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This article critically reflects on the Victoria County History's (VCH) relationship with participatory historical geography approaches. Telling a story of change, it argues that it is not only possible, but also extremely productive for long‐standing, well‐established academic research projects to embrace participatory approaches and engage in transformative research. The VCH is a national project to write the history of every parish‐sized area in England. Begun in 1899, the VCH's contemporary network of place‐based historians still actively pursues this goal. Overseen by a central editorial team, most of the network's activities are conceived, run and funded by independent county trusts. These trusts research and write the VCH's well‐known ‘Big Red Books’ and a range of shorter publications, but have also begun to cultivate participatory projects that embed local communities in the development of local histories and allow these communities to reflect on how their histories have shaped their collective identities. Focusing on the project's engagement with local knowledge and communities, this article traces the VCH's use of collaborative and participatory methodologies. Acknowledging the VCH's routes in Victorian encyclopaedic endeavours, it critically reflects on how it collaborated with local people during the early twentieth century. Shifting its attention to the early twenty‐first century, it then considers how the VCH has begun to develop frameworks for engaging in individually, socially and academically transformative research. While recognising the limitations of these approaches, it highlights the latent potential within the VCH's emerging engagement with participatory historical geography approaches and, emphasising how the project's future depends on continual integration of participatory methods within its activities and outputs, identifies several ways in which the VCH could continue to develop its participatory methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a typical intangible cultural heritage, Toponymic Cultural Heritage (TCH) is rich in geographic information and semantic and physical connotations. In the context of the heritage conservation era, it is highly important to study the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of toponymic cultural heritage and explore its historical and geographic influencing factors on the sustainable conservation and development of toponymic cultural heritage. However, most existing studies focus on the toponym cultural landscape, and less attention has been given to TCH. Therefore, on the basis of the data of 357 provincial TCH items in Jiangsu Province, this study investigated the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and historical–geographical influencing factors of the TCH by using geospatial analysis methods, such as the average nearest neighbor, tyson polygon, kernel density estimation, standard deviational ellipse, and superposition coupling analysis, and proposed several strategies for adaptive reuse of TCH. The results show that (1) the TCHs of Jiangsu Province have a spatial distribution characteristic of "sparse in the north, scattered in the middle and dense in the south" and form a high-density agglomeration around the southern part of Jiangsu Province. In the distribution of cultural districts, the Jinling cultural district, the Wu cultural district, and the Huaiyang cultural district have the largest number of TCHs. (2) From the Pre-Qin period to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, TCHs, such as Nanjing, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, and Suzhou, tended to merge in the southern part of Jiangsu. (3) In terms of type, the roads, streets and alleys of TCHs are the richest, and all types of TCHs are spatially clustered in the southern part of Jiangsu Province, which has a high level of urbanization, industrialization, and a superior geographic environment. (4) TCHs have spatial tendencies toward low altitudes and hydrophilicity, and relatively favorable natural geographical conditions provide a high-quality environment for TCHs in southern Jiangsu Province. Influenced by historical, humanistic, and geographical factors, TCH is unevenly developed spatially. As a historical population concentration area, an important political, economic, and cultural core area, and a center of gravity for cultural development, more TCH resources have survived in the southern part of Jiangsu Province. This study provides a new perspective for interpreting and recognizing TCH as a special intangible cultural heritage and can provide a reference for the sustainable conservation and development of TCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Marion Newbigin Prize 2024 was awarded to Ben Anderson for his article on 'Boredom and the politics of climate change' in the Scottish Geographical Journal. The selection process involved nominations from the Editorial Board and qualitative assessments from members. Other notable articles included studies on weather futures in Stornoway, historical geography of Scottish lunatic asylums, and the impact of David Harvey on geography and Marxism. The Editorial Team expressed gratitude for the thoughtful engagement of Board members with the journal's content. [Extracted from the article]

