Scottish Geographical Journal

Scottish Geographical Journal
Title	Scottish Geographical Journal
Discipline	Geography
Abbreviation	Scott. Geogr. J.
Publisher	Royal Scottish Geographical Society
Country	Scotland
Frequency	Quarterly
History	1884–present
Issn	0036-9241

Scottish Geographical Journal The Scottish Geographical Journal is a peer-reviewed periodical published by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society that covers regional and global research related to Scotland and comparative studies. It connects scholarship on landscape, urbanization, climate, and historical travel with contributions from academics associated with institutions such as the University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, and University of St Andrews. Contributors and subjects have included explorers and scholars linked to names like David Livingstone, James Cook, Mary Kingsley, John Murray, and Alexander von Humboldt.

History

Founded in the late 19th century, the journal traces roots to Victorian-era exploration linked with figures such as Henry Morton Stanley, Richard Francis Burton, and Sir John Franklin, and institutions including the Royal Geographical Society, British Empire institutions, and colonial administrations. Early volumes reflected contemporary debates around polar exploration with references to the Franklin Expedition, the Arctic Council precursors, and Antarctic voyages by James Clark Ross and Robert Falcon Scott. The title recorded Scottish involvement in imperial networks intersecting with the East India Company, Hudson's Bay Company, and British Museum expeditions. In the 20th century the journal engaged with interwar and postwar themes connected to the League of Nations mandates, United Nations trusteeship discussions, and Cold War-era studies referencing the Marshall Plan, NATO, and decolonization movements involving India, Africa, and Australasia.

Editorial and Publication Details

Editorial oversight has historically included fellows and officers of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, academics from the University of Aberdeen, University of Strathclyde, and Queen Margaret University, and editors with links to learned societies such as the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Publishing partnerships and distribution have involved printers and publishers associated with Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London, and collaborations with international presses that have ties to Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Taylor & Francis. The journal's governance reflects connections with funding bodies like the Carnegie Trust, Leverhulme Trust, and Scottish Funding Council, as well as archival links to the National Library of Scotland and the National Records of Scotland.

Scope and Content

Articles span physical geography topics involving the Cairngorms, Highlands, Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland, and human geography topics concerning Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Inverness. Comparative studies have addressed Arctic research related to Svalbard, Greenland, and the Arctic Council; Atlantic island studies comparing Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Newfoundland; and colonial legacies in places such as India, West Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The journal publishes work on climate change referencing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, hydrology studies involving the River Clyde and River Tay, urban regeneration exemplified by the Clyde Waterfront, and transport histories linked to Caledonian Railway and North British Railway. The scope includes historical geography touching on Jacobite uprisings, Highland Clearances, Clearances-era emigration to Canada and the United States, and cartographic studies referencing Ordnance Survey and the work of William Roy. Interdisciplinary pieces have connected with archaeology at Skara Brae, geology linked to James Hutton, and conservation issues involving NatureScot and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Notable Articles and Contributions

Significant contributions have examined explorations by Mungo Park and Alexander Mackenzie, travel writing by Robert Louis Stevenson and John Muir, and ethnographic encounters recorded during voyages of HMS Beagle and HMS Resolution. Articles have analyzed economic geographies touching on the North Sea oil developments involving BP and Shell, rural land reform debates connected to the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act and land reform campaigns, and urban studies referencing the Glasgow School of Art and the redevelopment of Leith. Historical pieces have revisited the Highland Potato Famine, the Battle of Culloden, and emigration narratives tied to the Canadian Pacific Railway and the United States transcontinental migrations. Methodological advances published in the journal have engaged with GIS applications developed in collaboration with ESRI, remote sensing datasets from NASA and the European Space Agency, and statistical approaches influenced by work from the Royal Statistical Society.

Indexing and Impact

The periodical is indexed in major bibliographic services and abstracting databases alongside journals covered by Scopus, Web of Science, and the Directory of Open Access Journals; it is cited in works from Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Wiley-Blackwell, and Palgrave Macmillan. Its impact is reflected in citations in monographs and reports from the Scottish Government, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Bank, and in doctoral research from universities including Columbia University, University of Toronto, and Australian National University. The journal's historiographical influence appears in bibliographies and handbooks related to British imperial history, Scottish studies, polar studies, and urban theory.

Access and Distribution

Back issues are held in institutional collections at the National Library of Scotland, British Library, University libraries at Edinburgh and Glasgow, and archives of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Print subscriptions circulate to academic institutions and learned societies, while electronic access is provided through platforms managed by university consortia and major aggregators used by institutions like JSTOR, ProQuest, and EBSCO. Special issues and themed volumes have been distributed at conferences organized by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, International Geographical Union, and the Royal Geographical Society, and are cited in policy briefs from Scottish Government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Category:Geography journals Category:Academic journals established in 1884 Category:Publications of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society