Abstract
This article briefly reviews the development of American geography from the nineteenth century through the early twenty-first century by studying a variety of literature combined with the author's observations since the mid-1970s. The study of American geography in the nineteenth century was characterized by European influences such as the introduction of German geographical ideas. At the same time, exploring the unknown West formed a geographic tradition that emphasized field observation. The first half of the twentieth century was a period in which geography was institutionalized. Doctorates started to be conferred at newly established graduate schools of geography. The Association of American Geographers, a community of professional geographers, was formed and began to publish professional journals. Geographical themes shifted from an early emphasis on deterministic reasoning to more varied topics. Regional concepts were a major concern, and human and physical geography were combined to study regions in more detail. Following World War II, systematic geography started to gain popularity, and interest in regional geography started to decline. Quantitative methods and geographic theory started to attract many geographers who shared this interest with social scientists. By the late 1980s, as a result of recurrent “revolutions,” geography had split into many small subfields, while veteran geographers continued to publish highly respected books on regional-cultural geography. During the years of postmodernism, American geography became compartmentalized further into many small groups, without a central theme or concept to maintain the cohesion of geography as a subject. A brief overview of current geographic organizations, geographic journals, geographic departments, and research themes reveals the nature of contemporary American geography, which is characterized by diversity and dynamism.
