The Endless Thinker of Pennsylvania: A Look at the Life and Thought of Wilbur Zelinsky

Document Type : بنیادی(Stem, Basic)

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, Tabriz University, Tabriz

2 PhD in Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Humanities, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

In geography, more than any other science, one can see a kind of closeness and interdependence between the individual destinies of geographers, their theories and ideas. It is not without reason that the history of geographical theories is also known as the history of theorists or, in the words of John Kirtland Wright, the "history of geography, the history of geographical ideas", because geographers compete as a group in the context of history. They rise and with this collective and historical competition, not only do they not reduce the scientific nature of geography, but they also give it identity and realization. On the other hand, from the educational and research dimension, it is important to know that one of the intellectual occupations of geographers to strengthen and develop reasoning and creativity among themselves is to get acquainted with the philosophical thoughts of the world's great geographers from the past to the present. A review of the historical background of Wilbur Zelinsky's character and ideas and the "reading" of a geographical epistemological view of his works and thoughts are a factor in clarifying the context of his views and beliefs; Questions like Who was Zelinsky? Where are they rooted and in what world? As a human being, what kind of lived spaces and intellectual changes did he experience? What conditions and factors led to Zelinsky's intellectual and political revival in the field of geography? Can he really be classified as a member of the Berkeley School of Geography philosophically and methodologically? what methodological basis for reading the text of his works and life will lead to justifiable reasons for our arguments?
Since the methodology in the present research is descriptive-analytical. Using a qualitative approach and interpretive paradigm in the method of library and content analysis, an attempt has been made to answer the questions and to integrate the subject of Zelinsky's thought, in order to see his social, political and intellectual changes from the late 1940s philosophical-geographical view observed and read epistemologically, and the trends and changes of paradigm and attitude, the identity of the discipline and the research practice until the last years of his life from the perspective of idea historiography and biography in geography be reviewed and critiqued.
No thinker can be excluded from the influence of the environment, history and culture of the land in which he grows up; In other words, in the history of the idea, the course of idea is in history. In the history of the idea, different schools have started from the beginning of that school to its current state, and its subject is always thought, and it should be added that a researcher with fixed elements of personality, transformation and intellectual changes, the philosophical system. and if the biographer is not a familiar geographer, he does not understand all the details and subtleties in the text, and in some cases, despite his best efforts, he may err in understanding and conveying the author's intent. Therefore, in this article, the following parts were discussed.
Wilbur Zelinsky believed that If geographers do not dare to neglect history, the researcher of history and other social and human sciences must reciprocate the spatial factor in the full description of their endeavor.
Zelinsky, without ignoring the importance of quantitative aspects in his geographical studies, in his discussions and arguments, gives priority and importance to the qualitative and long-lasting aspects of phenomena; that is, he sought a level of understanding beyond the raw mechanistic models that had long dominated American geography and the social sciences.
Observing the logical form of explanation in geography, points out that How we should go about studying phenomena? And what should we study and why? And then concludes that in most disciplines, the connection between the questions that a discipline asks and its explanatory form is extremely important. Now, with these explanations, referring to Zelinsky's works, the connection between the questions he asks from a geographical point of view and its explanatory form is very thought-provoking. Even his attention to the explanatory form in geographical research by other geographers shows his intellectual precision. In geographical analysis and sensitivity to form observance.
Without historical roots in a particular culture, one may become a credible researcher and expert, but one cannot be a thinker in a historical and cultural vacuum; There is no doubt that in the labyrinth of words we see some revelations and concepts which are inherent features of the author, especially the concepts that are resonant and instructive, can be clearly seen in Zelinsky's works and writings. Concepts such as " The Geographer as Voyeur " to understand the world and fieldwork from a geographer's Stereoscope View on the combination of masculine and feminine gaze in geographical analysis, " Heterolocalism " in expressing the nature of the ethnic landscape The United States and etc.