While historical geographers and historians increasingly recognise the benefits of and need for participatory research, the rigid structures regimenting academic practice have acted as barriers to successful knowledge exchange. Community involvement and place‐based research come with a number of challenges characterised by miscommunications, frustrations, and failures. This paper reflects on findings that emerged from a three‐month internship investigating public and community engagement activities at the Centre for History, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). The internship was the outcome of a collaboration between UHI and the Centre for the History of People, Place, and Community (CHPPC), Institute of Historical Research London (IHR). Based on interviews with UHI academics and heritage institutions beyond the Higher Education sector based across the Highlands and Islands, the paper explores the inevitable pitfalls that comes with community engagement and the ethical questions raised by knowledge co‐production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sub‐discipline of historical geography in Brazil, in contrast to the Anglophone and Francophone scholarship, often tends to be overlooked by the northern disciplinary history of this sub‐discipline. In Brazil, historical geography studies emerged in the 1980s as a result of personal initiatives. Nonetheless, in the last few years, distinct generations of Brazilian historical geographers have contributed to this sub‐discipline's promotion and recognition, mainly by diversifying their methodological approaches and research interests. Undoubtedly, developing transnational academic networks and collaborations represents a crucial contribution. This review provides an overview of the main Brazilian historical geographers engaged in studying past geographies. It delves into the central themes they address and also examines the academic conferences and research groups responsible for establishing institutional spaces to foster the practice of historical geography in Brazil in recent years. In doing so, the review calls for a 'polyphonic' approach to historical geography, urging the inclusion of southern sites of knowledge production and embracing a diverse scholarship beyond the English‐speaking community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World is the property of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This short reflection on forty years of the UK's History and Philosophy of Geography group reflects on the poetics of geographical knowledge. Whilst histories of geography have diverged from philosophies of geography over recent years, the intervention proposes that a useful avenue of enquiry for future work is to develop fuller historical and philosophical accounts of the forms and poetics of geographical writing. This includes: philosophical reflection on form and space; historical studies of the varying forms, styles, and poetics of geographical knowledge; and active experiments with formal aspects of writing. Through a short reflection on the ethics of Jean-Marie Guyau (a sociologist whose naturalist and vitalist ethics had an important influence on anarchist geographers) the paper proposes an approach to the authority of geographical texts that is animated by an anomic ethos that is: genetic; affirmative; and generous. • Proposes an agenda for future histories and philosophies of geography based on experimental genealogical analyses of form and aesthetics. • Explores the different forms of authority co-constructed through the forms, styles and genres of geographical writing. • Argues that a productive space of intersection between history and philosophy of geography can be found in a revitalised genealogical study of the forms and aesthetics of geographical writing. • Draws on Jean-Marie Guyau's vitalist ethics to argue for a genealogical approach to ethics of history and philosophy of geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic History Research / Investigaciones de Historia Económica is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Historia Economica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyzes two comparable yet distinct river deltas, the Sénégal and the Mississippi, towards bringing into relief the consequences of imposing rigidity upon fluid natural environments. What invites this comparison is the similar histories and colonial experiences of the two delta cities in question, Saint-Louis du Sénégal in western Africa and New Orleans, Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico coast of the United States. The analysis begins with a tracing of the channel and watersheds of the Sénégal and Mississippi rivers from the headwaters to their mouths, and explains the role of fluidity and dynamism in the formation of their deltas. Next it recounts the structural 'hardening' of these conditions, both in the foundation of the two cities as well as in the constraint and control imposed over their respective inland rivers. We then assess the dire consequences of this transformation, and use these lessons to extract comparative information on the two deltaic systems. We find that the Sénégal and Mississippi Deltas, while hydrologically different, are united in the dilemmatic nature of their shared crises. Saving both deltas will mean that some human communities, despite their historical, cultural, and economic significance, will have to relocate to minimize future loss and allow aggressive coastal restoration to commence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the work of poet and scholar Craig Santos Perez, focusing on his exploration of oceanic ecopoetics and the marginalization of his homeland, Guåhan (Guam), and Indigenous CHamoru culture. Perez's poetry challenges the representation of the ocean as empty and devoid of significance, and instead reinvigorates traditional CHamoru ocean knowledges. The article also discusses the role of maps and cartography in colonialism and the exploitation of ocean spaces, as well as the importance of revitalizing indigenous knowledge and practices to resist these forms of enclosure and exploitation. Additionally, the article explores the themes and techniques used by Perez in his collection of poems, [lukao], which highlight the interconnectedness of human and nonhuman bodies and emphasize the importance of environmental care and multispecies kinship. