A neoliberal and uneven landscape: the challenges and coping strategies of geography departments in the US educational system

Abstract

Geography Departments in the US are facing challenging times. In this article we address a twofold question. First, we explore the academic difficulties facing US universities and identify some of the coping strategies they have adopted to overcome these challenges. We then focus on the challenges of geography education at different levels as well as some of the strategies that university departments’ chairs and program directors in the US have adopted to overcome these constraints. To address the question, we analyze literature on undergraduate and graduate education programs in the US in general, and of geography education, in particular. We further build our analysis based on the personal experience of one of the authors: in his role as the Chair of a US Geography Department for more than 15 years, including the knowledge he acquired in leading positions in US regional and national Geography Associations, as well as his role in conducting external reviews of Geography Program and related programs.