The idea history and biography are historically linked and interrelated, which must be historically, methodologically, and analytically necessary for serious geographical intellectual work and the acquisition of a valid scientific history of our field; If we look at geography as a historicity science, whose past is considered as its introduction and ladder today, then the history of geography should be considered as this science and a part of its current character, and the rebellion of researchers and practitioners in this field are, of course, a duty in the science of geography. In the present paper, such a process has been discussed in order to obtain the collective and historical identity of this science by choosing one of the prominent geographers named Wilbur Zelinsky, on the basis of which an attempt has been made to find some philosophical schools of geography that let us enter into the development of Zlinsky's scientific personality, and the second reason for this is that Zlinsky, with a long life span of nearly a century, witnessed the true changes of man and the world, and before that geographical knowledge that dealt with the scientific personality. he has been very insightful in a research work.

Keywords


  • آشوری، داریوش، 1389، تعریف‌ها و مفهوم فرهنگ، تهران: آگاه.
  • احمدی، بابک، 1389، موسیقی‌شناسی: فرهنگ تحلیلی مفاهیم، تهران: نشر مرکز.
  • بورکهارت، یاکوب، 1389، فرهنگ رنسانس در ایتالیا، ترجمه محمدحسن لطفی، تهران: طرح نو.
  • بیلینگتون، روزاموند، 1380، فرهنگ و جامعه: جامعه‌شناسی فرهنگ، ترجمه فریبا عزبدفتری، تهران: نشر قطره.
  • بهبهانی، سیمین، 1376، جاری باشیم، نه شاهد جریان، مجله فرهنگ و توسعه، 31، 68-66.
  • جمالی، فیروز، 1364، بحثی پیرامون جغرافیای جمعیت، مجله رشد آموزش جغرافیا، 2، 42-37.
  • جمالی، فیروز، 1371، ماهیت و قلمرو علم جغرافیا (مجموعه سخنرانی‌ها)، تهران: سمت.
  • جمالی، فیروز، 1364، جایگاه فلسفه و جهان‌بینی در جغرافیا، نشریه دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی دانشگاه تبریز، 160، 51-31.
  • حسینی، مالک، 1388، ویتگنشتاین و حکمت، تهران: هرمس.
  • دباغ، سروش، 1394، فلسفه لاجوردی سپهری، تهران: صراط.
  • درئو، ماکس، 1374، جغرافیای انسانی، ترجمه سیروس سهامی، تهران: رایزن.
  • دولفوس، اولیویه، 1373، تحلیل جغرافیایی، ترجمه سیروس سهامی، مشهد: نشر نیکا.
  • زریاب خویی، عباس، 1387، شط شیرین پر شوکت: منتخبی از آثار استاد عباس زریاب خویی، به اهتمام میلاد عظیمی، تهران: مروارید.
  • زلینسکی، ویلبر، 1391، مقدمه‌ای بر جغرافیای جمعیت، ترجمه فیروز جمالی، تهران: سمت.
  • زندباف، حسن، 1364، فرم در موسیقی، تهران: انتشارات پارت.
  • شایگان، داریوش، 1392، در جست‌وجوی فضاهای گمشده، تهران: نشر فرزان‌روز.
  • شایگان، داریوش، 1394، جنون هشیاری: بحثی درباره اندیشه و هنر شارل بودلر، تهران: نشر نظر.
  • شفیعی کدکنی، محمدرضا، 1376، موسیقی شعر، تهران: آگاه.
  • شفیعی کدکنی، محمدرضا، 1391، رستاخیز کلمات: درس گفتارهایی درباره نظریه ادبی صورت‌گرایان روسی، تهران: سخن.
  • فرید، ید اله، 1380، تأملی در فضای جغرافیایی با نگاهی به نظرات جغرافیدانان معتبر فرانسوی، مجله فضای جغرافیایی، ش 1، صص 46-4.
  • کاپرا، فریتیوف، 1386، پیوندهای پنهان: تلفیق گستره‌های زیستی، شناختی و اجتماعی حیات در علم پایداری، ترجمه محمد حریری اکبری، تهران: نشر نی.
  • کار، ای. اچ، 1387، تاریخ چیست؟، ترجمه حسن کامشاد، تهران: خوارزمی.
  • کانر، کلیفورد، 1390، تاریخ علم مردم، ترجمه حسن افشار، تهران: نشر ماهی.
