Geography with Dan

NEW FIVE-PART SERIES!

COLOURING IN-BETWEEN THE LINES

STARTS SUNDAY 25TH MAY 2014

 

There is a contested argument swarming around British Geography departments these days, that geographers simply 'colour in' maps of the world, or draw 'pretty pictures' of rivers and mountains. For many years, geographers have retaliated back and argued strongly that the discipline is more than just maps and diagrams; it's about complex inter-relationships between different locales.

Well, that maybe true, but it doesn't necessarily prevent the derogatory claims about the 'softness' of the subject; it doesn't stop Jim the physicist or Martha the chemist from likening geography to an afternoon of colouring.

Over the next five weeks, starting tomorrow (25th May), I will be launching a new series of articles for Geography with Dan. Five articles which highlight the importance of 'colour' in a subject like Geography; after all, this is one of the most colourful planets in our solar system.

I will be taking one colour each week and exploring just how that colour plays a vital part in our everyday lives. Now I'm not saying that every geographer should now go out and purchase a set of Crayola crayons, but I want to express an unprecedented argument that those who associate 'Geography' with 'Colour' may have a point.