The Scope of Geography (RLE Social & Cultural Geography) (Routledge Library Editions: Social and Cultural Geography)

This book introduces the beginning student to the major concepts, materials and tools of the discipline of geography. While it presents geographic theory, as whole and for each of its parts, the chief emphasis is on concrete analysis and example rather than on abstraction, an approach which has proven more successful for undergraduate courses than those with a more heavily theoretical bias. The text was extensively re-written for the third edition, which enhanced its clarity and effectiveness, with expanded cartographic coverage. .. Re-issuing books originally published between 1969 and 1990 this set of 15 volumes gives a 20 year perspective on the development of the discipline of social geography. The books emphasize the increasingly important contribution of geographical theory to the understanding of social change, values, economic and political organization and ethical imperatives. The volumes are authored by well-known international geographers and discuss the philosophy and sociology of geography as well as key themes such as the geography of health, crime, space. They also examine the cross-over of geography with other disciplines, such as literature and history. The book examines data sources, discusses different crimes and ways of studying them and considers the fear of crime. The criminal justice system in the UK is examined in detail, including policy, the operations of community and police committees and an account of the experience of crime prevention policies in Britain and North America is also given. The chapters in this book address fundamental questions of the nature and purpose of geography, scrutinising its contents, philosophy and methodology. Aimed at undergraduates its purpose is to broaden the debate about what geography had become during the 1980s and what shape it might take in the future