  • کُلاک، دنیل، 1391، پرسیدن مهم‌تر از پاسخ دادن است: درآمدی بر فلسفه، ترجمه حمیده بحرینی، تهران: هرمس.
  • لوی‌استروس، کلود، 1385، اسطوره و معنا: گفتگوهایی با کلود لوی‌استروس، ترجمه شهرام خسروی، تهران: نشر مرکز.
  • منصوریان، یزدان، 1389، مبانی نگارش علمی، تهران: نشر کتابدار
  • منوچهری، عباس، 1389، تاریخ‌نگاری اندیشه، ماهنامه سوره، 49-48، 222-220.
  • موحد، ضیاء، 1377، شعر و شناخت، تهران: مروارید.
  • نراقی، آرش، 1392، مدارا و مدنیت: مقالاتی در باب اخلاق اجتماعی، تهران: نشر نگاه معاصر.
  • ولک، رنه و وارن، آوستین، 1390، نظریه ادبیات، ترجمه ضیاء موحد و پرویز مهاجر، تهران: نیلوفر.
  • هاشمی، محمدمنصور، 1390، آمیزش افق‌ها: منتخباتی از آثار داریوش شایگان، تهران: نشر فرزان‌روز.
  • هاسپرس، جان، 1379، درآمدی بر تحلیل فلسفی، ترجمه موسی اکرمی، تهران: طرح نو.
  • Ahmadi, B., 2010, Musicology: An Analytical Dictionary of Concepts, Markaz, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Ashoori, D., 2010, Definitions and Conceptions of Culture, Aghah Publisher, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Baker, A., 2003, Geography and History, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Behbahani, S., 1997, Be Current, Not Witnessing the Flow, Journal of Culture and Development, 31, 66-68. [In Persian].
  • Billington, R, et al., 2001, Culture and Society: A Sociology of Culture; Translated by Azabdaftari, F., Ghatreh Publishing, Tehran. (In Persian)
  • Burckardt, Jacob (2010) Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italian; Translated by Lotfi, M.H., Tarheno, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Buttimer, A., 1983, The Practice of Geography, Longman, London.
  • Capra, F., 2007a, The Hidden Connections: Integrating the Biological, Cognitive, and Social Dimensions of Life into a Science of Sustainability, Translated by Hariri Akbari, M., Nashreney, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Capra, F., 2007b, The Science of Leonardo, Doubleday, New York.
  • Capra, F., 1975, The Tao of Physics, Shambhala, Boulder.
  • Carr, E. H., 2008, What is History, Translated by Kamshad, H., Kharazmi, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Castree, N. & Gregory, D. (eds), 2006, David Harvey: A Critical Reader, Blackwell, Oxford.
  • Chamberlayne, P., 2000, The Turn to Biographical Methods in Social Science, Routledge, London.
  • Claval, P.and Entrikin, J.N., 2004, Cultural Geography: Place and Landscape Between Continuity and Change, In G. Benko (eds) Human Geography, Arnold, London. 25-46.
  • Cliff, A. D., 1991, Diffusing Geography: Essays Presented to Peter Haggett, Blackwell, Oxford.
  • Conner, C., 2011, A People’s History of Science; Translated by Afshar, H., Mahi Publisher, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Cosgrove, D., 2008, Geography and Vision, I.B. Tauris, London.
  • Dabbagh, S., 2015, Deep Blue Philosophy of Sepehri, Serat, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Derruau, M., 1995, Géographie Humaine; Translated by Sahami, C., Rayzan, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Dollfus, O., 1994, L'Analyse Géographique; Translated by Sahami, C., Nika, Mashhad. [In Persian].
  • Duncan, J., 1980, The Superorganic in American Cultural Geography, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 70, 181-198.
  • Entrkin, N. & Brunn, S. (eds), 1989, Reflections on Richard Hartshorne’s the Nature of Geography, Association of American Geographers, Washington D.C.
  • Farid, Y., 2001, A Reflection on the Geographical Space Glance to Promenent French Geographers’ Ideas; the Geographical Space Quarterly, Vol 1, PP. 4-46. [In Persian].
  • Harvey, D., 1969, Explanation in Geography, Edward Arnold, London.
