculties of their minds; geographers should keep to a straighter and narrower path. Others concede that many types of geographical research cannot be pursued along strictly scientific lines and that there will long remain scope in geography for skillful intuitive, if not for aesthetic, imagining. Geography deals in large measure with human beings, and the study of human affairs and motives has not yet reached a stage in which more than a small part of it can be developed as a precise science. Until it arrives at that stage, much geographical study will have to be considerably tinged with intuitive subjectivity. But also among those who hold this view, the prevalent attitude toward aesthetic imagining in geography is one of distrust. Unfortunately, this deep-seated distrust of our artistic and poetic impulses too often causes us to repress them and cover them over with incrustations of prosaic matter, and thus to become

crusty in our attitude toward anything in the realm of geography that savors of the aesthetic. Like the companions of Ulysses we would row along with ears stopped to the Sirens' song. If a little of its melody penetrate through the stopping, we would try not to let others know. Ulysses himself, however, listened to the Sirens and as a consequence, if one may interpret the matter in a fanciful vein, his whole voyage assumed to him the aura that we sense on reading the Odyssey. Had his companions survived, their accounts of the expedition would have been strictly objective, factual, realistic, but uninspired, and, like some of the geography of today, soon forgotten. In Homer’s words (as rendered by T. E. Lawrence), Ulysses returned “spirit gladdened and riper in knowledge,” and hence his account has lived forever. He was well advised to hearken to the Sirens, to allow the charm of their voices to kindle his imagination, but nevertheless to have himself bound to the mast and so pass them by. If he had paid them a visit and yielded to their allurements, and then had the fortune to escape, he would have brought back a tale so unrealistic and sensational as to repel discriminating hearers, and his tale would have been forgotten even sooner, perhaps, than would the honest if prosaic stories of the members of his crew. 5. The legitimate and the desirable in aesthetic subjectivity Our undue fear of hearkening to the Sirens would seem to spring from three fairly widespread notions: first, that aesthetic subjectivity is always unscientific, leading to illusion and error; second, that it is out of place in geography, serving no necessary functional purpose; and third, that geographers, by and large, are not skilled in giving expression to aesthetic sensitivity and hence should avoid trying to do so. In considering the validity of these three notions, I shall designate as “legitimate” such practices as do not actually interfere with the advancement of scientific geography, which is and should rightly be the primary concern of the majority of geographers, though not necessarily the exclusive concern of the totality of geographers. I shall designate as “desirable” such legitimate practices as also appear to promote the advancement either of scientific geography or of geography in a broader sense. With regard to the first notion, it is, of course, true that aesthetic subjectivity may lead to illusion

and error. There is, however, a distinction between illusion and delusion. We are by no means deluded by all of our illusions. Writers frequently create illusion for the express purpose of making more effective their exposition of truths, whether they do so merely by using an occasional metaphor like “the grapes of wrath,” or “the hounds of spring,” or by writing whole novels or epic poems. Illusion becomes delusion only when it is either designed to deceive or is unskillfully employed. Consequently, the test of the legitimacy of aesthetic subjectivity in geography is not whether or not it is illusory, but whether or not, if illusory, it leads to delusion, and it would seem entirely legitimate to enrich and add color and vividness to the style of an otherwise strictly objective geographical exposition by the use of subjective figures of speech and other aesthetic devices if they are so chosen and phrased as not to delude the reader. Subjective elements may slip into a predominantly objective exposition in the form of words or phrases that carry emotional connotations. This also would seem legitimate provided the images that such words invoke in the reader's imagination correspond to the impressions that the majority of readers would receive in the presence of the phenomena described or exposed. We are often tempted to use such expressions as “a gloomy wood,” “bitter cold,” “a majestic mountain,” “a menacing thunderhead,” “the mysterious unknown.” Budding geographers have been cautioned by their professors against employing such adjectives on the ground that they reflect the personal emotions of the writer and are not universal common denominators in the symbolism of science. A dark wood may not seem gloomy to a lumberjack, or fifty-below bitter cold to an Eskimo, or the Matterhorn majestic to all the peasants of Zermatt, or the geographically unknown mysterious to some of you. Such terms, however, are not likely to be delusive, and to cavil against their use, if it be discriminating and restrained, seems a little pedantic. Geographical works are intended to be read by persons who share a more or less common cultural heritage and whose subjective responses to like stimuli are similar. A phrase in D. G. Hogarth’s “The Nearer East” has stuck in my memory for forty years: “the awful aridity of Sinai.” Few readers of that book would remain unmoved with awe upon seeing the utterly barren mountains of the Sinaitic peninsula. Surely it is legitimate in a geographical work to convey this sense of awe to the reader, even