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The concept of Iranshahr first surfaced in the Inscription of the First Shah Poor in the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht during the third century, proliferating in inscriptions, coins, and texts throughout the Sassanid era. With the collapse of the Sassanid dynasty due to the invasion of Muslim Arabs, the Iran plateau became part of the Islamic Caliphate. Some scholars argue that following the demise of the Sassanian dynasty, the unity of Iranshahr, along with its political independence, was disintegrated. The significance of Iranshahr in Islamic texts denotes the ancient plateau of Iran, evoking a nostalgic memory that endured in literature and collective consciousness. This study aims to scrutinize and reassess the continuity of Iranshahr's integrity through an examination of geographical and historical texts from the Islamic period. By analyzing these sources, the research seeks to elucidate and affirm the persistence of the concept during the Islamic era, portraying the region's cities as distinct from other Islamic cities within the dar al-Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As a typical intangible cultural heritage, Toponymic Cultural Heritage (TCH) is rich in geographic information and semantic and physical connotations. In the context of the heritage conservation era, it is highly important to study the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of toponymic cultural heritage and explore its historical and geographic influencing factors on the sustainable conservation and development of toponymic cultural heritage. However, most existing studies focus on the toponym cultural landscape, and less attention has been given to TCH. Therefore, on the basis of the data of 357 provincial TCH items in Jiangsu Province, this study investigated the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and historical–geographical influencing factors of the TCH by using geospatial analysis methods, such as the average nearest neighbor, tyson polygon, kernel density estimation, standard deviational ellipse, and superposition coupling analysis, and proposed several strategies for adaptive reuse of TCH. The results show that (1) the TCHs of Jiangsu Province have a spatial distribution characteristic of "sparse in the north, scattered in the middle and dense in the south" and form a high-density agglomeration around the southern part of Jiangsu Province. In the distribution of cultural districts, the Jinling cultural district, the Wu cultural district, and the Huaiyang cultural district have the largest number of TCHs. (2) From the Pre-Qin period to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, TCHs, such as Nanjing, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, and Suzhou, tended to merge in the southern part of Jiangsu. (3) In terms of type, the roads, streets and alleys of TCHs are the richest, and all types of TCHs are spatially clustered in the southern part of Jiangsu Province, which has a high level of urbanization, industrialization, and a superior geographic environment. (4) TCHs have spatial tendencies toward low altitudes and hydrophilicity, and relatively favorable natural geographical conditions provide a high-quality environment for TCHs in southern Jiangsu Province. Influenced by historical, humanistic, and geographical factors, TCH is unevenly developed spatially. As a historical population concentration area, an important political, economic, and cultural core area, and a center of gravity for cultural development, more TCH resources have survived in the southern part of Jiangsu Province. This study provides a new perspective for interpreting and recognizing TCH as a special intangible cultural heritage and can provide a reference for the sustainable conservation and development of TCH.

Chinese texts from the 5th to the 11th centuries, including chronicles, treatises, encyclopaedias, and travellers’ reports, frequently mention both mythical and real states ruled by a line of female monarchs (referred to as Nü guo, “Kingdom of Women,” or Nü-wang guo, “Kingdom of a Woman King”). This study aims to localize those “Kingdoms of Women” situated in or near Tibet. In doing so, it addresses whether the macrotoponyms Nü guo and Nü-wang guo refer to actual or legendary regions. Analysis of the sources reveals that the chronicles describe Kingdoms of Women located on opposite sides of the Tibetan Plateau. By synthesising information from multiple disciplines, including extensive ethnographic material, the study identifies the geographical location of a Kingdom of Women in Eastern Tibet, within the Sino-Tibetan borderlands. In this region, matrilineal families, primarily composed of women and their descendants, were prevalent. Local architecture also displays a clear connection to the Kingdom of Women described in medieval Chinese documents. Additionally, a potential cultural parallel is found in the significant role of monkeys among the Qiang, a borderland ethnic group that maintained traditional beliefs. The findings suggest that the toponyms Nü guo and Nü-wang guo correspond to a real kingdom encompassing territories in the Daduhe and Yalongjiang river basins, located at the geographical and civilizational boundary between Tibet and China.