  • Hashemi, M., 2011, Mixing Horizons: Selections from the works of Dariush Shaygan, Farzanrooz, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Haspers, J., 2000, An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis, Translated by Akrami, M., Tarheno, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Hosseini, M., (2009) Wittgenstein and Wisdom, Hermes, Tehran. (In Persian)
  • Jackson, P., 1989, Maps of Meaning, Routledge, London.
  • Jamali, F., 1985, A Discussion on Population Geography, Journal of Geography Education Growth, 2, 37-42. [In Persian].
  • Jamali, F., 1992, A Review on the Nature and the Realm of Geography, Samt, Tehran, 43-47. [In Persian].
  • Jamali, F., 1996, Status of Philosophy and Outlook in Geography, Literature and Humanities Review University of Tabriz, 160-161, 31-51. [In Persian].
  • Johnston, R., 2019, On (Auto)biography and the History of Geography; Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography, 73(4), 245-250.
  • Kolak, D. and Martin, R., 2012 Wisdon whitout Answers: A Breif Introduction to Philosophy, Translated by Bahreini, H., Hermes, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Levi-Strauss, C., 2006, Myth and Meaning, Translated by Khosravi, Sh., Markaz, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Lewis, P., 2006, Wilbur as Icon; Geographical Review, 96( 2), viii-xii.
  • Leighly, J. (ed), 1967, Land and Life: A Selection from the Writings of Carl Ortwin Sauer, University of California Press, Berkeley.
  • Manouchehri, A., 2010, Idea Historiography, Soreieh Mehr Monthly, 48-49, 220-222. [In Persian].
  • Mansourian, Y., 2010, Principles of Scientific Writing, Ketabdar, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Mitchell, D., 2000, Cultural Geography: A Critical Introduction, Blackwell, Oxford.
  • Movahed, Z., 1998, Poetry and Knowledge, Morvarid, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Moss, P., 2001, Placing Autobiography in Geography, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse.
  • Muller, E., 2006, Wilbur and Me, The Geographical Review, 96(2), 278-294.
  • Naraghi, A., 2013, Toleration and Civility: Essays on Social Ethics, Negahe Moaser, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Newbold, K. B., 2010, Population Geography: Tools and Issues, Rowman& Littlefield, Lanham.
  • Norton, W., 2000, Cultural Geography, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Park, C., 1994, Sacred Worlds: An Introduction to Geography and Religion, Routledge, London.
  • Pred, A., 1979, The Academic Past through a Time-Geographic Looking Glass, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 69(1), 175-180.
  • Purcell, M., 2009, Autobiography; in Rob Kitchin and Nigel Thrift (eds), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp.234-239.
  • Sauer, C., 1941, Foreword to Historical Geography, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 31, 1-24.
  • Sauer, C., 1956, The Education of a Geographer; Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 46, 287–299.
  • Schuchard, M., 2007, Bernard Varenus (1622-1650), Brill, Leiden.
  • Shafiei Kadkani, M. R., 2012, The Resurrection of the Word, Sokhan, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Shafiei Kadkani, M. R., 1997, Music of Poetry, Aghah, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Shayegan, D., 2013, In Search of Lost Spaces, Farzanrooz Publishers, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Shayegan, D., 2015, Awakening Madness: A Discussion of Charles Baudelaire's Thought and Art, Nazar Publishers, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Skeldon, R., 2012, Migration Transitions Revisited: Their Continued Relevance for The Development of Migration Theory; Population, Space and Place, 18, 154-166.
  • Starrs, P., 1996, Geographia Zelinskyana: Better than Numbers; Journal of Historical Geography, 22(3), 340-343.
  • Van Meeteren, M., 2019, The Pedagogy of Autobiography in the History of Geographic Thought; Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography, 73(4), 250-255.
  • Wellek, R. and Warien, A., 2011, Theory of Literature, Translated by Movahed, Z., Niloufar, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Wood, J., 2006, A Tribute to Wilbur Zelinsky, Geographical Review, Vol. 96, PP. iii-vii.
  • Wood, R., 1993, Commentary on Zelinsky’s the Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition, Progress in Human Geography, 17(2), 213-215.
  • Wright, J. K., 1926, A Plea for the History of Geography, Isis, 8(3), 477-491.
