This is your day - you graduates are the heroes and heroines of the hour, and I want to honor you, as well as expressing how honored and delighted I am to be invited to talk to you today, in what I suppose may be regarded as my swan-song.
Let me at the outset express the hope that you will have as happy a life - as geographers - as I have. The luckiest people in the world are those who love what they do - in my experience they are only a minority even in such a lucky country as this one. I have been teaching geography around the world for over fifty years, 37 of them right here on this campus, with no regrets on that score.
1. So I would like to congratulate you warmly on the courage and perspicacity you have already shown in pledging for or plunging into, geography. You have demonstrated an independence of mind, which is one sure signal for your future success in life. Why do I say this? Because, unlike in some other countries, geography is still only vaguely known and understood in this country. The skepticism and discouragement by parental or other authorities needs conviction and strength to surmount. When you first announced your choice of major, the chances are you got reactions such as "geography, what can you do with that, state capitals, rivers and other lists . . . . . come on, what about Business, Law or Medicine, Economics, Engineering or Computer Science? Again, your demonstration of conviction and strength of mind in pursuit of your dream tells a lot about you.
2. Following your choice of subject, you made the right choice of campus. When I arrived at Berkeley in 1964, the so-called Free Speech Movement was in full swing, and resonated around the world. At the same time, the American Council of Education came up with a survey of American Graduate Schools, which put Berkeley at the the top of the list! I believe that there may have been a connection between the student revolt and the high academic rating, because Berkeley had been tempting research high-rollers on to the faculty with promises of very little undergraduate teaching. I am glad to say that this shortcoming has been gradually diminished since then. I would also like to mention another factor not often noted in our utilitarian analyses - the sheer beauty of the campus. One incident sticks in my mind. When I was Dean of Social Sciences, I had the privilege of hosting a delegation of senior Chinese scholars in the social sciences and humanities - the first to be allowed out of China after the death of Mao Zedong. Following a walking tour of the campus, the leader of the group said that they had been talking and wanted me to know that they thought that this campus - more than any other in their American tour, came closest to the ideal combination of qualities embodied in the ancient Chinese concept of Feng Shui. They mentioned the nature and alignment of the hills, the ocean, the stream (Strawberry Creek) the trees and even the beauty of the women - an almost perfect matrix of geographical principles! Those of you especially of East Asian ancestry will recognize the continuing power of this image, and I hope that all of you have taken some time to take pleasure in the beauty of the site and in particular the trees as you hastened to your classes.
3. Then you have obviously made the right choice of Department. It has been well-known and influential out of all proportion to its size. Just to return for a moment to that survey of American universities I mentioned earlier. I happened to notice that in 1964, Berkeley was put over the top in the league table by the few points it gained from its Geography Department, which Harvard and Stanford, which had no such dept, missed out on!
Ours is, in fact, the oldest Geography dept in the whole English-speaking world, believe it or not. It was founded in 1898 by perhaps the most distinguished scientist in the American West in the 19th century, George Davidson. As Robert Dull has just emphasized, the scholar most responsible for building up the so-called "Berkeley School", a blend of the historical, cultural and ecological was Carl Sauer, arguably the most distinguished American geographer of the 20th century. However there have been many other scholar-teachers in the dept who are very well worth honoring for their distinctive contributions, such as Clarence Glacken, Jim Parsons, Jay Vance and the one who will be most freshly remembered by most of you, Barney Nietchmann, whose familiar laugh was stilled by cancer last year. As you know, he was a wonderful teacher who truly involved his students, as well as disadvantaged indigenous people in many parts of the world in his research and his superb field work, which has always been a hallmark of the Berkeley tradition. Many of your predecessors as graduates of this dept have become well known around the world and in many different directions and should be an inspiration to you. I will just mention one today, of Chinese ancestry, Yi-fu Tuan, who was lately celebrated in a most unusual manner on the front page of the Chronicle of Higher Education as an exceptional all-round scholar. The history of this dept has been and continues to be pluralistic, not monolithic, and may well have been the most interesting, original and productive of all American equivalents over the last century or so.
Back to Geography itself, our favorite subject. It is one of very few disciplines that combine two deeply felt human needs - (a) to satisfy our simple curiosity about our world and (b) to contribute to solving human and environmental problems, sometimes of a life and death character. You should cherish the breadth and range of mind which that entitles you to and make the most of it. Specialization is inevitable, since we are not supermen and women, but I would hope that if you opt to work mainly in physical that you will not be inhuman and alternatively that you will not be unnatural human geographers. It shouldn't happen, but it does, and this split is a constant threat to Geography. Keep both "sides" in mind in your thinking, and their connections, just as you should keep the global context (geography is nothing if not global) in mind when dealing with local problems. It is often difficult and takes constant attention, but may save the field.
As to what you do with geography, you have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. The first imperative is still education, in which there are, or should be, enormous opportunities. I imagine you have been conscious of the disappointment expressed by foreigners, including immigrant , with the ignorance of otherwise well-educated Americans about the realities of land and life in the countries they come from. This ignorance might not be so serious were it not that, as the only ("indispensable") super power, we are frequently called upon to take the lead in solving problems and putting out fires across the world. To lead the world, one needs to know about it, and geography is fundamental to that kind of knowledge. Ignorance can be explosive if also combined with arrogance, as many foreigners see the United States now, from the President on down. This is unworthy of a great country, and the costs of geographical ignorance can be enormous. Therefore you can be sure that you will be sorely needed if you opt for geographical teaching at any and all levels.
Of course there are many other outlets for your skills and inclinations in a great number of "applied" fields, ranging from coastal conservation to city planning, to international development and global warming and to analyze and help to solve problems such as health, inequality, racism, across the world. In all of this, you can demonstrate the power of your geographical way of thinking. Because of geography's vague image for many here you may have to educate potential and actual employers about what you can do. Above all, stand up and be proud to be called a geographer. Just don't settle for being a carbon copy economist, geologist or other supposedly better recognized categories. Project your image and make the most of yourselves. Just to show how easy it may be to gain notice, let me just mention two recent inconsequential incidents that happened to me. An old Russian scholar rushed up to me in excitement and said he'd finally found out who I looked like - it was Charles Darwin! Then I was in the local post-office when a little girl came and shouted "Mommy, there's Santa Claus", and I looked round and found nobody else there. If I can achieve such virtual fame simply by not shaving, think what you can do.
2000 years ago the great Greco-Roman geographer Strabo , on completing his monumental survey of the world of his time, declared that the ultimate end of Geography was happiness. Not the "Don't worry - be happy" slogan nor even the "pursuit" of happiness embodied in the constitution, but simply the happiness that stems from knowing as much as we can about our world.
The love of geography has never faded with me and I wish the same happiness for you. Geography is about discovery and that is always exciting. Look for connections, and above all, follow your bliss and keep the faith. Geography is indeed a noble calling. Again, congratulations and the very best of luck for the next fifty years.
