James Rubenstein:
Textbooks as essays that work together

Rubenstein's first textbook, The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, in its sixth edition in 2000, won a 2000 Text and Academic Authors Texty Award for excellence. It is the leading human geography textbook in the human geography market. Rubenstein attributes the book's success to its clear writing and clear outline. "I broke new ground in the clarity of how the material is organized," he said. "I think I've also done a better job of staying current. Many of the book's changes took quick footwork and a good job of anticipating new events."

In preparing new editions of the book, his main research is to collect hundreds of syllabi from instructors using the courses. The book was developed, he said, by understanding what the market wants. "It is written in a way that the majority of professors would teach the course," he said. "It also appeals to the non-geography major." For most students taking the course, Rubenstein said, it is the only geography they're going to have: "It's important to get the subject to them as clearly as possible."

The fact that human geography wasn't Rubenstein's field of study in college, nor his original career choice, makes the fact that his book has been so successful that much more an accomplishment. Rubenstein came to the the field of human geography late. He had trained to be a city planner and had done a lot of international work in Europe. He worked as a city planner for years before deciding that academic teaching might interest him. He was hired at Miami University in 1976 to teach city planning and human geography. "I had to teach the introductory course in human geography and ended up teaching myself the material," he said. Four years later, he was solicited by West to write The Cultural Landscape. It was written, he said, with a "beginner's zeal."

"Miami University is a fertile ground for recruiting text authors," said Rubenstein, who became chair of the geography department of Miami University in 1999. He had been recruited to write a textbook many times, but always said no. This time he said yes. "I thought the outline of the introductory course I was teaching was a good breeding ground for this type of book," he said.

But the first edition of the book fell short of expectations. It didn't sell well and he wasn't asked by West to write a second edition. "Geography is one of those courses that fell out of the market in the 1970s and is seeing a resurgence now," he said. Merrill came to him in the late 1980's and asked him to revive it. The second edition of The Cultural Landscape was published in 1989. Since then, Rubenstein said, he has learned a lot about what makes a good textbook. Two of those things, he said, are clarity and organization: "A professor who gets high ratings for organization is a good candidate to write a textbook. That person has to have the ability to break down hundreds of words into a 2,000- to 4,000-word essay that will all work together." A textbook should also, he said, have a balance between objectivity and subjectivity with no extremes: "It should have a point of view but also be tolerant and present a differing point of view." A good textbook author, he said, should be good at taking advice and should welcome criticism, two things he feels he is particularly good at.

What does he enjoy most about writing? "The creative part," he said. "At the creative stage I still use paper and a yellow legal pad with lots of boxed arrows and outlines." Next to that, he said he really enjoys seeing the finished product: "Geography texts are particularly attractive because they use many illustrations. The visual aspect is the most important aspect of geography."

Rubenstein wrote a second textbook that was published by Prentice Hall in 1995. An Introduction to Geography: People, Places and Environment, was written between the fourth and fifth editions of The Cultural Landscape. When Simon & Schuster was bought by Pearson Education, the book was cut. He chose not to pursue another edition because of all of the competing texts. He also has written two other books, The Changing U.S. Auto Industry: A Geographical Analysis in 1992, and The French New Towns in 1978.

Rubenstein considers the awards he's won from students to be his greatest career accomplishment. "I most aspire to receiving the university's highest teaching award," he said. "I would consider that to be my most important career accomplishment."

In 1990 Rubenstein married Bernadette Unger, also a city planner. He enjoys taking his dog on a very long walks in the woods around town every day. He is also an avid supporter of the Baltimore Orioles.

— reported by Kim Pawlak, 2000