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Making their own futures? Research change and diversity amongst contemporary B ritish human geographers
Author(s) -
Hall Tim
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the geographical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.071
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1475-4959
pISSN - 0016-7398
DOI - 10.1111/geoj.12002
Subject(s) - futures contract , autonomy , underpinning , sociology , context (archaeology) , diversification (marketing strategy) , mediation , diversity (politics) , economic geography , social science , political science , geography , anthropology , economics , marketing , civil engineering , business , archaeology , financial economics , law , engineering
The paper discusses a survey of B ritish academic human geographers enquiring about change and diversification within personal research activities, their nature, motivations and impacts. It argues that this is widespread and a significant aspect of the production of contemporary geographical knowledge. The findings highlight the range of motivations underpinning research change, its impacts and mediation through the institutional context of British human geography. It concludes that despite a more prescriptive institutional context geographers have a degree of autonomy, albeit somewhat fettered, to shape their own research trajectories to some extent. This provides some important capacity with which to engage with imminent challenges facing the discipline in the UK ). The paper complements recent critical histories of geography and sociological accounts of the discipline.