Changing priorities in physical geography: Introduction to the Special Issue

This Special Issue evaluates the utility of Geography as a container for both understanding and interrogating changing priorities in the geosciences. The contributions to the Special Issue explore diverse drivers of changefrom theoretical developments and empirical concerns to methodological fashions and political projectsand consider what a geographical tradition might add to (or gain from) these developments. Reflecting upon this Special Issue as an experiment in disciplinary discourse, we argue for collective attention towards disciplinary reproduction. While an intellectual case can continue to be made for the utility of physical geography for understanding planetary problems, if we do not produce new physical geographers who identify as geographers and who reinvest into geographical institutions, then physical geography as an intellectual tradition will cease to exist. Rather than being passive recipients of change in the geosciences, we can utilize disciplinary forums to critically examine our scientific priorities and build necessary alliances to affect the direction of these changes.