Schools with strengths in Cultural Geography

[wreckofthehope]

Hi Geography peeps,

I'm actually applying for a PhD in English Literature, but my area of specialization is representations of space, place and environment in literature. Ideally, I'd like to be able to take something like a PhD minor in Geography, which seems do-able at a number of places... however, the only schools I've really found that seem to be offering actual courses in exactly the kind of geography I'm interested in are the University of Toronto and the University of Washington*. Can anyone suggest other schools with strengths in the are of Cultural Geography, and in particular spatial theory, Behavioural Geography, and landscape studies/cultural landscapes stuff?

*for example, this course at Washington: Ecoscapes: Nature, Culture, and Place Relationship between nature, culture, and place as the heart of geographic inquiry. Examines how perceptions of nature are influenced by changing political-economic, cultural, and scientific practices. Uses cultural studies of ecological science as a primary method of analysis. (although that's an undergrad' course, but you get the idea)

and these at Toronto:"Space, Power and Geography", "Cultural and Critical Geographies".

[rachaelski]

Check Syracuse. I have my master's in International Affairs--focusing on economic geography (I studied handicrafts as a mechanism for rural development)....anyhow, my thesis advisor went to Syracuse for geography. Also, University of Kentucky may be an option.

[wreckofthehope]

Thank you for the suggestions - I'll look into them. I'm not sure how great they'll be in terms of location though... which shouldn't really be a concern, but unfortunately needs to be due to my relationship....I should have mentioned in my earlier post that I'm tying to only apply to universities in, or very close to, big cities because it will be difficult for my boyfriend to find work in his field otherwise.

Since I'm an international applicant, and have plenty of options on my doorstep in London, I'm only going to apply to universities I'm really keen on that are also in great locations for both me and my boyfriend... I don't need to compromise on that point, because my compromise would be staying here in the U.K, if that makes sense.

Edited July 28, 2010 by vallensvelvet

[rising_star]

Those are actually really broad interests that almost any geography department can serve. For example, University of Arizona, University of Kentucky (Cincinnati isn't that far from Lexington), Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Minnesota, University of Kansas (Kansas City, MO is close and many students commute from there anyway) and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City are the places that came to mind for me when I read your post, but that's probably because I have at least some familiarity with their programs. I recommend just getting a list of the graduate-degree granting geography programs and going through them all. But, if you're hoping to do your English lit PhD at one of the Ivy League schools, you're going to have to do without a PhD minor in geography since those universities (with the exception of Dartmouth) do not have geography programs.

[wreckofthehope]

Those are actually really broad interests that almost any geography department can serve. For example, University of Arizona, University of Kentucky (Cincinnati isn't that far from Lexington), Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Minnesota, University of Kansas (Kansas City, MO is close and many students commute from there anyway) and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City are the places that came to mind for me when I read your post, but that's probably because I have at least some familiarity with their programs. I recommend just getting a list of the graduate-degree granting geography programs and going through them all. But, if you're hoping to do your English lit PhD at one of the Ivy League schools, you're going to have to do without a PhD minor in geography since those universities (with the exception of Dartmouth) do not have geography programs.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not applying to any Ivy League schools, as none fit the bill in terms of Literature dep't suitability... the only school I'm super interested in that doesn't have a geography department is Stanford, which is a real shame I think... but some of the same needs could be met in their Sociology or Anthro departments I hope.

One place I'm really excited by in terms of the Literature course is Chicago - and they have a Geography department (Committee) with some very excellent faculty members, but it doesn't seem to have any set graduate role - they say they can provide graduate instruction and classes, but there isn't a program - do you, or anyone, have any experience with,or knowledge about, the Committee on Geographical Studies at Chicago?

[intextrovert]

University of Wisconsin-Madison would be a great place to check out. William Cronon, the environmental historian/geographer, is in the Geography department there, and you are required to do a PhD minor in a department outside of your own. They have a great interdisciplinary environmental humanities program, and a lot of grad students in the English department are doing that (you can get a certificate). I met someone on the admitted students weekend (for the English department) who was applying to both geography and English programs - and I think he settled on UW-Madison for that reason. A lot of people are thinking about place in their work. Funding is sometimes kind of sketchy for the first year, but the DGS has said they're going to make funding everyone a top priority.

Also: Madison is the capital of Wisconsin of about 250,000 (half a million metro area), and Chicago is about 2.5 hours away.

Edited August 20, 2010 by intextrovert

[darkhorse]

I know this is late, but given what you are interested in you should just go ahead with the geography PhD.

Hi Geography peeps,

I'm actually applying for a PhD in English Literature, but my area of specialization is representations of space, place and environment in literature. Ideally, I'd like to be able to take something like a PhD minor in Geography, which seems do-able at a number of places... however, the only schools I've really found that seem to be offering actual courses in exactly the kind of geography I'm interested in are the University of Toronto and the University of Washington*. Can anyone suggest other schools with strengths in the are of Cultural Geography, and in particular spatial theory, Behavioural Geography, and landscape studies/cultural landscapes stuff?

*for example, this course at Washington: Ecoscapes: Nature, Culture, and Place Relationship between nature, culture, and place as the heart of geographic inquiry. Examines how perceptions of nature are influenced by changing political-economic, cultural, and scientific practices. Uses cultural studies of ecological science as a primary method of analysis. (although that's an undergrad' course, but you get the idea)

and these at Toronto:"Space, Power and Geography", "Cultural and Critical Geographies".

[GIS_GURU]

Hey there!

University of Wisconsin-Madison has a marvelous program for Cultural Geographers. My favorite humanistic Geographer, Yi-Fu Tuan taught there. I highly recommend that you check their program out. I think the deadline for admission with funding is over. But If I were into Cultural Geography, that would be the school of choice for me.

Hope that helps!