  • Zandbaf, H., 1985, Form in Music, Part Publication, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Zaryab Khoie, A., 2008, Abbas Zaryab Khoie: A Selection of Works, Morvarid, Tehran. [In Persian].
  • Zelinsky, W., 1949, The Historical Geography of the Negro Population of Latin America, The Journal of Negro History, 34(2), 153-221.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1950, The Population Geography of the Free Negro in Ante-Bellum America, Population Studies, 3(4), 386-401.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1951a, Where the South Begins: The Northern Limit of the Cis-Appalachian South in Terms of Settlement Landscape, Social Forces, 30(2), 172-178.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1951b, An Isochronic Map of Georgia Settlement, 1750-1850, The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 35(3), 191-195.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1953, The Log House in Georgia; Geographical Review, 43(2), 173-193.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1953, The Settlement Patterns of Georgia [PhD dissertation], University of California, Berkeley.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1962, A Bibliographic Guide to Population Geography, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1961, An Approach to the Religious Geography of the United States: Patterns of Church Membership in 1952, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 51, 139-193.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1967, The Use of Cultural Concepts in Geographical Teaching: Some Conspiratorial Notes for a Quiet Insurrection; in John Randall(ed) Introductory Geography: Viewpoints and Themes, Association of American Geographers, Washington D.C., 75-96
  • Zelinsky, W., Kosinski, L, and Prothero, M., (eds), 1970 Geography and a Crowding World, Oxford University Press, New York.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1971a, The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition; Geographical Review, Vol. 61, PP. 219-249.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1971b, Geographer on Film: Wilbur Zelinsky, Interviewed by John Fraser Hart, Boston, P.4, April 19.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1973a, The Strange Case of the Missing Female Geographer, Professional Geographers, 25, 101-105.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1973b, Women in Geography: A Brief Factual Account, Professional Geographer, 25, 151-165
  • Zelinsky, W., 1975a, The Demigod’s Dilemma, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 65(2), 123-143.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1975b, Unearthly Delights: Cemetery Names and the Map of the Changing American Afterworld; In Bowden, M., and Lowenthal, D. (eds), Geographies of the Mind: Essays in Historical Geosophy in Honor of John Kirtland Wright, Oxford University Press, New York. 171-195.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1982, Women and Geography: A Review and Prospectus, Progress in Human Geography,  6, 317-366.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1984, Geographer on Film: Wilbur Zelinsky, Interviewed by Maynard Weston Dow; Washington, D.C., April 24.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1988, Nation into State: The Shifting Symbolic Foundations of American Nationalism, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1992, The Cultural Geography of the United States, 2rds, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1994, Exploring the Beloved Country: Geographic Forays into American Society and Culture, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.
  • Zelinsky, W., 1994b, Gathering Places for America's Dead: How Many, Where, and Why?, Professional Geographer, 49, 29-38.
  • Zelinsky, W. and Lee, B., 1998, Heterolocalism: An Alternative Model of the Sociospatial Behavior of Immigrant Ethnic Communities, International Journal of Population Geography, 4, 281-298.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2001a, The Uniqueness of the American Religious Landscape, Geographical Review, 91, 565-585.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2001b, The Enigma of Ethnicity: Another American Dilemma, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2001c, The Geographer as Voyeur, Geographical Review, 91, 1-8.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2001d, The World and Its Identity Crisis, In Adams, P., (ed), Textures of Place: Exploring Humanist Geographies, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 129-149.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2006, How Geographic are Our Geographic Journals?, Newsletter of the Association of American Geographers, 41(3), 1-4.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2007, The Gravestone Index: Tracking Personal Religiosity Across Nations, Regions, and Periods, Geographical Review, 97, 441-466.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2011a, Not Yet a Placeless Land: Tracking an Evolving American Geography, University of Massachussett, Boston.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2011b, The Place of Religion in Chicago, Center for American Places, Chicago.
  • Zelinsky, W., 2012/1968. Prologue to Population Geography, Translated by Jamali, F., Samt, Tehran. (In Persian)
  • Zeller, T., 2004, The Spatial Turn in History, GHI Bulletin, 35, 123-124.