The Dictionary of Human Geography

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seek to change the terms and values under

which we all live’: critical formulations that

were rooted in the particular circumstances

of exploitation and dispossession inafrica,

asia and latin america (Young, 2003b,

p. 20; cf.subaltern studies). Second, Young

wanted to emphasize the political affinities be-

tween these knowledges and projects of popu-

lar liberation anddecolonization. In doing

so, he acknowledged that Marx’s writings were

often a crucial inspiration, but he insisted that

this was an historical materialism

that did not survive the journey fromeurope

intact: it was reworked in creative ways that

were directly tied to practical, political

conjunctures elsewhere in the world (seetrav-

elling theory). dg

Suggested reading

Bongie (2002).

tropicality Cartographically, the Tropics are

defined by the latitudinal lines of Cancer and

Capricorn around theglobe, 23 degrees and

27 minutes north and south of the Equator,

within which the sun may shine directly over-

head. However, in cultural and political terms,

tropicality – likeorientalism– is not a fixed

or a given fact of geography: it is a way of

thinking in which spaces are describedmeta-

phorically, associating ‘the Tropics’ with a

certain kind of experience, vision,landscape

or society (Arnold, 1996a; Driver and

Martins, 2005). The conceptual mapping of

the ‘tropical’ – as defined against the ‘temper-

ate’ – is one of the most enduring themes in

theimaginative geographiesof the globe,

from classical mythology to modernlitera-

ture(Cosgrove, 2001). Whether represented

positively as a zone of luxuriant superabun-

dance (as in Alexander von Humboldt’s writ-

ings on tropical landscape), or negatively as a

pathological space of degeneration (as in

Joseph Conrad’s novel,Heart of darkness),

tropicalnaturehas frequently been employed

as a counterpoint to all that is modest, civilized

or cultivated – or, in a word, ‘normal’ (cf.

Gregory, 2001b). Images of tropicality have

thus had a sustained impact withindiscourses

ofexploration, travel andtourism, and are

also to be found in a wide variety of other

cultural forms, from landscape painting and

epic poetry to architecture and popular

music. In the history of science, they are

reflected in the emergence of distinct sub-

disciplinary specialisms – for example, tropical

medicine, tropical climatology (seeclimate)

or tropical geomorphology – although the

distinctiveness of the ‘tropical’ in these fields

has always been contested. In the modern

world, images of tropical difference have

played a significant part in military imaginaries

duringwarsin asia and South East Asia

in particular, and they continue to shape

theiconographyof luxury tourism, global

environmentalismand commodity advertis-

ing more generally.

Although critical reflection on notions of

tropicality is of relatively recent date (Arnold,

1996a; Driver and Yeoh, 2000), writings on

the geographical characteristics of the tropical

world have a long history. As the discipline of

geographydeveloped in its modern form, the

field of ‘tropical geography’ flourished for a

brief period, notably in France during the

mid-twentieth century, where the work of the

geomorphologist Pierre Gourou (1900–99) –

author ofLes pays tropicaux(1947) – was par-

ticularly influential. Subsequent critiques of

this work drew attention to its ideological

blind-spots in relation tocolonialismand

development, and its tendency to treat the

impact of environment on society in a-histor-

ical terms. The history of tropical geography

needs to be seen in the context of the colonial

histories of the Francophone world, notably in

Indochina. Recent work, however, casts new

light on the ambivalent sense of tropicality

within this tradition and the extent to which it

supported the programmes of colonialism

(Bowd and Clayton, 2005a,b). More generally,

the extent to which the idea of tropicality can be

understood, like Orientalism, as a form of dis-

cursive projection imposed by the West remains

a matter for debate. Notions of tropicality,

whether geographical, scientific or aesthetic,

are not simply the product of imperial fantasy:

they also contain other experiences, and other

possibilities (see also Arnold, 2006). fd

Suggested reading

Arnold (1996a); Driver and Martins (2005).

trust A quality that gives statements, individ-

uals or organizations credibility and authority.

Trust has become an important theme in

areas of human geography concerned to

understand processes of knowledge credibility

and transfer. economic geographers have

addressed the ways in which economic relation-

ships may depend upon trust between those

engaged in transactions, with consequences

for the value placed upon face-to-face contact,

and the ways in which places may construct

their economic reputation around trustworthi-

ness. Thus Hudson’s (1998) study of the

Gregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_T Final Proof page 777 31.3.2009 9:40pm Compositor Name: ARaju

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