It was an exceptionally warm Friday in March when the 2nd year BSc Human Geography students cohort at the university of Kent set out on a fieldtrip to the Royal Geographical Society with IBG in London. Out of this tight knit group of young geographer enthusiasts a high proportion are female.
Yet as we learned during our visit women in Geography haven’t always been as significantly represented.
It took 62 years from the formation of the Royal Geographical Society in 1930 for the first women to be elected as a fellow. And, perhaps more significantly, it wasn’t until 2004 that Cambridge had its first female professor in Geography.
These are quite notable facts to consider in the development of the discipline.
During our visit we partook in a tour of the building and its contested histories, a presentation and an activity focusing on just this, the role of women in geography. The Royal Geographical society is at the heart of geography within the UK and around the globe. It presents a space for geographers to come together, provides support and is a place to expand geographical knowledge. It’s an important place for any geographer, holding a huge archive collection of geographical knowledge, an immense lecture theatre and a space that showcases the latest cutting edge geographical research.
On the day, we were guided through this, given a tour of the building and a talk about why the RGS is important. On our tour, we were asked to explore a series of questions and think of what stands out about the RGS building. Most of us noticed something that stood out in the RGS displays; there was only one painting/statue that was of a woman geographer…
On the day, we were guided through this, given a tour of the building and a talk about why the RGS is important. On our tour, we were asked to explore a series of questions and think of what stands out about the RGS building. Most of us noticed something that stood out in the RGS displays; there was only one painting/statue that was of a woman geographer…
We were then privileged to be shown some works from the vast archive collections at the society. Working in groups we explored the significance of certain female led geographical projects from viewing important work on Easter Island in the form of paintings by Katherine Routledge to inspecting a pair of boots made for the wife of a geographer who went along on an expedition to Greenland in 1934. This activity was an excellent way to engage with the significance of feminist geography and the advantages added to the discipline as it has diversified.
Exploring the RGS allowed us to understand it’s central role in development of geography as a discipline, appreciating the support we can get as geographers as we progress. It’s a key place for any geographer to be part of and allowed us to apply the knowledge we’ve been learning in our 2nd year module The History and Philosophy of Geography, where we explore different philosophical traditions that have shaped the discipline and how they are adapted to make a difference in the real world. Our visit to the RGS highlighted the need to continue to investigate questions of representation in Geography. As the next generation of geographers, we must ensure that this change continues and that geography remains a diverse and open discipline questioning its past and continuing to make a difference for a more just and sustainable future.
Isabella Cook, is in studying for a BSC (Hons) in Human Geography