Geography as a social science in Portugal

• Type: Chapter or Part of a Book
• Date: 2021

Authors

Fernandes, José Alberto Rio (Author) FLUP; Ferrão, João (Author) Other; Malheiros, Jorge (Author) Other; Chamusca, Pedro (Author) Other

Book

Title: Geographies of Mediterranean Europe

Pages: 15-37

ISBN: 978-3-030-49463-6; 978-3-030-49466-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-49464-3

Publisher: Springer Nature

Other information

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-49464-3_2

Abstract (EN): The emergence and affirmation of Geography in Portugal was influenced by Latin-rooted cultures and languages, with a particular emphasis on the French tradition, with secondary school education assuming a central role in the recognition of the discipline. After a relevant transition in the 1970s, Human Geography became much more influenced by Anglo-Saxon authors and since the 1990s by a thematic specialization and a connection to spatial planning. This specialization goes hand in hand with the development of research in the various domains of Geography, which, in the twenty-first century, is clearly associated with increasing competition for funding and productivity measured by the number of papers in international high-impact-factor journals. This text addresses the presence of graduate and postgraduate Geography at universities. It then analyses recent research developments (based on PhD titles and articles published in the two main Portuguese scientific journals), confirming the specialization and fragmentation of topics as well as an increasing internationalization in which Brazil plays a key role. It also underlines the relevance of the work that is being done by geographers’ associations, as well as in other spaces where Portuguese geographers are stimulating change on policies and planning. Finally, some remarks are presented regarding present and future challenges, considering the social responsibility of geographers in an ever-increasingly complex world. In this respect, the Mediterranean region is a cultural space with a strong potential for cooperation, able to promote an innovative Geography based on Mediterranean lenses, and is the object of some final words.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific