Becoming the Department of Geography
During 2017 the old Department of Geography, Environment and Development Studies (GEDS) has been changing its name to the much simpler ‘Department of Geography’. The changeover will be complete at the end of the Summer term and we will start the new 2017-18 academic year with our new name in place for all our systems. This change does not affect the title of any degrees awarded or any programmes of study, but we think that it does reflect a distinct identity for all our staff and students.
We hope that dropping our longer title will make clear what it is that we do, and will help all our students feel a sense of belonging to an easily identifiable department - rather than having to constantly ask or answer questions about what exactly ‘GEDS’ is. For us, changing the name is not about playing down or shouting less loudly about the importance of environment or development studies. In fact it is quite the opposite, a clear statement that geography includes these topics, and sees them as part of an inclusive single discipline that seeks to understand human and environmental systems.
The change to ‘Geography’ although small in some ways (lots of people called us ‘Geography’ even when we were ‘GEDS’), is significant in others and it marks an important point on a journey that we have been making since the department was founded in 2009. GEDS came together following a restructuring of the Schools and Departments in the College and it brought together staff and programmes who had not worked together before. Over the last eight years we’ve become a single department who now work closely on our teaching and research and the name change reflects this common purpose.
Geography is a distinctive discipline that bridges the natural and social worlds and geographers are uniquely well-placed to address some of the biggest problems that the world currently faces. The Birkbeck Department of Geography is thriving; it has more staff and offers more programmes than ever before, and we are very much looking forward to being part of the solution to those problems.
- Professor Rosie Cox, Department of Geography Assistant Dean