The Dictionary of Human Geography

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returned to haunt the present in another guise:

whereas Australasia was originally used to

mark a separation from Asia, in recent years

regionalgeographical imaginarieshave been

both dislocated and reoriented by deepening

economic and cultural connections between

the two. ep

Suggested reading

Denoon (2003); Whatmore (2002c).

authenticity The genuineness, trustworthi-

ness and accuracy of an object or an account.

Human geographers have addressed the issue

of authenticity in relation to a whole raft

of questions fromidentitypolitics (e.g. the

gendered self) to our understanding of and

relationship withnature. In all cases there

has been a shift away from an essentialist

concept of the authentic (cf.essentialism)to

a more partial, constructed and situated no-

tion of what passes as authentic (Whatmore,

2002a). Rather than presenting a foundation-

alist account of authenticity, human geograph-

ers are tracing how particular versions of

authenticity get played out in the knowledge-

making practices of specific times and places

(Livingstone, 2003c). nj

Suggested reading

Livingstone (2003c).

azimuth The azimuth is the horizontal (‘on

the ground’) angle between a given direction

and some line of reference (a meridian).

Imagine that you stand looking northwards

along the Grand Meridian (zero degrees lon-

gitude) at Greenwich, England – the official

starting point for each new day. A bird flies

nearby and you turn your feet towards its

shadow on the ground. The angle you have

rotated defines the azimuth. Because that angle

usually is measured with a compass, azimuth is

synonymous with bearing. But be warned if

travelling to the North Pole – the azimuth

you should follow is not magnetic north! rh

Suggested reading

Robinson, Morrison, Muehrcke, Guptill and

Kimerling (1993).

Gregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_A Final Proof page 40 31.3.2009 9:44pm

AUTHENTICITY