The article summarizes the results of the study of the macrotoponyms ‘Zhetysu’ and ‘Semirechye’ (South-Eastern Kazakhstan) widely used in archaeological science and oriental studies since the second half of the 19th century up until the present time. The aim of the study is to advance the research on the clarification of the toponyms ‘Zhetysu’ and ‘Semirechye’ and to propose their proper use in the archaeological science. In this paper, we expand the range of the sources in order to verify the main provisions of the previous study on the materials of Kazakh folklore and literature of the 19th — early 20th c. The results of the focused study are the following: the term ‘Zhetysu’ originated in the end of the 18th — beginning of the 19th century, before its Russian translation as ‘Semirechye’. Initially, ‘Zhetysu’ denoted difficult sections of caravan roads in the north and south-east of Kazakhstan, along which Russia’s international trade with Middle Asia and China was carried out. The toponym ‘Semirechye’ appeared around 1825 and was first used as a geographical name of the Southern Balkhash region, and after the creation of the Semirechenskaya Oblast (1867) it designated its administrative-territorial boundaries. In the latter meaning, the toponym was used until the 1930s. Since the 1930s, A.N. Bernshtam, breaking with the historiographic tradition, introduced into scientific discourse an erroneously extended meaning of ‘Semirechye’, which includes the Chu-Talas interfluve. In the Kazakh folklore, the toponym ‘Zhetysu’ appeared not earlier than the last third of the 19th century, as the Kazakh translation of ‘Semirechye’ after creation of the Semirechenskaya Oblast. The lack of understanding by Kazakh authors of the concrete territorial boundaries of ‘Zhetysu’ makes the synonymous replacement of the toponym ‘Semirechye’ incorrect. The current administrative region of Zhetysu occupies a part of Semirechye, i.e., South-Eastern Kazakhstan, that includes only the territory north of the Ili River.

Abstract The Chinese nation has evolved through history and is inextricably linked with geographical factors. Since the inception of the concept of “Chinese nation” in the twentieth century, Chinese scholars have made significant contributions to understanding this concept from a historical geography perspective. This paper undertakes an examination and discussion of these contributions, highlighting three main aspects in which Chinese scholars in the twentieth century have significantly enhanced the concept of “Chinese nation” from a historical geography perspective: firstly, escaping the trap of “China Proper” and comprehensively understanding the Chinese nation from a geographical perspective; secondly, breaking the spatial barrier set up by the Great Wall, endowing the Chinese nation with a complete geographical space; thirdly, The Historical Atlas of China clarifying the connection between historical China and modern China, providing a comprehensive geographical basis for understanding the formation and development of the Chinese nation. The paper, contextualized within the historical backdrop, provides an analysis and discourse on these three aspects, indicating that the contributions of scholars in the twentieth century were instrumental in refining the concept of the Chinese nation from a historical geography perspective, illustrating the inseparable connection between nation and geography. Only through the organic integration of history, nation, and geography can we fully grasp the historical trajectory and geographical foundation of the Chinese nation.

The Chinese nation has evolved through history and is inextricably linked with geographical factors. Since the inception of the concept of "Chinese nation" in the twentieth century, Chinese scholars have made significant contributions to understanding this concept from a historical geography perspective. This paper undertakes an examination and discussion of these contributions, highlighting three main aspects in which Chinese scholars in the twentieth century have significantly enhanced the concept of "Chinese nation" from a historical geography perspective: firstly, escaping the trap of "China Proper" and comprehensively understanding the Chinese nation from a geographical perspective; secondly, breaking the spatial barrier set up by the Great Wall, endowing the Chinese nation with a complete geographical space; thirdly, The Historical Atlas of China clarifying the connection between historical China and modern China, providing a comprehensive geographical basis for understanding the formation and development of the Chinese nation. The paper, contextualized within the historical backdrop, provides an analysis and discourse on these three aspects, indicating that the contributions of scholars in the twentieth century were instrumental in refining the concept of the Chinese nation from a historical geography perspective, illustrating the inseparable connection between nation and geography. Only through the organic integration of history, nation, and geography can we fully grasp the historical trajectory and geographical foundation of the Chinese nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of transportation in forced displacement and genocidal projects throughout history, with a focus on the Holocaust. It highlights the use of railways, vehicles, and maritime infrastructure in the movement of civilian populations during times of conflict. The article also raises questions about accountability for the agencies and individuals involved in conflict transport and explores the potential for further research on the topic. It emphasizes the need for a multi-perspectival and global understanding of conflict transport, beyond the classical geography of the Holocaust. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents an interview with Verena Winiwarter, Professor of Environmental History at the University of Vienna. She discusses the early history of the European Society for Environmental History (ESEH), including the first ESEH conference in Saint Andrews, Scotland, the establishment of the society's structure, and the creation of its website. Topics include the society's origins, early conferences, and initial digital resources.

