Sırrı Erinç’s Contributions to the Literature on the Principles and Methods of Regional Geography
Abstract
In Turkey, regional geography is a field of science that is often misunderstood. It is generally perceived as a collective study of the issues of physical and human geography in a particular area. In this sense, regional geography is not much different from systematic (or general) geography; the only difference is in the treatment of topics. Indeed, the way of handling the methods and issues of regional geography is completely different from systematic geography. Above all, systematic geography treats the topics in an analytical method, whereas regional geography is a science of synthesis. In other words, regional geography does not cover the topics of systematic geography in a specific field; it determines the most influential factor in the formation of a landschaft and offers an explanation. Thus, many geographers believe that the ultimate goal of geographical studies is to arrive at a regional analysis and see the regional geography as the summit of geographical research.
Some of the geographers in Turkey have entered the field with the study of systematic geography and turned to the study of regional geography only after. Most geographers, however, are not even aware of the latter. Sırrı Erinç, a famous physical geographer, is one of those few scholars also competent in regional geography. He has published widely on the principles and methods of regional geography in Turkey and elsewhere. In this article, we will discuss his studies, which could serve as a model for understanding the principles and methods of regional geography.
Keywords: Geography, Regional Geography, Sırrı Erinç, Principles of Regional Geography.
Ali Yiğit
