La crise des années trente et la tension vers l’expertise géographique : expériences françaises et internationales. Une nouvelle frontière ?

Au plan des écoles nationales comme au plan international, la géographie universitaire des années trente a connu une inflexion sensible en direction de l’application (y compris dans les pays démocratiques ici considérés). Les géographes rencontrent alors d’autres disciplines de l’action et envisagent leur intervention dans des équipes pluridisciplinaires ou une contribution spécifique fondée sur l’idée de synthèse géographique et sur le message cartographique. La crise économique a accentué cette orientation pragmatique, sans la créer. Alors, la conscience d’un monde solidarisé et d’un œcoumène presque fini mais encore extensible, déjà là chez les géographes au tournant du XXe siècle, les a conduits à entreprendre des enquêtes visant à résoudre des problèmes de peuplement et d’organisation de l’espace avant la lettre. L’urgence était toutefois très diversement ressentie selon les pays. No plano das escolas nacionais assim como o plano internacional, a geografia universitária dos anos 30 conheceu uma inflexão sensível em direção da aplicação (incluindo nos países democráticos aqui considerados). Os geógrafos encontram então outras disciplinas da ação e encaram a sua intervenção em equipas pluridisciplinares ou uma contribuição específica fundada sobre a idéia de síntese geográfica e sobre a mensagem cartográfica. A crise econômica acentuou esta orientação pragmática, sem criá-lo. A consciência de um mundo solidário e um ecúmeno quase terminado, mas ainda extensível (já presente nos geógrafos na virada do século XX), levou-os a empreender pesquisas tentando resolver problemas de povoamento e de organização do espaço. A urgência, contudo, era sentida muito diferentemente de acordo com os países. In the national schools of geography, and likewise internationally, university-based geography in the 1930s witnessed a marked change in orientation that led it towards application (including in the democratic countries considered here). By way of this novel trend, geographers encountered other disciplines, which were disciplines of action, and envisaged their interventions within pluri-disciplinary teams, or in the form of a specific contribution based on the idea of geographical synthesis and the cartographical message. The economic crisis accentuated this pragmatic orientation, although it did not create it. From there, with an awareness of a world whose various parts were interdependent, and of an inhabited worldthat was nearly complete but still extensible, already present among geographers at the turn of the 20th century, they went on to undertake surveys and studies aiming to solve problems of settlement and organisation of space. The urgency of these tasks was however very diversely assessed according to countries