Watch out for name bombs and icon shrapnel when reading Peirce F. Lewis' generously descriptive homage to Wilbur "Wolf" Zelinsky. (Lewis, Peirce F. 2006. Wilbur As Icon. The Geographical Review. 96 (2). viii-xii.) For me this article was heavy with icons and words that I spent time looking up (see the list below). What Lewis does in the article is remove the mystic from the icon and reveal that Zelinsky was a humble, highly curious, and a dedicated researcher and explorer--traits that are found in all good geographers. Lewis notes that Zelinsky's ocular observation of the world led and drove much of his research--sort of a follow your nose method, but be sure and ready to do the necessary research to back up what you find.
As I read through this article I felt as though I was reading an advertisement for how geography and cultural geography in particular, is one of the best tools for a person to understand and analyze the world. Lewis stressed the importance of Zelinsky's extensive fieldwork and his ability to match the data and statistics to the landscape. Not only was Zelinsky a fantastic field research he was also a cartographer. As Lewis explains a picture can be worth a thousand words; an eye opener to difficult concepts or vast amounts of data.
When Lewis recounted his first meeting with Zelinsky at a local bar at the annual AAG (Association of American Geographers) meeting and his nervousness and excitement to meet one of his own icons, I recalled my own encounters--even from a distance-- at the San Francisco AAG meeting of the icons of my era: Yi-Fu Tuan and Bill Wycoff to name just a few and my own giddiness of potentially shaking hands with them to say thank you for inspiring young scholars to enter the field of geography.
Really what Lewis demonstrates in this article are the characteristic of a good geographer, nay, great geographer and how these traits can be emulated by humble curious students.
The list of words:
polymathic: a person of wide ranging knowledge or learning
mirabile dictu: wonderful to relate
logleptic: this what I found for definitions (plus the website is pretty cool for obscure words)
logolepsy n. - an obsession with words
logolept n. - a person who is obsessed with words
fuscous: techincial/literary, dark and somber in color
jerkinheads: the sloping ends of the ridge at the gables
The name bombs/icon shrapnel:
Peirce F. Lewis
Peter Gould
Don Meinig
These names are dropped on UNR Geography students all the time-better know who they are and how they have contributed to avoid getting blown up by them!
As I read through this article I felt as though I was reading an advertisement for how geography and cultural geography in particular, is one of the best tools for a person to understand and analyze the world. Lewis stressed the importance of Zelinsky's extensive fieldwork and his ability to match the data and statistics to the landscape. Not only was Zelinsky a fantastic field research he was also a cartographer. As Lewis explains a picture can be worth a thousand words; an eye opener to difficult concepts or vast amounts of data.
When Lewis recounted his first meeting with Zelinsky at a local bar at the annual AAG (Association of American Geographers) meeting and his nervousness and excitement to meet one of his own icons, I recalled my own encounters--even from a distance-- at the San Francisco AAG meeting of the icons of my era: Yi-Fu Tuan and Bill Wycoff to name just a few and my own giddiness of potentially shaking hands with them to say thank you for inspiring young scholars to enter the field of geography.
Really what Lewis demonstrates in this article are the characteristic of a good geographer, nay, great geographer and how these traits can be emulated by humble curious students.
The list of words:
polymathic: a person of wide ranging knowledge or learning
mirabile dictu: wonderful to relate
logleptic: this what I found for definitions (plus the website is pretty cool for obscure words)
logolepsy n. - an obsession with words
logolept n. - a person who is obsessed with words
fuscous: techincial/literary, dark and somber in color
jerkinheads: the sloping ends of the ridge at the gables
The name bombs/icon shrapnel:
Peirce F. Lewis
Peter Gould
Don Meinig
These names are dropped on UNR Geography students all the time-better know who they are and how they have contributed to avoid getting blown up by them!
1 comment:
I think I might have a bad case of logolepsy. In all the articles, i found this piece the most interesting. It's rare to discover individuals who are whole heartedly empathetic. I'm excited to see what Zelinsky has to say. Nice post.
Post a Comment