Literature as an Auxiliary Science in Teaching Geography

Abstract

The article discusses the status of literature in teaching geography. Like cartography, literature maps the space and assigns proper names which allow us to see the places of “condensed, multiplied time” (Claudio Magris). Literary maps bind topography with history and thus realise a geopolitical project of “thinking of place, time and action as coherent unity” (Karl Schlögel). Such literary names as Conrad’s “heart of darkness” or mare nostrum, mare monstrum from Dariusz Czaja’s essay, in geography didactics can reveal the drama of “building up of land and history” (Magris) and thanks to this, a map used in the didactic process can lead to cathartic experience, i.e. it can sharpen, activate and sensitize the pupils’ eye.