Subject Librarian
Dartmouth College
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Course description
Territoriality, the geographic expression of power, is one of the most common strategies for exercising political control. This course explores the interaction of geography and politics, including the origin and function of nations and states, policing and social control, federalism, the role and status of racial and ethnic minorities, political representation and electoral redistricting. Through such topics, the class addresses questions regarding the nature of power, identity, democratic theory and the relationship between the individual and the state. We will focus particular attention on issues of scale, or how the application of territorial strategies at different spatial levels affects political relationships.
[Source: ORC/Catalog, 01/15/2024]; SOC
Defining political geography
A subdiscipline concerned with the study of the spatial dimensions of politics. Although sharing many of the theories, methods, and interests as human geography in general, it has a particular interest in territory, the state, power, and boundaries (including borders), across a range of scales from the body to the planet. ‘Politics’ refers not simply to the formal organization of political life through government, elections, parties, etc., but all aspects of social life involving governance or where some degree of contentiousness or conflict may arise. Interpreted more broadly, therefore, political geography can encompass all those ideas about the relationships between geography and politics extending beyond academic contexts (see anti-politics). ...
Rogers, A., Castree, N., & Kitchin, R. (2013). Political geography. In A Dictionary of Human Geography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 Sep. 2022
In the Library's collections
To find items about political geography or geopolitics, you can physically browse the shelves in the call number range JC 319 through JC 323 on Berry Level 4 . Other books will be found in the D's, E's, and F's.
When you search the online catalog, use the subject headings "political geography" or "geopolitics." Either subject heading will get you started. Don't forget about the related subject headings.
- ... foreign relations ...This subject heading shows the relations between countries. Type in a country name, add foreign relations and type another country names. Those books, resources, etc will focus on those countries.
Introductory reading(s)
Geopolitics: a very short introduction by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780198830764Publication Date: 3rd ed.From great power politics and speculation about resource scrambles, to everyday encounters and objects such as smart phones, geopolitics affects citizens, corporations, international bodies, social movements, and governments. Geopolitics is far more than simply the impact of geographical features such as rivers, mountains, and climate on political developments. Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction explores the intellectual historical origins of geopolitics and its current concerns, drawing on regional and thematic case studies. ...
Key concepts in political geography by Call Number: Baker-Berry JC 319 .K49 2009ISBN: 9781412946728Key Concepts in Political Geography is a new kind of textbook that forms part of an innovative set of companion texts for the Human Geography sub disciplines. Organized around 20 short essays, Key Concepts in Political Geography provides a cutting edge introduction to the central concepts that define contemporary research in political geography. ...
Territory: a short introduction by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781405118316This short introduction conveys the complexities associated with the term "territory" in a clear and accessible manner. It surveys the field and brings theory to ground in the case of Palestine. A clear and accessible introduction to the complexities associated with the term "territory". Provides an interdisciplinary survey of the many strands of research in the field. ...
The Wiley Blackwell companion to political geography by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781118725887The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Geography aims to account for the intellectual and worldly developments that have taken place in and around political geography in the last 10 years. Bringing together established names in the field as well as new scholars, it highlights provocative theoretical and conceptual debates on political geography from a range of global perspectives. ...
Selected book title(s)
Ashgate research companion to border studies by Call Number: Baker-Berry JC 323 .A85 2011ISBN: 9780754690474This comprehensive volume brings together a multidisciplinary team of leading scholars to provide an authoritative, state-of-the-art review of all aspects of borders and border research. It is global in scope and embraces the more traditional strands of the field including geopolitics, migration and territorial identities, and also recently emerging topics such as the role of borders in a seemingly borderless world; creating neighbourhoods, and border enforcement in the post-9/11 era.
Border images, border narratives: the political aesthetics of boundaries and crossings by Call Number: Baker-Berry JC 323 .B67 2021ISBN: 9781526146267This interdisciplinary volume explores the role of images and narratives in different borderscapes. Written by experienced scholars in the field, Border Images, Border Narratives provides fresh insight into how borders, borderscapes, and migration are imagined and narrated in public and private spheres. ...
Critical dialogues in Latinx studies: a reader by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781479805235This book approaches the social histories and contemporary lives of a diverse range of Latina and Latino populations, including immigrants, exiles, refugees, and US-born groups from across the Americas. Adopting a comparative ethnic studies lens that captures local and transnational perspectives on community, national and pan-ethnic identifications, and diverse social and demographic trends, this anthology emphasizes the breadth and dynamism of the ideas, debates, and questions that drive the dynamic field of Latinx Studies. ...
Nation shapes: the story behind the world's borders by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781610691055This book provides a concise and comprehensive description of all of the borders of every country in the contemporary world, including physical boundaries, their historical evolution, and border-related conflicts with other countries.
Political geography: an introduction to space and power by Call Number: Baker-Berry D 843 .P27 2009ISBN: 9781412901383Publication Date: 2nd ed.Revised and updated, this is a new edition of a core undergraduate resource on political geography. Unique in the teaching literature, Political Geography retains its focus on the social and cultural, while systematically giving an overview of the entire discipline. The text explains: Politics, geography, and "political" geography: power, resources, institutions, and the history of political geography State formation: ...
Other library resource(s)
Political geography from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199874002... Historically, political geography has largely concerned itself with the spatialities of the state, whether internal or external. In addition, early political geography often attempted to derive insights from the natural world, often leaving it open to accusations of environmental determinism. ...- Territory and territoriality from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199874002We live in a highly territorialized world, the most obvious manifestation of which is the political division of the earth into separate countries or states. However, this macro-scale territorialization is accompanied by a myriad of much more micro-scale variants involving the staking of claims to geographic space, the “production” of territories, and the deployment of territorial strategies.
- Borders and boundaries from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199874002Borders and boundaries, commonly defined as the lines dividing distinct political, social, or legal territories, are arguably the most ubiquitous features within the field of political geography. Indeed, borders have become prominent topics of research for a range of scholars from across the social sciences and humanities. This burgeoning, interdisciplinary field of border studies covers a broad range of concerns, including state sovereignty, globalization, territorial disputes, trade, migration, and resource management, among other topics.
Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)
Articles and other writings about political geography can be found in many publications. Our collection includes several journals which look at political geography. Below are a couple of titles we have in our Library's collection. Find more scholarly journals for political geography here.
Political geographyCall Number: Electronic journalPolitical Geography is the flagship journal of political geography and advances knowledge in all aspects of the geographical and spatial dimensions of politics and the political.
Space & polity by Call Number: Electronic journalSpace & Polity is an international journal devoted to the theoretical and empirical understanding of the changing relationships between the state, and regional and local forms of governance. The journal provides a forum aimed particularly at bringing together social scientists currently working in a variety of disciplines, including geography, political science, sociology, economics, anthropology and development studies and who have a common interest in the relationships between space, place and politics in less developed as well as the advanced economies.
Territory, politics, governance by Call Number: Electronic journalThe journal is committed to the development of theory and research in territorial politics and the governance of space. It creates a platform on which to explore the interface between territory, politics, economy, identity and the organisation of political space.
Worldwide political science abstracts by Call Number: Electronic resourceWorldwide Political Science Abstracts provides abstracts and indexing of the international literature of political science and international relations, along with complementary fields, including international law, political geography, and public administration/policy. ...
Web of science citation databases by Call Number: Electronic resourceThe online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.
Citing and Tracking Your Bibliographic References
Use this guide to help you learn how to correctly cite and keep track of the references you find for your research.
Keeping up with Geography journal literature
Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Geography? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.
You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.