While the contemporary influenza season in South Africa is understood, its historical occurrence and dynamics are not. This study applies methods in historical geography, using archival newspaper reports to reconstruct the historical influenza season in South Africa over the past century (1904–2019) to examine changes in the seasonality of influenza in South Africa, and to compare this to contemporary records. A 20% seasonal threshold was calculated and applied to the data to return this approximate 19-week season, with the start of the influenza season ranging from week one in 1917 to week 41 of the year in 1918. On average, over the past century, the South African influenza season has started in the first week of May and ended in the last week of August, lasting 19 weeks. This outcome aligns with the contemporary influenza season described in other studies. These records reveal considerable interannual variability in length and timing with no unimodal shifts. The most linked climate phenomenon to influenza transmission rate were cold and winter conditions. This has important implications in advancing the timing of influenza vaccines to the late summer and early autumn weeks. Moreover, this shows how archival newspaper proxy records can help us reconstruct the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The palimpsest, a manuscript on which the original writing has been erased to make room for later writing, is proposed as a metaphor and method of reading the landscape in layers, based on indicators related to the occupation of a place by different societies. In the case of Mexico City, with seven centuries of continuous settlement, four successive stages of occupation are identified that are confirmed by their successive place names. This palimpsest narrative offers a reverse chronological reading of the spatial organization of the city that has led to changes in the landscape, some visible and others buried. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkic Studies Journal is the property of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bulletin of Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL: Series 'International Relations & Regional Studies' is the property of Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations & World Languages and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tarih İncelemeleri Dergisi is the property of Tarih Incelemeleri Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of South Architecture / Nanfang Jianzhu is the property of South Architecture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The French anarchist geographer Élisée Reclus (1830–1905) dedicated several hundred pages to London. Addressing different audiences and adopting different tones accordingly, he produced travel guides, geographic treatises, and meditations (posthumously published) that recounted contemporary London in various ways. This article examines Reclus’s reflections on the city, serving as both a companion for Anglophone readers exploring Reclus’s work and an invitation to view London through new eyes—that is, those of a foreign traveller whose conflictual, yet affectional, relationship with London may still describe that of many today. As this article shows, globalisation, progress, environment, and social habits are recurrent themes in his accounts: at times they are approached with considerable scientific rigour, and at others, they immersed in a romantic indefiniteness articulated by way of a frenetic expressive tempo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various books that challenge the prevailing narratives of Native American history, particularly the idea of inevitability that Native peoples were fated to be conquered by European settlers. The authors of these books argue that Native American history is not predetermined and highlight the power, agency, and resilience of Native nations throughout history. The article also introduces a fictional novel, "The Indians Won," which presents an alternate history where Native forces defeat the U.S. government, challenging the assumptions of colonialism and dispossession. The novel serves as a thought-provoking literary guide for scholars and students to engage with and rethink Native American history. [Extracted from the article]

Environmental history contributes to historical geography in Quebec through the attention it pays to the spatial and material dimensions of the relationship between society and the environment. This contribution, which can be characterized by the term "environmental historical geography," can be seen in a series of works that enrich our understanding of the relationships between populations and their different milieux de vie, exemplified as forest, rural, and urban environments in this article. The use of digital tools, such as geohistorical information systems, and digitized sources, such as historical maps and survey archives, makes it possible to recast our understanding of the relationships between Quebec societies and their territories and to offer a geographical and ecological reinterpretation of historical problems. By jointly rethinking time and space with novel questions, methods, and theories, as well as sources recently revealed or digitized, environmental historical geography projects new intellectual niches to grasp the relationships between populations and their living environments. Messages clés: Les objets, les thématiques et les approches de recherche que se partagent l'histoire environnementale et la géographie historique rendent difficile tout travail de démarcation entre ces deux champs d'études.L'étude des dimensions matérielles et spatiales des rapports entre milieux de vie et populations en histoire environnementale contribue à la pratique de la géographie historique au Québec.Les méthodes de la géographie historique environnementale se sont enrichies de la numérisation de sources multiples et l'application d'outils numériques pour la spatialisation et la visualisation des données. