Advancing geographical understanding

Work in contemporary human geography only occasionally addresses the grand, empirically based regional narratives that figure prominently in the public debate. Since such narratives have a powerful influence on ideas and actions, whether and how geographers speak to them are important questions for the effort to promote “public geographies.” Three case studies illustrate what is lost if grand regional narratives are not addressed more directly by human geographers: one focused on how regions are characterized (Southwest Asia/North Africa), one on how regions are compared (the contemporary European Union and the early United States), and one on how regionalization schemes are deployed (the “North–South” dichotomization of the world). An expanded geographic engagement with grand regional narratives requires periodic pulling back from scrutiny of individual cases to consider broader patterns and process, and a heightened effort not just to critique, but to propose concrete alternatives.