Using Herman Melville's Moby-Dick to Explore Geographic Themes

Abstract The classic American novel, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, can be used in geography and English classes at the high school and college levels to explore five themes that have a geographic component or are of interest to geography students: (1) the journey, (2) human/ environment interactions, (3) social relationships in space, (4) acquiring knowledge, and (5) ambiguities and their resolution. Included are detailed discussions of the themes with specific references to critical literature and passages in the novel, suggestions for background reading, and suggestions for classroom discussions and assignments.