Towards humble geographies

Abstract

This paper outlines the potential for a more “humble geography.” Most of us have been awed in some way by the world, humbled, but how often is that reflected in our work as geographers? As a thinking tool, “humble geographies” can combine insights and ethics from posthuman and feminist philosophies, participatory action research, and situated knowledges. Humility could helpfully contribute in debates seeking to improve geographic research practice. Humility, a quiet virtue, has potential to inspire change in the ways we relate with others and our institutions. Drawing on research experiences in the high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, I give some examples of humble geographies in practice that raise questions about the ideal balance between authority and humility. How can we be humble in the face of rising pressures to sell ourselves and our research as highly impactful and important – in short, anything but humble? My aim is to open a discussion as to how we can helpfully inject more humility into our work.

The bad environmentalism of ‘nature is healing’ memes

“…The above argument -like its object -is tentative and humble rather than self-assured. 69 There is no guarantee of social revolution promised by 'nature is healing' memes, no indication that we (in the human and other-than-human senses) will come out the other side of the pandemic better. This is the dark context to contemporary humor, which proliferates in a time of widespread socially-differentiated misery.…”

Landing in affective atmospheres

“…In fact, during our data collection we observed and participated in much more 'shocking' experiences such as collective spirit possession which we found less unsettling than a comparatively calm and idyllic Sanctuary. Our choice of focus was therefore on those humbling experiences (Saville, 2020) which best illustrated how our bodies registered the affective intensities of the field, intensities that we were seemingly unprepared for. Hill et al (2021) noted the problems outsiders face when they lack proper entrainment, poetic affective attunement allowed us to unpack why landing is heterogeneous and individually felt and how it can lead to collective effervescence as orientations align, but emphasises that this is certainly not always the case.…”

“…Indeed, the poetic affective attunement process expands on Canniford’s (2012) methods in taking a confessional tone and allowing us insight into the drivers of our action, both conscious and unconscious. By adopting a ‘radical vulnerability’ (Saville, 2020) we acknowledge our many privileges (able, white, Western, educated, etc.). This puts us at a distance from many of the vulnerable consumers our research focuses on; we are not vulnerable consumers, however, our data evidences the vulnerabilities we experienced in these encounters.…”

Writing economies and economies of writing

“…Culturally, disciplines such as economics and economic geography have been accused of reproducing (white) masculine privilege (Dorling, 2019;Pugh, 2020). As criticisms mount over heteromasculine performances of 'master' academics controlling the disciplinary narrative and subjectsa charge one might suggest is especially pertinent in 'economic' writingsgeographers are grappling with how to reconcile strident or negative critique with affirmations of diversity and ambivalence (Kern, 2021;Linz and Secor, 2021;Ruez and Cockayne, 2021;Saville, 2020). Decentring expertise over what constitutes 'the economy' goes to the writing practices at the core of discipline's systems of reputation and reward.…”