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Lectures
Tome 35 2006/4
Lectures
L’empire américain
Smith N. (2003). American Empire: Roosevelt’s Geographer and the Prelude to Globalisation. Berkeley : University of California Press, California Studies in Critical Human Geography, no 9, 558 p.
Dr. Isaiah Bowman (1878-1950) is the central figure in this revealing and long-awaited study by Professor Neil Smith (City University of New York). The name of Bowman may be known to readers of this review as author of The New World (1921) that outlined global political geography in the aftermath of World War I (and was translated by Jean Brunhes, appearing as Le Nouveau Monde, Payot, 1928). Bowman headed the USA’s geographical experts at the Paris Peace Conference, interacting on amicable terms with the Vidalians playing a similar role for France. Indeed, the great transcontinental excursion headed by William Morris Davis across the USA in 1912 had enabled many friendships between American and French geographers to blossom. After teaching Geography at Yale, Bowman was appointed Director of the American Geographical Society (EGS)in 1915 with a dual mission of making it a respectable scholarly society, and of promoting Geography in American universities.
He believed that Geography could be harnessed in the service of the State and went on to play vital advisory and research roles throughout his life. Bowman’s views of the world were essential contributions to shaping US foreign policy under Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, not least in creating the United Nations and dividing Germany after World War II. In 1935 Bowman had been appointed President of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) where, during the 1940s, he housed scientific research for the pursuit of warfare, and launched a programme to instruct military servicemen in the rudiments of Geography. He realised his ambition of founding a School of Geography at Hopkins but soon fired many of the staff he had hired (including Jean Gottmann).
Smith’s detailed archival research and use of oral history reveals that Bowman was racist, anti-semitic, and homophobic – but perhaps no more so than other white, middle-aged men of the ruling class in the USA. His authoritarian style made his countless enemies at the AGS, Hopkins, among geographers, and in political circles. He sacked many of those who crossed him (or contrived to have them dismissed), whilst most of those he retained served him in fear. This « great man » of American Geography actively sought personal power but was also overawed by it. Most certainly, he was far from being a congenial collaborator.
And yet the name of Bowman does not appear in the title of the book under review; instead, the dustcover shows American warships. The reason is that Smith uses the life of one man to cast light on broader matters. Following in the footsteps of Bowman (and of Demangeon, Brunhes and Vallaux) he analyses the rise of American economic power during the 20th century – arguably the « American Century ». From the Paris Peace Treaty to Allied victory in World War II and on to the new millennium Smith charts the politico-economic dominance of the transatlantic superpower, indeed the only superpower after the fall of the Berlin Wall. A second interwoven theme is the uneven progress of Geography in American universities, with Bowman’s claim that it was the « queen of sciences » being rejected by numerous hard scientists, social scientists, and scholars in the humanities alike. Many Departments of Geography were opened – and a fair number were closed! The battle for disciplinary credibility continues. The third message is Smith’s critique of globalisation, whether expressed in American political might, economic hegemony, or cultural dominance.
The thoroughly researched biography of Bowman serves as an entrée into the evolution of our discipline and, as Demangeon put it, America and the Race for World Domination (being the translated title of Le Déclin de l’Europe). Whether one thinks of Afghanistan and Iraq, or of McDo and José Bové, this is surely a timely and provocative book. Despite its intricacy and length, it is an enthralling read; seventy pages of endnotes provide detailed references and observations to further illuminate the text. Shortcomings are few: remembering a scholar whose life revolved around the spatial complexities of political geography, some of the maps Smith had drawn are crude. Not all place names are spelled correctly or placed accurately on these maps, and rivers « disappear » along national boundaries. Finally, I would have liked to learn more about Isaiah Bowman as a family man, as well as « a major prophet ». Apparently he adored children but loathed many of his fellow men. Without doubt, Neil Smith has written a tour de force.— Hugh Clout, University of London
Cartographies
Bollmann J., Koch W.G. (2001). Lexikon der kartographie und geomatik. Heidelberg-Berlin : Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 2 vol., 453 et 455 p. Le Fur A., (2000). Pratiques de la cartographie. Paris : Armand Colin, coll. « Synthèse », série géographie, 96 p.
Deux livres sur la cartographie, aussi différents que possible, mais très complémentaires. L’encyclopédie publiée par Jürgen Bollmann et Wolf Günther Koch, respectivement professeurs à l’université de Trèves et à l’Université Technique de Dresde, est consacrée aux concepts et aux techniques de la cartographie et de la géomatique. Ses deux gros volumes expliquent des centaines de termes techniques de cartographie mais aussi d’un spectre de disciplines en amont de celle-ci, de la physique à la géodésie et à l’informatique, notamment de nombreux termes et sigles en anglais. D’autres entrées sont consacrées à des grandes figures de ces mêmes disciplines, si bien que l’on trouve naturellement des entrées sur Mercator et Petermann, mais aussi Einstein et Halley. Mais, curieusement, ni Christaller, ni Von Thünen. L’illustration est abondante et très soignée, en noir et blanc, sauf dans un cahier central en couleurs. Si bien que la « Blaue Banane » est traitée en gris, sous l’article « Geodesign » (mais elle est en couleurs sur la couverture, dans une petite vignette). Son inclusion montre en tout cas que nos collègues allemands nous lisent, comme le montre aussi l’entrée « chorème », accompagnée de la table des chorèmes (Abbildungssytematik und Beispiele, nach R. Brunet), rédigée par Peter Tainz. Symétriquement, ces ouvrages nous informent sur des auteurs et des techniques qui ne nous sont pas familiers. Seuls inconvénients, le prix élevé des deux volumes et la langue dans laquelle ils sont rédigés, qui semblent les destiner à en faire des ouvrages de référence à consulter en bibliothèque.
Le livre d’Anne Le Fur, cartographe à l’Afdec (Association française pour le développement de l’expression cartographique) et enseignante de cartographie à Paris I, est tout le contraire : mince, léger, pédagogique, il vise à communiquer sous une forme concentrée et pratique les principes de la cartographie et du langage graphique à ceux qui veulent réaliser leurs propres cartes. Glossaire, encadrés, exemples, bibliographie, listes de logiciels et de sites internet (déjà largement caduques, tant les choses changent vite dans ce domaine), tout est fait pour faire de ce livre un outil pratique et, espérons-le, un moyen d’éviter que la facilité d’usage des logiciels ne multiplie les cartes illisibles ou fausses. Alors que le premier ouvrage est de l’ordre de la somme, on a ici affaire au genre vade-mecum, l’un et l’autre ayant leur utilité.— Hervé Théry, CNRS-Credal et Universidade de São Paulo
© Cairn 2007
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