Oskar Schmieder (January 27, 1891 in
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
- February 12, 1980 in
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
) was a German
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
and expert in the regional geography of Latin America. He spent his early career with
Carl O. Sauer
Carl Ortwin Sauer (December 24, 1889 – July 18, 1975) was an American geographer. Sauer was a professor of geography at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus in 1957. He has been called "the d ...
at the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
, where he was an Associate Professor from 1926 to 1930.
Life
Schmieder studied geography at the
University of Bonn
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...
,
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussi ...
, and the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
. His dissertation on the
Sierra de Gredos
The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range in central Spain that spans the provinces of Ávila, Salamanca, Cáceres, Madrid, and Toledo. It is part of the much larger Sistema Central of mountain ranges. Its highest point is Pico Almanzor, at ...
was supervised by
Alfred Hettner
Alfred Hettner (August 6, 1859 in Dresden – August 31, 1941 in Heidelberg) was a German geographer.
He is known for his concept of chorology, the study of places and regions, a concept that influenced both Carl O. Sauer and Richard Hartsho ...
. Although focusing on physical geography, the final conclusions of his dissertation already include a certain notion of the social and cultural-historical forces that are decisive for the genesis of the landscape (later known as the
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
-
genetic method); a point of view influenced by Hettner. In 1914 he undertook his first private field trip to
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, but cancelled his trip in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
to participate in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
His first travel to Latin America was crucial for his later career. After his ''
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
'' under
Alfred Philippson
Alfred Philippson (1 January 1864 – 28 March 1953) was a German geologist and geographer.
He was born at Bonn, son of Ludwig Philippson. He received his education at the gymnasium and university of his native town and at the University of Leipz ...
in Bonn in 1919, with a study on the
settlement geography
Settlement geography is a branch of human geography that investigates the earth's surface's part settled by humans. According to the United Nations' Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976), "human settlements means the totality of the h ...
of
Ávila
Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila.
It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...
in central Spain, he travelled again to Latin America. Before arriving in Peru and Chile, however, he became a professor of
mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
and
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
at the
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to:
Places
* Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* Universidad (Madrid)
Football clubs
* Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, where he remained from 1920 to 1925. Influenced by his mentor
Alfred Hettner
Alfred Hettner (August 6, 1859 in Dresden – August 31, 1941 in Heidelberg) was a German geographer.
He is known for his concept of chorology, the study of places and regions, a concept that influenced both Carl O. Sauer and Richard Hartsho ...
, who worked on the Colombian Andes, his regional focus was appreciated at the University of California at Berkeley where he worked with
Carl O. Sauer
Carl Ortwin Sauer (December 24, 1889 – July 18, 1975) was an American geographer. Sauer was a professor of geography at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus in 1957. He has been called "the d ...
as a Visiting Professor (1925) and Associate Professor (until 1930) (replacing
Richard Russel), and contributed the Latin Americanist focus—and probably German geographic methodology—to the development of the
Berkeley School. Together, they carried out research in
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. During this time, he taught courses in Latin American regional geography visited by
Fred B. Kniffen
Fred Bowerman Kniffen (January 18, 1900 – May 19, 1993) was an American geographer and distinguished professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University for over 64 years. Kniffen had a background in anthropo ...
,
Samuel N. Dicken, and
Julian Steward
Julian Haynes Steward (January 31, 1902 – February 6, 1972) was an American anthropologist known best for his role in developing "the concept and method" of cultural ecology, as well as a scientific theory of culture change.
Early life and ed ...
, among others. Although Sauer offered him the position of a Full Professor, Schmieder decided to go back to Germany. After Schmieder's departure, Sauer himself began to offer seminars on Latin America,
[Delpar, H. (2008): Looking South: The Evolution of Latin Americanist Scholarship in the United States, 1850-1975. University of Alabama Press.] yet followed more or less the Länderkunde format of Schmieder, as
James J. Parsons lines out:
Back to Germany in 1930, he became a professor of geography at the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
, where he continued his work on Latin America with his disciple and assistant
Herbert Wilhelmy
Herbert Wilhelmy (February 4, 1910 - February 1, 2003) was a German geographer. Wilhelmy has made significant impact in the area of Latin American regional geography, with a focus on climatic geomorphology and, especially, morphogenetic urban ge ...
. He soon adopted the then dominating
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
/
national socialist
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
mode of thinking, became an admirer of the colonial policies of Fascist Italy, contributed to national socialist ''
Lebensraum
(, ''living space'') is a German concept of settler colonialism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' became a geopolitical goal of Imperi ...
'' research, and became a member of the
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
in 1941.
After a period at the
University of Halle
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
, he went back to Kiel. In the 1950s, he was a Visiting Professor at the
University of Karachi
The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...
and the
University of Chile
The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843. . In a 1967 volume of the Pakistan Geographical Review he was described as "one of the very senior geographers, a chapter in German geography, an image of Hettner, and a successful writer. He is one of the associates of Berkeley school of geography, founded by Carl Sauer". Schmieder was a convinced representative of ''Länderkunde''
regional geography
Regional geography is a major branch of geography. It focuses on the interaction of different cultural and natural geofactors in a specific land or landscape, while its counterpart, systematic geography, concentrates on a specific geofactor at the ...
.
Selected works
* ''Die Sierra de Gredos'' (
Dissertation), 1915.
* ''Die Cordillera del Chani,'' 1922.
* ''Zur eiszeitlichen Vergletscherung des Nevado de Chani (Rep. Argentina, Prov. de Jujuy)'' (Die Erde), 1922
* ''Argentinien'' (Geographische Zeitschrift), 1922.
* ''Condor Huasi – eine befestigte Siedlung der Inkas im südlichen Bolivien'' (Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen), 1924
* ''Spuren spanischer Kolonisation in US-amerikanischen Landschaften,'' 1928
* ''The East Bolivian Andes South of the Rio Grande or Guapay'' (University of California Publications in Geography, Volume II), 1929
* ''The Pampa, a Natural or Culturally Induced Grass-land?'' (University of California Publications in Geography, Volume II), 1929
* ''The Historic Geography of Tucuman'' (University of California Publications in Geography, Volume II), 1929
* ''The Brazilian Culture Hearth'' (University of California Publications in Geography, Volume III), 1929
* ''Wandlungen im Siedlungsbilde Perus im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert'' (Geographische Zeitschrift), 1929
* ''The settlements of the Tzapotec and Mije Indians, state of Oaxaca, Mexico'' (University of California Press), 1930.
* ''Länderkunde Südamerikas,'' 1932.
* ''Länderkunde Nordamerikas: Vereinigte Staaten und Canada,'' 1933.
* ''Länderkunde Mittelamerikas, Westindien, Mexico und Zentralamerika,'' 1934.
* ''Die Neue Welt, 2 Bände,'' 1962–1963.
* ''Die Alte Welt, 2 Bände,'' 1965–1969.
* ''Alexander von Humboldt. Persönlichkeit, wissenschaftliches Werk und Auswirkung auf die moderne Länderkunde'' (Geographische Zeitschrift), 1964
* ''Lebenserinnerungen und Tagebuchblätter eines Geographen,'' 1972.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmieder, Oskar
German geographers
1891 births
1980 deaths
Academic staff of the University of Kiel
University of California, Berkeley faculty
Academic staff of the National University of Córdoba
20th-century geographers