Geography and other disciplines: genealogy, anamnesis and the canon

This article argues that the idea of the geographical canon has continuing value, although its constitution and scope need to be rethought. The argument draws on three sources of inspiration. One is the work of Quentin Skinner, who offered a critique of the idea of the canon of political thought before subsequently going on to act as the co-editor of a series of Texts in the History of Political Thought. The second is the method of genealogy, developed by Michel Foucault. Drawing on both the methodological writings of Foucault and their interpretation by Stuart Elden, I argue that the substance of a genealogy of geographical thought should not be confined to the work of geographers. The third inspiration for this article is the idea of anamnesis, introduced by the philosopher of science Isabelle Stengers in her study of the history of the physical sciences, Cosmopolitics. The practice of anamnesis, I argue, invites us to re-read texts that should continue to animate our thinking in the present.