Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

Geography and Territory Planning has not been accepted. The Geographers WhiteBook with this proposal can be seen at the web page of the Asociación de GeógrafosEspanoles (http://www.ieg.csic.es/age).In addition, thinking about the classes in ECTS terms appear to be a greatopportunity to renew our lessons and to exile for ever from the Spanish universitiesthat “contract” by which the professor arrives at the classroom and speaks and thestudents write. Or alternatively they do not write, nor do they attend the class butlater on they copy notes of their companions. This reform is a difficult task becausethere are already groups of professors and students fighting against the “capitalistglobalization” that they say is meant by the Bologna process.Since the 1980’s the general aim was for Geography students to participate as activeagents in land use management and to learn many techniques; but most of the time,their career aspirations were limited, once they completed their studies, to enteringcompanies of automatic cartography and GIS, where they would spend most of theirtime digitizing in front of a computer screen. Were their studies necessary for this?Land use planning is, basically, in the hands of architects, and geographers and iscarried through work delegated by them. For that reason the proposal of the Associationof Spanish Geographers in the White Book did not have a favourable echo fromthe authorities. It is not difficult to guess that the group of architects carried muchmore social weight that that of the geographers. This therefore reflects to the questionof how the new studies adapt and prepare students for the labour market.I have the impression that, from an ideological perspective, the situation of geographyas a subject is very serious. Spanish students of Geography seem to be losingany critical perspective. The disciplines that, traditionally, contributed with theircontent and ideas to the geographic task are no longer linked. Geography seems to nolonger concern itself with major issues. For example, it is interesting to observe in theSpanish bibliography that geographers are rarely represented in discussing questionslike the problem of the nationalism or the conflicts and wars of recent years. Withouta historical or economic perspective it is impossible to make a correct geographicanalysis. But instead it is the sociologists, and anthropologists who are occupying thespaces that geographers have left empty. So we should ask why geographers in Spainno longer concern themselves with places where previously we had much to say.The professional development of the geographer is thus one of the great challengesthat we face in the new common Europe, for that reason our reflections mustconsider the history of the discipline and what we can offer to society. On one occasion,Professor Emilio Lledó said, in reference to the technological progress and therole of Humanism:“(…) La transformación y agresión que la naturaleza sufre, debida a ese progresotecnológico, es tan grave que la fundamentación del un humanismo renovadotendría que partir de esa situación. Basta leer la prensa diaria para percibir, claramenteo entre líneas, los múltiples problemas sin solucionar que arrastra el logro,más o menos aparente, de ciertas parcelas del llamado “bienestar”. Esta palabrasupone una doble vertiente: por un lado se refiere a la gratificante instalación denuestro cuerpo en un espacio adecuado y, me atrevería a decir, fraternal. Pero,176