though the Bedouins of Sinai may take its dryness as a matter of course. Naturally, imaginative fancies that stem from some special idiosyncrasy or peculiar and passing emotional state of a writer, or that are merely whimsical, have no legitimate place in geographical expositions if they create false impressions. I should be exceeding the legitimate limits of the subjective were I to describe my Maine woodlot as an abode of hobgoblins, elves, and werewolves, even though my imagination might relish so picturing it on a moonlit night. Thus, although aesthetic subjectivity may and often does lead to delusion and error, there are ways of expressing it that do not, and hence may be regarded as at least legitimate, whether or not desirable. The second notion, that aesthetic subjectivity is out of place in geography – that, like so much window-dressing, it serves no functional purpose – brings up the question of desirability. The notion is mistaken. The functional purpose of aesthetic subjectivity is to heighten the effect by increasing the clarity and vividness of the conceptions that we seek to transmit to reader or hearer. It enables us to share with him the impressions that place or circumstance have made upon us, to bring him down to earth from the lofty observation point of the objective and make him see and feel through our eyes and feelings. Of course, there are limits beyond which this ceases to be desirable. A geographical exposition differs from a traveler’s tale in which the reader can be held at the personal level throughout. In geography the subjective should be used only to point up the objective; never permitted to crowd it out. It is sometimes argued that the style of a scientific exposition should be as clear, simple, and concise as possible, and that more is superfluous; but it should not be forgotten that the power to arouse the imagination is also a desirable adjunct. Most of what geographers write is intended to be read by others besides a few colleagues whose initial interest in a subject is so intense that their imaginations would be fired by almost any exposition, however inartistic. Even if a geographer is not writing for the general reader, whoever that may be, he should bear in mind the possibility that his work might be used in stimulating the interest of undergraduate and graduate students in his pet subject, surely a desirable end. Hence, if he wish his writing and also his teaching to exert their

optimum influence, a certain amount of artistry – at least a touch of the aesthetically subjective – must be injected into them. The third notion is that most geographers lack skill in giving expression to aesthetic sensitivity and hence should refrain from trying to do so. This, of course, is a non-sequitur. There is no question but that the majority of geographers possess aesthetic sensitivity in good measure, and skill in expressing it can be developed by them once the need is admitted. A great deal has been written and more said about the nature of geography; far less about the nature of geographers. Could we subject a few representative colleagues to a geographical psychoanalysis, I feel sure that it would often disclose the geographical libido as consisting fully as much in aesthetic sensitivity to the impressions of mountain, desert, or city as in an intellectual desire to solve objectively the problems that such environments present. The Sirens, to whom I have alluded, appeal to the artistic and the poetic that lie deep beneath the surface in most of us, for Sirens themselves are artists and poets. Obviously those few who are basically deficient in aesthetic sensitivity – and thereby functionally deaf to the Sirens – will produce lamentable results when they try to express what little they may possess, and it is always preferable to avoid aesthetic subjectivity altogether rather than to give vent to it in misleading, trite, or far-fetched forms. Nor is the technique of expressing it without doing violence either to scientific integrity or to good taste one that can be quickly mastered with the aid of rules and prescriptions, for taste itself is so largely subjective. But that sound geography can be written and taught with artistry has been demonstrated too often in the past to warrant the belief that it should not be attempted. Thus, with all due respect toward those who may think differently, I do not regard the scientific and the aesthetic either as mutually exclusive or as antagonistic in geography. Repression of the poetic in our imaginative faculties may deprive us of much of the satisfaction that geographical studies could otherwise yield and render our teaching and writing less powerful than they might well be. American geography would grow rather than shrink in stature and esteem were we to give greater scope to the aesthetic operation of our own imaginations, and, when we see sparks of artistry kindling the imaginations of our graduate students and geographical colleagues, were we to resist the temptation to stamp them out.

