Pure Geographer

Observations on J.G. Granö and Soundscape Studies

Abstract

Senses and aesthetics are fundamental elements in constructing the relationship to environment. The environment perceived as a work of art does not consist just of an aesthetic experience, but it could contribute to the critical evaluation of the environment (Niskanen 1996, 45; Karjalainen 2004, 55). These aesthetic and critical evaluations of the environment are both included in two ground-breaking books of different disciplines and eras, Pure Geography and The Tuning of the World.

Finnish geographer Johannes Gabriel Granö’s Pure Geography was originally published in German (Reine Geographie, 1929), then in his native tongue Finnish (Puhdas maantiede, 1930), and finally in English nearly 70 years later (Pure Geography, 1997). Contrary to fellow scholars of his time, Granö aimed to utilize all senses in his geographical research and in order to do so, he needed to create a terminology for visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile phenomena sensed in the environment and to construct a cartographic representation of landscape (see also Wojciechowski 2008).