Abstract:

This paper aims to analyze the content of Turkish Geography Discussion List (TGDL) which was an electronic e-mail list that functioned between 1997 and 2012 and completed an important mission as the medium of the diffusion of new geographic information and ideas. The TGDL was established by the author in the United States. Some 4000 email messages were exchanged through the list and geographical ideas were discussed intensely for the first time. Therefore, it is necessary to portray the historical mission of the List that is more evident today. For that purpose, the list archive was analyzed, the main discussion areas were categorized and a content analysis was performed to identify the cognitive dimension of the list. The results show that many topics, new concepts, ideas and terms in geography were heard for the first time by Turkish geographers through the list during the 15 year period. Members with overseas experience and young members talked more about theoretical, institutional, methodological and technological issues while the others took a more cautious position and talked more about representation, class hours in schools, and employability issues.