Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography
Encyclopedia
The Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography was founded by the American geographer
Carl O. Sauer
. Sauer was a professor
of geography
at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus
in 1957 and was instrumental in the early development of the geography graduate program at Berkeley and the discipline of geography
in the United States
. Each generation of this research school has pursued new theoretical and methodological approaches, but their study of the peoples and places of Latin America and the Caribbean has remained the common denominator since the early 20th century.
students who completed dissertations on Latin American and Caribbean topics are Fred Kniffen (1930), Peveril Meigs (1932), Donald Brand (1933), Henry Bruman (1940), Felix W. McBryde (1940), Robert Bowman (1941), Dan Stanislawski (1944), Robert C. West (1946), James J. Parsons (1948), Edwin Doran (1953), Philip Wagner (1953), Brigham Arnold (1954), Homer Aschmann (1954), B. LeRoy Gordon (1954), Gordon Merrill (1957), Donald Innis (1958), Carl Johannessen (1959), Clinton Edwards (1962), and Leonard Sawatzky (1967).
s in the second generation of the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography: Campbell Pennington (1959), William Denevan
(1963), David Harris (1963), Thomas Veblen (1975), and Karl Zimmerer (1987).
, became a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and, in turn, produced the majority of the third generation. Denevan's Ph.D.
students who completed dissertations on Latin American topics are Daniel Gade (1967), Bernard Nietschmann (1970), Roger Byrne (1972), Roland Bergmann (1974), Billie Lee Turner II (1974), Gregory Knapp (1984), Kent Mathewson (1987), John M. Treacy (1989), and Oliver Coomes (1992).
studied with Billie Lee Turner II, a prominent member of the third generation. Doolittle earned the Ph.D.
in 1979, became a professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at University of Texas at Austin
, and has extended the school into the fifth generation. Doolittle's Ph.D.
students who completed dissertations on Latin American topics are Dean P. Lambert (1992), Andrew Sluyter
(1995), Emily H. Young (1995), Eric P. Perramond (1999), Phil L. Crossley (1999), Jerry O. (Joby) Bass (2003), Maria G. Fadiman (2003), and Matthew Fry (2008).
Several of that fifth generation hold faculty positions in university departments with doctoral programs, and a sixth generation is now emerging. They are applying new approaches and research questions to the study of the peoples and places of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
Carl O. Sauer
Carl O. Sauer
Carl Ortwin Sauer was an American geographer. Sauer was a professor of geography at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus in 1957 and was instrumental in the early development of the geography graduate school at Berkeley. One of his best known works...
. Sauer was a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
in 1957 and was instrumental in the early development of the geography graduate program at Berkeley and the discipline of geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Each generation of this research school has pursued new theoretical and methodological approaches, but their study of the peoples and places of Latin America and the Caribbean has remained the common denominator since the early 20th century.
First Generation
Sauer graduated many doctoral students, the majority completing dissertations on Latin American and Caribbean topics and thereby founding the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography. Sauer's Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
students who completed dissertations on Latin American and Caribbean topics are Fred Kniffen (1930), Peveril Meigs (1932), Donald Brand (1933), Henry Bruman (1940), Felix W. McBryde (1940), Robert Bowman (1941), Dan Stanislawski (1944), Robert C. West (1946), James J. Parsons (1948), Edwin Doran (1953), Philip Wagner (1953), Brigham Arnold (1954), Homer Aschmann (1954), B. LeRoy Gordon (1954), Gordon Merrill (1957), Donald Innis (1958), Carl Johannessen (1959), Clinton Edwards (1962), and Leonard Sawatzky (1967).
Second Generation
Of Sauer's doctoral students, James J. Parsons became the most prolific in terms of directing Latin Americanist doctoral dissertations. He remained at the University of California at Berkeley and produced many of the Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
s in the second generation of the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography: Campbell Pennington (1959), William Denevan
William Denevan
William M. Denevan is professor emeritus of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a prominent member of the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography. He also worked in the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the same university...
(1963), David Harris (1963), Thomas Veblen (1975), and Karl Zimmerer (1987).
Third Generation
One of the second generation, William DenevanWilliam Denevan
William M. Denevan is professor emeritus of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a prominent member of the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography. He also worked in the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the same university...
, became a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and, in turn, produced the majority of the third generation. Denevan's Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
students who completed dissertations on Latin American topics are Daniel Gade (1967), Bernard Nietschmann (1970), Roger Byrne (1972), Roland Bergmann (1974), Billie Lee Turner II (1974), Gregory Knapp (1984), Kent Mathewson (1987), John M. Treacy (1989), and Oliver Coomes (1992).
Subsequent Generations
A member of the fourth generation, William E. DoolittleWilliam E. Doolittle
William E. Doolittle is an American geographer who is prominent among the fourth generation of the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography. He is currently the Erich W. Zimmermann Regents Professor in Geography at the Department of Geography and the Environment at University of Texas at Austin...
studied with Billie Lee Turner II, a prominent member of the third generation. Doolittle earned the Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1979, became a professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at University of Texas at Austin
Department of Geography and the Environment at University of Texas at Austin
The Department of Geography and The Environment at The University of Texas at Austin is a division unit of the College of Liberal Arts. The Department was founded in 1949 and is a research focused institution with a well-developed graduate program...
, and has extended the school into the fifth generation. Doolittle's Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
students who completed dissertations on Latin American topics are Dean P. Lambert (1992), Andrew Sluyter
Andrew Sluyter
Andrew Sluyter is an American social scientist and professor in the Geography and Anthropology Department of the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. His interests are the environmental history and historical ecology of the colonization of the Americas...
(1995), Emily H. Young (1995), Eric P. Perramond (1999), Phil L. Crossley (1999), Jerry O. (Joby) Bass (2003), Maria G. Fadiman (2003), and Matthew Fry (2008).
Several of that fifth generation hold faculty positions in university departments with doctoral programs, and a sixth generation is now emerging. They are applying new approaches and research questions to the study of the peoples and places of Latin America and the Caribbean.