6. Borrowed imaginative impressions We are under no compulsion to rely exclusively on our own imagining or to make use solely of its original products. The imaginative perception of others, the feeling for place that many a sensitive traveler has recorded, may be keener and more accurate than ours and may often be borrowed to advantage. In interpreting the landscape of Iceland or of Arabia one might do better to quote here and there from Lord Dufferin or from Doughty than to try to give one’s personal impressions. It is a standard practice in the teaching of history to cultivate the student’s sense of time and contemporaneity by requiring him to read selected passages from documents written in the periods that he studies. No less valuable in the teaching of regional geography would appear to be the cultivation of the student’s sense of place by requiring him to read passages from works in which the feeling for place has been most effectively expressed. Furthermore, even though we may prefer not to borrow directly from others, our own responsiveness to the Sirens’ song is rendered more acute by reading the words of those who have also heard it, and the whole tone of our writing and teaching is enriched thereby. The realm of geography – geography in the sense of all that has been written and depicted and conceived on the subject – consists of a relatively small core area (to borrow Whittlesey’s phrase) and a much broader peripheral zone. The core comprises formal studies in geography as such; the periphery includes all of the informal geography contained in non-scientific works: in books of travel, in magazines and newspapers, in many a page of fiction and poetry, and on many a canvas. Although much of this informal geography offers little of value to us, some of it shows an insight deep into the heart of the matters with which we are most closely concerned. I venture to think that, of two geographers equally competent in all other respects, the one the better read in the imaginative passages in English literature dealing with the land of Britain could write the better regional geography of that land. The peripheral zone also includes another even more informal type of geography; that of the subjective geographical conceptions of the world about them which exist in the minds of countless ordinary folk. In order to estimate what these are, we seldom need to go as far as the sociologists do in making ostensibly “scientific” inquiries into

human attitudes. By talking sympathetically with a few intelligent folk on the ground, by consulting the files of local newspapers and other publications, and by a little adept use of intuition we may, under most circumstances, gain all that is required for our purposes. For example, the farmers of the Great Plains must look with certain sentiments on the massing of thunderheads after a long drought. Why not give life to our regional or climatological studies of the Plains by letting the reader sense this feeling? That it combines a hopeful expectancy of rain with a dread of tornadoes is a reasonable surmise, even though suggested subjectively by the imagination and only partially confirmed by conversations, rather than established rigorously on the basis of comprehensive interviews or questionnaires concerning exactly what the farmers’ attitude toward the breaking of a drought may be. 7. Geography and human knowledge I have tried to suggest some legitimate and desirable uses of the imagination in geography. I should now like to call attention to a broad domain that lies open for much more intensive geographical investigation than it has hitherto received. Human knowledge is generally regarded as a phenomenon of considerable importance on the face of this earth. It may be made the subject of two types of geographical research: we may either study the geography of any or all forms of knowledge or else we may study geographical knowledge from any or all points of view. The geography of knowledge is that aspect of systematic geography which deals potentially with knowledge and belief of all kinds, whether religious, scientific, philosophical, aesthetic, practical, or whatever else. The various forms and manifestations of knowledge are investigated in the light of their distribution and areal relationships, precisely as landforms, cities, languages, or other categories of terrestrial phenomena are investigated in other branches of systematic geography. Human knowledge, of course, is taken into account incidentally in many of these other branches and also in regional geography. Attention, however, is there concentrated on the results that knowledge produces on the face of the earth, rather than on the geographical nature of knowledge itself.

Though closely allied to cultural geography, the geography of knowledge differs from the latter to the extent that knowledge itself differs from culture. Knowledge is more fluid than culture, often spreading rapidly from one culture area to another without fundamentally altering established patterns. The sociologists have developed the sociology of knowledge more consciously and perhaps more systematically than we have developed the geography of knowledge, and would probably regard the latter as merely a part of the former. This need not trouble us, for there are many phases of geography in which we may profit from explorations conducted by others than ourselves. Though the possibilities of research into the geography of knowledge are attractive, I wish to dwell here and now more particularly upon the second type of investigation, the study of geographical knowledge. As there is no accepted term for this field comparable to “musicology” or “historiography” for the study of musical or historical knowledge respectively, I shall yield to the geographer’s perennial temptation and coin one. My term is geosophy, compounded from ge meaning “earth” and sophia meaning “knowledge.” Although this suggests theosophy, there is no connection; nor should geosophy be confused with geosophistry and geopedantry, both of which have been known to flourish. Also, lest you misunderstand, I am not trying to introduce, any of these terms into the literature of geography5. Geosophy, to repeat, is the study of geographical knowledge from any or all points of view6. To geography what historiography is to history, it deals with the nature and expression of geographical knowledge both past and present, with what Whittlesey has called “man’s sense of 5

I therefore relegate to a footnote the suggestion that the geography of knowledge might be called sophogeography on the analogy of biogeography, zoögeography, etc. 6 Studies of geographical knowledge from the geographical point of view – i.e., in terms of its geographical distribution, areal relationships, etc., as suggested under the heading “Cartographic Geosophy,” below – are contributions not only to geosophy but also to the geography of knowledge. This present address is a study in geosophy but not in the geography of knowledge. Works aiming, for example, to interpret the distribution in the United States of illiterates, or of holders of Ph.D.’s, or of persons able to read Russian, would be studies in the geography of knowledge but not in geosophy.

