New Books Network Patricia Daley and Ian Klinke, "Human Geography: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Feb 5, 2026
Patricia Daley, a scholar of African human geography focused on refugees, violence, and decolonizing curricula, and Ian Klinke, a political geographer studying geopolitical thought, the far right, and nuclear landscapes, discuss space as a lens on inequality. They explore colonies, pipelines, borders, high rises, workplaces, conservation areas, and even outer space. The conversation traces geography’s colonial roots and contemporary stakes.
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Spatial Lens Reveals Social Power
- Human geography uses a spatial lens to explain major social problems like inequality, migration, and the climate crisis.
- It asks 'why, what is where, and how it came to be' to reveal spatial power relations shaping those issues.
From Imperial Roots To Critical Geography
- Modern human geography rose in the 19th century as an imperial science—anthropogeography—rooted in making distant places intelligible to conquerors.
- The field later politicized, shifting from conservative imperial claims to critical, left-leaning analyses of space and power.
Mountaineering To Prove A Geographer
- Alfred Mackinder felt he had to climb Mount Kenya to prove his masculinity and credibility as a geographer.
- Early geographers presented exploration tales at the Royal Geographical Society, shaping the discipline's colonial identity.
