Reflections on 100 years of geography at Stellenbosch University: the role of physical and environmental geography

The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Stellenbosch University boasts a long history of geography teaching and research. Notably, physical geography only gained traction in research only in the 1960s at Stellenbosch University and would again all but disappear from the research agenda of the department in the late 1990s and early 2000s, to be, in a sense, replaced by environmental geography. This continued until the mid 2010s, where efforts have been made to strengthen the sub-discipline once more. This paper attempts to trace the history and growth of physical and environmental geography in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, acknowledge the contributions made by individuals to the subject area and concludes by highlighting some implications for the future growth, teaching and research of physical and environmental geography.