Historical Geography, Evolution of

Historical geography is the branch of scholarly research which situates itself at the point of intersection between geography and history. Although emerging as a defined academic field in the early 20th Century, the subdiscipline in fact has a much longer tradition that can be traced back to the classical civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome. During its evolution, a series of reformulations have resulted in substantial but also more subtle alterations in how historical geography is approached. These changes have often been reflective of the wider dynamics of academic research and teaching in various international, national, and regional contexts. While this article focuses most of its attention on those contributions made by scholars originating in the English-speaking world, it is important to remember that there are many other disciplinary histories that can be written about this subject. Historical geography has always drawn inspiration from a mix of intellectual debates and we are beginning to appreciate the ways in which it has been influenced by scholarly traditions which have emerged beyond the Anglo-American academic hegemony