Zbornik Radova: Geografski institut "Jovan Cvijić" (Dec 2024)
EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF CVIJIĆ’S GEOMORPHOLOGY RESEARCH: A LEGACY IN FRANCE AND THE BALKANS
Abstract
Jovan Cvijić (1865–1927) played a major role in the development of geomorphology at national and international levels. His personal qualities were crucial to this recognition, but the intellectual background of the second half of the 19th century and the transnational context of the Austro-Hungarian Empire facilitated this threefold development. In Vienna, in contact with his professors, starting with Albrecht Penck, he fully embraced a modern geography based on field observations as opposed to a cabinet geography, a geography that needed to be illustrated by drawing or photography. His physical geography hypotheses needed to be supported by solid naturalist and physical knowledge. It was in this spirit that he carried out his successive responsibilities in Serbia, both at the University of Belgrade and at the Geographical Society, and that he subsequently extended his research to other areas of physical geography: climatology, hydrology, impact of last glaciation, fluvial erosion, limnology, etc. His knowledge of the French and German languages enabled him to exchange ideas with his peers throughout Europe. He also shared his work through courses abroad, most notably in Paris in 1917 and 1918, and through publications in international journals. Thus, he strengthened his academic authority at national and international levels. It is in the field of karstology that Cvijić’s work remains most up-to-date, and his approach to field work, his constant exchanges with his peers, his concern for international issues and the practice of open geography are the foundations of modern physical geography.
