Les relations entre histoire et géographie en France : tensions, controverses et accalmies

Autore: Nicolas Verdier
In: Storica. 40 • anno XIV, 2008
doi:10.1400/116159
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Abstract

Relations between history and geography in France: tensions, disputes, calms
In France relations between history and geography have been strongly influenced by long-living tensions, resulting from the separation between the two disciplines at the time of the establishment of geography as an independent university field at the end of the XlXth century. With theses characterized by high historical content, geography of the first half of the XXth century has had to build its identity against history. Recurrent justification led to the concept of a time scale incommensurable with that of history. From the fifties to the eighties, tensions developed over the issue of the reasons which prevented the creation of single social science. During the same period, criticisms of determinism, because of growing neglect, did not allow production of geography. Since the beginning of 1990s, interest of histo- rians for anthropology or sociology has led to less contentious relations. In addition, researches which link history and geography are no longer deriving from an interdisciplinary logic, but are maintained at the appropriate level among researchers participating to a limited project.