Distinguished faculty, honored guests, geography department staff and fellow graduates.
I am very happy to be here and greatly appreciate the opportunity to offer a few words to the collection of memories that are being gathered during our time together. Writing these offerings has been a labor of love, and, I admit, that I have struggled with this assignment over the last week-and-a-half. Yet, as it has been with all my course assignments, the constant ticking of my old wall clock at home, has lead to one more deadline, and the time for revision has past.
I will offer a response to the question, “Why Geography?” Meaning, why I chose to study geography. I’ve been asked that question, often, over these last eight years. Accompanying the question, have been the interesting ways in which the field of Geography is sometimes perceived by others. Perceptions include things like: “Hmmm, yeah, I guess it is good to know where things are,” and, “Oh, yes, have you been enjoying your study of rocks?”
One of my insights into why I chose to study geography comes from some of the experiential understandings I have about myself. I remember being a very observant child, and very interested in knowing where I was at all times. While traveling with my family along our “beaten paths,” I found satisfaction in remembering every turn in the road, and comfort in the seemingly, steadfast patterns on the landscape we encountered along our way. Accompanying this, was a healthy dose of the compulsive question, “how many more minutes ‘til we get there?” Also while growing up, I remember going to large shopping malls with my Mom and of my being acutely aware of where we were spatially in relation to the car at any given moment. Many times, I would make a game of finding the most direct way back. As a young adult, I was the navigator for my husband (George) and I as we drove from California to Costa Rica, and then back again three years later. Since returning to school, if a course required an in-class exam, I would study by consolidating the course material onto multiple sheets of large 11 x 17 pieces of paper. Each page was specific to one of the course’s subtopics. When it came time to respond to the essay questions on the final, I would formulate my response by visualizing the respective study sheet in my mind and by remembering various pieces of information by it’s location on the page. My mind would crisscross the page spatially pulling in various threads for that particular essay’s argument. These are just a few insights I have about myself as to why Geography was a good choice of study for me. My hope is, is that some of these images I’ve just shared may resonate in some ways for you, as well.
I have come to believe that Geographers are, by nature, extremely curious people. A Geographer’s work combines a subject matter (whether it be human, physical, biological or combination thereof), with a set of self-imposed contextual boundaries tied to a particular area and/or on a particular landscape. Perhaps more importantly, Geographers use their own experiential understandings of space, and corresponding research observations, to appreciate how relational space is not always located directly adjacent to each other. This might best be visualized by imagining a thrown rock skipping along the surface of water. For a geographer, the multiple ripples this rock creates, are a reaction and response to its encounter with the rock. In turn, the water’s impact on the rock affects the rock’s trajectory. For a brief moment, at least until the ripples fade and the rock sinks to the bottom, the outcome of their interaction is intertwined. This image, may, of course, be extrapolated to larger, more important understandings about how we perceive our world.
On choosing my major, I was approached by a Sociology Professor who had an office in the building where I worked. He said, “Anne, Geography just doesn’t provide enough specialization. If you ever want to pursue graduate work, you really need to specialize in your undergraduate studies.” I have occasionally encountered these kinds of attitudes about geography from other academics. In those moments, I struggled with feeling confident enough to respond effectively. Yet, I’d like to think that I might be confident enough to do so now.
Geography is not about rote memorization of our physical, biological, and political worlds. Geography provides opportunities for mapping understandings about our world that are seemingly very simple, yet simultaneously, very complex. I believe that it is in the midst of this contradiction, between simplicity and complexity that one may encounter or stumble into realms of common sense. To some, the study of Geography stands in sharp contrast to our increasingly specialized understandings of our world. I consider Geography’s specialization to be the loyalty to the inter-disciplinary realities that form our experiences and encompass our spatial environments. As Geographer’s interpret and map spatial understandings, we seek to clarify the blurred edges amongst the ripples created by that skipping rock; we are seekers of common sense.
More, recently, say within the last two to three years, I’ve noticed different attitudes about geography beginning to emerge, and a somewhat renewed interest in geographical thought. I was asked recently by a Social Psychologist what I was majoring in, and after responding, he said enthusiastically, “great subject, I mean really, great subject.” I have also sensed an increase in people’s interest in maps. Social Psychology graduate students have been coming into my office at work and commenting on my favorite wall map. The graduate students seem genuinely interested in it, and usually start talking about some of the recent experiences they have had with maps and how much they like them. They say things like, “maps are really cool.” But, Geographers have always understood this. I have no hard research to go on here, but as a geographer, I’ve been curious to know if anyone else has been noticing this shift towards more of an appreciation for the inter-disciplinary nature of the Geographical perspective?
I want to thank you again for this opportunity to offer a few of my thoughts on this happy day we are sharing together, and to add my congratulations to this year’s class of Graduates. I wish us luck in all our future endeavors, and that the various endeavors we take on, provide us with the kinds of journey’s which enable us to encounter realms of common sense.