[terrestrial] space”7. Thus it extends far beyond the core area of scientific geographical knowledge or of geographical knowledge as otherwise systematized by geographers. Taking into account the whole peripheral realm, it covers the geographical ideas, both true and false, of all manner of people – not only geographers, but farmers and fishermen, business executives and poets, novelists and painters, Bedouins and Hottentots – and for this reason it necessarily has to do in large degree with subjective conceptions. Indeed, even those parts of it that deal with scientific geography must reckon with human desires, motives, and prejudices, for unless I am mistaken, nowhere are geographers more likely to be influenced by the subjective than in their discussions of what scientific geography is and ought to be. While it is true that subjective ideas may be studied objectively up to a certain point, geosophy certainly is not a field in which one may apply the stricter methods of analysis possible in the physical sciences and physical geography. I doubt, however, that on this account any geographer in his senses would hold geosophy to be either illegitimate or undesirable. Its value both to ourselves and to the others whom we seek to serve requires little defense. Geosophy can provide a background and a perspective indispensable to our work. It can show us where the ways in which we observe and think fit into a larger scheme. By helping us better to understand the relationships of scientific geography to the historical and cultural conditions of which it is a product, it can enable us to become better-rounded scientific geographers, when that is our purpose. Recognition of its function in these respects is implied by the methodological discussions in which many American geographers take delight, and specifically by the emphasis that Sauer, Brown, Whittlesey, and others have placed of late on values to be derived from the history of geography. There are many possible approaches to the study of geosophy. Let us consider two of these: the cartographic, and the historical approaches.

See Whittlesey D., “The Horizon of Geography”, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 35, 1945, pp. 1-38.

8. Cartographic geosophy The cartographic approach to geosophy involves the making of maps that present information about the distribution of geographical knowledge. Obviously, every map tells us something in this regard; a geosophic map is one designed specifically for the purpose. Such maps might be grouped in two main categories. The first would comprise maps that present facts relating to what is or has been known about different areas. By far the most common of these are maps showing areas that have been surveyed and mapped in various ways, for various purposes, and with varying degrees of intensity and accuracy, cartosophic maps, in other words, because they depict cartographic knowledge. In this same category, however, would also belong maps of the world as known to the Greeks or Romans, or of the United States as supposedly conceived by Ralph Brown's friend Mr. Keystone in 18108 or, perhaps, by the average contemporary Bostonian. The second group would comprise maps that reveal facts concerning geographical knowledge, present or past, in different areas or at different places. This is an almost completely virgin field for ingenious experimentation. A dot map, for example, showing the distribution of members of the Association of American Geographers and the American Society for Professional Geographers would disclose information of considerable interest regarding the distribution of geographical knowledge in North America, especially if each dot were colored according to the quality and made proportional in size to the quantity of geographical knowledge in the mind of each individual represented. Whether or not this particular geosophic map would be either feasible or desirable, geosophic maps in general bring out sharply the contrast between the shadows of ignorance and the light of knowledge. Terrae incognitae of various forms and degrees stand forth clearly upon them to arouse our curiosity.

See Brown R.H., “Mirror for Americans: Likeness of the Eastern Seaboard, 1810”, American Geographical Society Special Publication, 27, 1943.

