ABSTRACT
Investigating difference and diversity in the contexts of time and space is the central theme of geography. Geographers working in a wide expanse of themes and subjects generally do not disagree with this definitional stance, but a number of them express disagreements on whether this foundational focus is equally applicable across the globe or, at least, on when epistemological basis, ontological and methodological frameworks come into concern in generating geographical scholarship. Arguments are appearing that the situatedness (influence of attached location; whether based in South or North) of geographers influence their roles in investigating difference and diversity while they are examining a geographical project. The differences are reflected in the styles, approaches they are taking and the themes /subjects they are interested in while producing geographical knowledge. Accordingly, critical comments are appearing and gradually amplified, echoed in ‘core geography versus periphery geography’ and ‘theory-based versus empirical’. Against this backdrop, this chapter aims to set up a book in which thirteen Bangladesh geographers contributed towards the making of a ‘geography of the periphery’. The chapter presents brief introductions to the contributions made by the different authors and shows that the ‘weakness of Southern geographers,’ on which some ‘core’ geographers remarked, are in reality is the strengths of the discipline. Authors give arguments and discourage dichotomous standing; they argue, rather, that geography as a discipline is a dissoluble mix of empirical and theory-based exercises. Bangladesh, as a country in transition, is taken as a case study in this book that shows how local geographers significantly contributed, through the generation of geographical knowledge, in the development of the country. Their intellectual contributions may help in enhancing discussions and, finally, may support an emerging discipline known as ‘neo-geography’, with ‘new pedagogies’ and the capacity to cross the border of existing debates.