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes an argument for a geography of girlhood, located at the intersection of historical geographies of globalisation and empire on the one hand, and feminist interventions in the geography of childhood and youth on the other. A focus on girlhood, I argue, opens up a debate on the discipline's own implication in a debate on climate science, moral hierarchies of civilisation and reproductive health at which intersection the category of 'girl' was materialised in the 19th century. This focus extends and historicises the argument made by scholars like Nicola Ansel that geographies of childhood speak not only to intimate scales of experience ‐ such as the home and neighbourhood—but instead suggest the ways in which everyday life is implicated in the scale of the global and the geopolitical. Drawing on an inter‐disciplinary scholarship, the paper argues that debates on gender and maturity—converging on the figure of the 'girl'—shaped raced and classed imaginaries of progress in the 19th and 20th centuries. Through this, the paper demonstrates that 'girlhood' is at the heart of historical geographies of urban planning, social care, and health, as well as indexing the continuities in the transition from a colonial discourse of civilisation to a mid‐20th century concern with development. Finally, the paper asks how to write about girls through an archive that is almost obsessively fixated on them as subjects of education and reform, even whilst they rarely appear in it as speaking subjects. I argue that both an emergent focus on non‐textual objects as sources, as well as the use of ephemeral material—including notes, creative writing exercises from the classroom, school diaries etc.—alongside the official archive might open the scholarship up to a multi‐scalar analysis of girlhood as imbricated in larger global and national discursive and material practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasingly diverse societal landscape in Greece for more than three decades within a context of migration, understandings of its fragile histories are still limited in shaping a sense of belonging that is open to 'otherness'. While Greek communities have utilised history as a pathway to maintain identity, other parallel histories and understandings do not resonate with 'Greekness' for most, such as the case of Greek Jewry. Critical historical perspectives can benefit from tracing 're-membering' as a feminist practice in the reassessment of societal values of inclusivity. Histories of violence and injustice can also include elements of 'difficult histories' and must be embraced to seek acknowledgement of these in promoting social change and cultural analysis for public humanities informing curation and curricula. Between eduscapes, art heritage spaces, an entry into contested and conflictual histories can expand a sense of belonging and the way we imagine our own connected histories with communities, place and nation. Greek Jews do not constitute a strong part of historical memory for Greeks in their past and present; in contrast to what is perceived as 'official' history, theirs is quite marginal. As a result, contemporary Greeks, from everyday life to academia, do not have a holistic understanding in relation to the identities of Jews in Greece, their culture or the Holocaust. Given the emergence of a new wave of artistic activism in recent years in response to the ever-increasing dominance of authoritarian neoliberalism, along with activist practices in the art field as undercurrents of resistance, in this intervention I bring together bodies of works to create a dialogic reflection with historical, artistic and feminist sources. In turn, the discussion then explores the spatiotemporal contestations of the historical geographies of Holocaust monuments in Greece. While interrogating historical amnesia, I endeavour to provide a space to engage with 'difficult histories' in their aesthetic context as a heritage of healing and social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Nature's Ideological Landscape: A Literary and Geographic Perspective on its Development and Preservation on Denmark's Jutland Heath" by Kenneth Olwig is a highly regarded book in the field of landscape studies. It delves into the cultural and environmental histories of the agricultural heathlands of Jutland, exploring how these landscapes have been understood in terms of nature, culture, and nation. Olwig's humanistic approach to geography emphasizes the emotional and experiential aspects of landscapes, drawing on literary sources and historical narratives. While the book lacks explicit theoretical elaboration, it offers a comprehensive exploration of Western concepts of nature and the complexities of ideas surrounding landscape. [Extracted from the article]

In this 'Historical Geography at Large' review I recount my participation in an August 2023 summer school led by Professor Alan Lester at the University of Sussex, entitled 'How to talk about British colonialism in the middle of a culture war'. The workshop encouraged the participation of non-academics who desired greater knowledge of the British empire and its legacies, to help them negotiate contemporary debates over race, slavery, colonialism, and national identity. I recount the two days of lectures and debate led by Lester, as well as a day-long walking tour of London, where we discussed contentious statues and the even more contentious interior of the government's Commonwealth, Foreign and Development Office building. These generative encounters present an activist and participatory form of historical geography at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how early Cold War anti-communism transformed labor processes at the Port of Manila. In 1950 the threat of communism at the city's port gained the attention of the highest reaches of the US State Department. Shifting diplomatic discourses and a changing Cold War map imbued new meaning into trade union racketeering and Filipino dockworkers who