9. Historical geography, or the history of geography The historical approach to geosophy implies the study of the history of geographical knowledge, or what we customarily call “the history of geography.” This subject is usually understood to deal with the record of geographical knowledge as acquired through exploration and field work, and as formalized and made into a discipline, and most of the work that has actually been done in the field has been restricted to the core area of geographical knowledge to the exclusion of its peripheral zone. There is, however, merit in conceiving it more comprehensively. I have already suggested that geographical knowledge of one kind or another is universal among men, and in no sense a monopoly of geographers. All persons know some geography, and I venture to think that many of the animals do, also. However it may be with the animals, such knowledge is acquired in the first instance through observations of many kinds, from the stone-age man's view of distant ranges to the precise geodetic measurements of today aided by the use of electronic devices. Its acquisition, in turn, is conditioned by the complex interplay of cultural and psychological factors. The data with which it deals fall within the scope of each and every one of the natural sciences, the social studies, and the humanities. Its conceptions range from the purely personal, subjective impressions of a farmer or a hunter, to those gained by rigorous mathematical calculations and highly refined statistical correlations, and find expression not only in scientific forms but throughout literature and art. Indeed, nearly every important activity in which man engages, from hoeing a field, or writing a book, or conducting a business, to spreading a gospel or waging a war, is to some extent affected by the geographical knowledge at his disposal. If, therefore, the history of geography be conceived as potentially embracing all of the geographical knowledge of the past in its various relationships of cause and effect, it is an immense subject indeed. It is, however, no more immense than certain subjects of which the teaching is being promoted today notably the history of science or of the humanities in general, or “contemporary civilization” and has, besides, one advantage over these, in that it ties together with a unifying thread – that of geography – a record of wide and representative segments of human enterprise,

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thought, emotion, and techniques. For this reason, I submit that it is a subject of which the investigation and the teaching offer superb educational and cultural values. 10. An aspiration I shall conclude by expressing an aspiration, quite impractical, no doubt, and not to be taken too literally. My aspiration is that there might one day be established in some of our universities or colleges chairs of geosophy and the geography of knowledge. The purpose would be to increase the effectiveness of geographical research and education by broadening their scope. One school of thought has held that the effectiveness of geography can be increased only by limiting its scope, but this school would seem to confuse the effectiveness of geography as a discipline or profession with that of the individual geographer or existing university department. The more general tendency today is to stress the need of better linkage between geography and other subjects, notably ecology, soil science, agricultural and industrial economics, and cultural anthropology, and not a few regret the loosening of ties with geology and the various branches of geophysics. To the desirability of establishing and reëstablishing such contacts, I would add, as no less desirable, the reëstablishment of closer connections with history and the humanities. In the periphery that lies outside the core area of scientific geography there are alluring terrae incognitae. If we ourselves do not personally feel equipped or competent to conduct excursions into them, should we exclude them from the scope of our sympathies? Although most of us are committed to the advancement of scientific geography along straight and narrow paths and would do well not to deviate too far from the directions in which they lead, we may at least extend our interest and encouragement to those who daringly strike out upon other routes. There is something to be said for considering scholarship, as distinguished from science alone, as our métier. All science should be scholarly, but not all scholarship can be rigorously scientific. Scholarship, moreover, embraces not only the natural sciences and social studies but also the humanities – the arts and letters – inquiring no less into the world of subjective experience and imaginative expression than into that of external reality. The terrae incognitae of the periphery

contain fertile ground awaiting cultivation with the tools and in the spirit of the humanities. The professors whom I have in mind would develop their subjects along different lines according to their tastes. Some might specialize in the geosophy of scientific geography, in its history, its methods, and perhaps in comparative biographical studies of the careers of individual geographers as bearing on the larger progress of geography. Others might concern themselves with geographical conceptions, both scientific and otherwise, as influencing and influenced by particular human activities and motives, or with particular categories of geographical knowledge in relation to the changing tides of doctrine and opinion. At least one or two should surely devote themselves to what might be called aesthetic geosophy, the study of the expression of geographical conceptions in literature and in art. Literary historians, but few geographers, have followed the Sirens' call into these terrae incognitae. Need we leave their exploration wholly to the literary scholars? One function of my hypothetical professors of aesthetic geosophy – though God forbid they be called by such an atrocious title – would be to prevent the oncoming generations of geographers from becoming too thickly encrusted in the prosaic and to render the study of geography more powerful than it would now seem to be in firing the artistic and poetic imaginations of students and public. These professors should be scholars in the humanistic sense, men widely read in the classics of geography and also in general literature and in literary criticism and history. Masters of a style not only clear but restrainedly artistic, their writings might help raise the standards of geographical writing as a whole. Their research and teaching would be directed toward the discovery and the interpretation of geographical truth, belief, and error as they find and have found literary and artistic expression. As long as they did not come to regard themselves as the only true exponents of what geography ought to be, there would be little danger of their exerting an adverse effect upon the advancement and the prestige of scientific geography. They could do much to keep our ears open to the Sirens’ song and make our voyaging into geographical unknowns a perennially satisfying venture, for, perhaps, the most fascinating terrae incognitae of all are those that lie within the minds and hearts of men.

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