Reflections on "doing" cultural geography – "being" a cultural geographer in the Netherlands

In this article, I explore Dutch social geography in the context of "the cultural turn".In so doing, I extensively draw on writing from the Anglo-American context which somewhat complicates the matter.Barnett (1998) implied that the "cultural turn" is not a "coherent and singular process" (379) which will emerge from my reflections as well.But even though the disciplines have undergone different ways of becoming, Dutch geographies are, formally, valued and assessed by procedures that have developed alongside, if not as a part of, the cultural turn(s) in the United Kingdom.In the Netherlands, different Departments have been a part of (or apart from) the cultural turn in different ways.In this article, I draw on some of the similarities and differences but will focus to a large extent on my own institutional context at the University of Groningen. PreludeMy "being" a cultural geographer necessitated a journey through different disciplines and countries.As a teenager, I discovered a passion for the environment.I volunteered for various environmental organizations, for example observing the occurrence and behavior of crane birds for the World Wildlife Funds, and later "specialised" in forest issues and environmental education as a member of a local Greenpeace group in Germany.As a result, I first began studying biology and later "added" geography out of necessity when I switched to a study that would lead to a qualification as Gymnasium teacher in both of these subjects.During a student exchange year in the UK, I took both biology and geography courses but ended up with a Bachelor in (Physical) Geography because, in the British system, I had earned more credits in that subject.When a PhD opportunity presented itself in Social Geography, I re-oriented myself in order to conduct a study on the changing geographies of women in rural Eastern Germany.This was a lucky turn in my training as a geographer since it enabled me to apply for a position in the regional geography department at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) in 1999.Through my work on gender, I first mingled with those working on gender issues -at least at Correspondence to: B.