were, it was dubiously argued, on the verge of joining the country's communists. Through archival analysis of diplomatic dispatches, intelligence reports, and newspaper sources, this article examines a series of spectacular events and covert political diplomacy. In particular it explains how an American Jesuit priest in Manila earned the trust of the State Department and played an outsized role in remaking pier-side labor politics. As concern grew in Washington, American diplomats covertly intervened to back the priest. In detailing how the piers staged global geopolitics, the article also situates these affairs in local political contexts to argue for a more nuanced understanding of anti-communism in Southeast Asia. Filipino trade union leaders and government officials colluded with but also subverted and remade American discourses and diplomacy to their own political and economic advantage. • Traces the shifting geographies of anti-communism in Manila during the early Cold War. • Examines the role of American government officials in reshaping Filipino trade union politics. • Contributes to studies of Manila's historical geographies and labor histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an attempt to understand a mesh of complex relationships among tangible and intangible socio-economic factors that turned a desert city into the headquarters of one of the mighty polities in the Middle East in the fourteenth century CE. This paper argues that proto-industrialization led to the growth of 'virtual water' that helped the city of Yazd, in central Iran, to break free from its water limitation for the first time in its history. Yazd was almost absent in history until the twelfth century, as a peripheral oasis whose sparse population lived off subsistence agriculture irrigated by qanat systems (groundwater-mining subterranean channels). Following the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century, the influx of landless refugees changed the relations of production and paved the way for proto-industrialization whose development hinged on skill and capital rather than water and land. Sufism and waqf (endowment tradition) contributed to the expansion of trading routes that facilitated the mobility of goods and people. The qanats were urbanized, and Yazd became an industrial hub where raw materials were processed into tradable products with considerable value added. This paper contributes to a broader understanding of the historical geography of the arid Middle East. • The Iranian city of Yazd rode out the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century. • A surge of refugees upset the balance between population and agricultural resources. • Abundance of skilled workers led to a Middle Eastern mode of proto-industrialization. • Proto-industrialization engendered virtual water as an adaptation strategy. • Virtual water made a transition to a non-hydraulic society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland reclamation was an intrinsic part of nineteenth-century global agricultural transformations. In Swedish research, reclamation has mainly been situated in larger general processes of population rise, commercialization and societal/technological development. The intersection of reclamation, physical environments and local economies has seldom been studied in detail. This paper conducts a local analysis of nineteenth-century wetland reclamation in two parishes in Sweden, Knätte and Mörlunda, through combining a study of specific reclamation processes with an analysis of local agrarian-economic development. The results show that these processes varied depending on specific historical-geographical circumstances. In Knätte, reclamation was not primarily related to population rise, but to increasing commercialization during the period. The case in Mörlunda instead shows how reclamation was first a response to increasing population but later developed into a project of agricultural market adaptation. In both cases, the physical environment led to varying degrees of geographic constraint in the process. In combination, these results point to the importance of detailed case studies in nuancing our understanding of nineteenth-century wetland reclamation both in Sweden and internationally. • Local factors are important for nuancing general trends in wetland reclamation. • In Sweden, population rise and commercialization are considered primary drivers. • The active drivers vary between the compared cases, depending on context. • Reclamation was primarily a part of local agrarian developments. • Wider relations of the local economy, for example through trade, also impacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite human geography's sophisticated analyses and overwhelming focus on space, time in its various guises has certainly not been absent in the literature. The same cannot be said for historical geography, which is particularly interesting as its main concern is purportedly with space and place in and across other times. In response, this paper examines the ontology and epistemology of time in "modern" historical geography since the early 2000s and does so in discussion with recent developments in theory and philosophy of history, specifically the notion of 'new presentism'. An idea which broadly posits that the past and the future do not exist as separate categories but are always projections of specific presents, they exist as the present's own immanent modes. This is achieved by adopting Robert Dodgshon's concept of the 'specious present' in order to (1) affirm, albeit on different epistemological grounds, the partiality, situatedness and contingency of historical geographies as well as the embodied and performative nature of archival labour; (2) offer an accessible conceptual tool in thinking about the role of time in the practice of future historical geography research; and finally (3) suggest that thinking historical geography as a practice in and through the 'specious present' makes questions of ethics, accountability, and