The spirit of the place

In short, we all have something geographical within us. Or, why and how, in the era of globalization, the forgotten science of our school days meets the need for a living knowledge. The book "Une science annexe", which is considered tedious and laborious like geography? No, says Jean-Robert Pitte, showing that, far from the relief maps of our childhood, geography is first and foremost the science of planetary diversity. It explains this diversity through the shimmering of nature in all its forms as well as human creativity, which constantly varies in space and time. This infinite diversity expresses a universal value, which is the necessity for any society to establish intimate connections with its environment in order to make the most of it. In this context, geography refuses to consider that there is a "nature" independent of human will. It is the very expression of the genius of the place. A scholarly and literary praise by one of the great figures of world geography. The author, Jean-Robert Pitte, a specialist in landscape and gastronomy, is the president of the Société de géographie and the scientific co-director of the Festival international de géographie (FIG), held annually in Saint-Dié. From 2003 to 2008, he was the president of the University of Paris IV, where he teaches. Arguments: - Praise from a master in the field. - Success of Jean-Robert Pitte's recent works: "Bordeaux-Bourgogne, les passions rivales" (2005), and "Géographie culturelle" (2007).