politics of knowledge production both central and inevitable, as opposed to just being examples of "good practice" or worse still, being completely sidestepped by virtue of an imagined spatio-temporal distance between the bygone past and the present moment of research. • Examines the ontology and epistemology of time in the subdiscipline of human geography. • Provides an explanation for the field's lack of engagement with time in its investigations. • Offers a onto-epistemic framework for incorporating the specious present in historical-geographical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the Linguistic Survey of India (LSI), a monumental exercise supervised by George Grierson to survey and classify the languages of colonial India. It considers why the LSI developed into an atypical scheme that corresponded with a multiethnic and multinational network of officials and scholars to survey India's languages. It makes the case that the networked practice of surveying was reciprocated at different scales, from localised linguistic surveys in districts and princely states to gather information and specimens, to a loosely governed transnational exercise involving Indians and Europeans to edit, review and publish results. The paper argues that the LSI's scalar geographies were negotiated by Grierson and, more importantly, his assistant Gauri Kant Roy and demonstrates that scale, as an analytic or process, was not an abstraction or predetermined for those entangled in the LSI's survey of India's languages. • Examines the Linguistic Survey of India from a historical geography perspective. • Highlights the LSI's uniqueness as a colonial Indian survey. • Draws on underutilised materials from National Archives of India. • Proposes a scalar and networked approach to the history of science and surveying. • Emphasises the significance of Gauri Kant Roy and various Indian surveyors in shaping India's linguistic geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of MEMLEKET: Politics & Administration / Siyaset Yönetim is the property of Local Governments Research, Assistance & Education Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Bronze Age Harappan Civilisation thrived between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE in the northwestern part of the Indian Subcontinent. The Harappans established robust interregional trade networks, efficiently managing procurement and distribution across various regions. Water transport was crucial to these trade activities, offering a cost-effective and faster means of transportation. This was particularly important in the Kachchh region, where the unique geographical features favoured waterborne trade. Extensive maritime routes allowed the Harappans to expand their trade pursuits to distant regions such as Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Peninsula. The intercultural trade and exchange were facilitated by a series of settlements on the Kachchh coast, prominent among them being Dholavira, Shikarpur, Bagasra, Kanmer, Surkotada and sites on the Makran coast. By incorporating satellite data, on-site observations and existing literature, the present study reinvestigates Lothal, an important Harappan port town and production hub, including its adjoining region. This paper explores the contemporary and historical geography of the region, focusing on the Harappan maritime routes that were once active but have become entirely defunct due to geomorphic and climatic changes. The analysis identifies three major navigable waterways: the shallow inland water route through the Nal Corridor connecting Lothal to the Little Rann of Kachchh, offering a much shorter and safer path to Harappan sites north of Lothal; the riverine route through the Sabarmati River, leading to Aravalli and the eastern hinterland; and the sea route through the Gulf of Khambhat to the south, providing access to the Ratanpur-Rajpipla mines. This suggested that Lothal was strategically positioned at the intersection of these routes during the Harappan Period, demonstrating the Harappans' advanced geographic knowledge. The results highlight the dynamic nature of procurement and distribution networks and the pivotal role of Lothal and its surrounding landscape in facilitating direct or indirect interregional and intercultural economic exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ortaçağ Araştırmaları Dergisi (OAD) is the property of Ortacag Arastirmalari Dergisi (OAD) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ortaçağ Araştırmaları Dergisi (OAD) is the property of Ortacag Arastirmalari Dergisi (OAD) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In "Birth of the Geopolitical Age: Global Frontiers and the Making of Modern China" by Shellen Xiao Wu, the author argues that China's transition from empire to nation-state did not change its goals of territorial expansion and resource extraction. Wu explores how frontier settlement, influenced by the American West, became a model for other countries like Germany and Japan. She also examines the role of geography and agricultural science in shaping the agenda for frontier development. Wu concludes that the distinction between empire and nation is illusory, as states continue to pursue imperial ambitions under the guise of nationalism. [Extracted from the article]

The article "Adrift on an Inland Sea: Misinformation and the Limits of Empire in the Brazilian Backlands" by Hal Langfur explores the challenges faced by the Portuguese and Brazilian empires in controlling the sertão, or backlands, of Brazil. Langfur examines four microhistories of expeditions into the sertão, focusing on the role of intermediaries and marginalized individuals in shaping imperial intelligence and territorial control. The article highlights themes of territorialization, recognition of marginalized voices, and recentering of marginalized people and places in understanding the limits of state power, making it a significant contribution to Brazilian geography and history. [Extracted from the article]