GEOG 254 - What is Geography? & Human Geography PDF

Preview

Summary

What is Geography? & Human Geography, key concepts and ideas...

Description

Topic 1 Geography - one of the original sciences |→ the study of humans and of their natural environment ● ●

its importance has fluctuated during history many disciplines have evolved from geography

ex: climate change, the rapid increase of population of humans Geography is both a physical and social science |-> Subject matter is studied from both human and physical perspective Ex:) Pollution: Focus on the physical environmental impact and impact on humans Where the word "Geography" came from Ancient times: Eratosthenes - geo (means earth) - graphene (means to write) Strabo - the inhabited world and how to map it and understand it Herodotus - understanding variables of society and how it functioned Ptomely - mapping the known world Idrisi - came up with a first global representation of a sphere (globe) A lot of understandings and things of the world have been lost from china, like maps of different parts of the world. Absolute location - where something is located based on coordinance relative location - where the location of something is related to something of relevance sense of place - powerful psychological bond between people and regions

Topic 2 Places: Changing attributes of place ●

self explanatory

interrelations (interactions) between places ● ●

accessibility and connectivity spatial fusion(money, goods, language resources) and globalization and what happens over time

rational structure of place why that place is in that one location (ex: b/c of resources) ● ● ●

density dispersion pattern

Place and time ● ●

How did this place/thing come to be and what and where is it How has this place changed over time by humans

Interrelations between places: spatial diffusion - Process of dispersion of an idea from center/origin to more distant points with which it is more directly or indirectly connected ex: Ideas - negative and positive technology, language, thought, religion, terrorism Globalization - increased connection of peoples of societies in all parts of world globalization has different meanings to many people Physical and cultural attributes ●

●

natural landscape ○ physical characteristics of the land inhabited ■ ex: climate, soils, topography, vegetation ○ how do we alter these landscapes cultural landscape ○ The Footprint people leave on the landscape

Five key themes of human geography Location - place - region - movement - human/environment interaction Culture & Geographies Cultural processes Cultural production - politics, how culture is made Cultural consumption - how culture is taken up, interpreted, or commodified

Cultural geographies Buildings, texts, landscapes, media, design Social geographies ● ● ●

applying social theory to spatial concepts, distribution, and relationships how social processes take place across space patterns and distribution of social groups & how they relate to one another

Political Geography ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

processes are as old as human history from tribes and clans empires and kingdoms modern states human groups that laid claim to territory organized and administered affairs within a defined space held this territory through negotiation or means of force

Population Geography ●

population has increased dramatically over a century but is slowing down the more population we have

economic geography ● ● ●

impacts of globalization on peoples jobs & livelihoods in parts of the world explaining the causes & consequences of uneven development within and between regions geographically specific factors that shape economic processes and identity key agents (such as firms, labour, and the state).

Development Geography income disparity - eg ratio of highest to the lowest income % access to safe drinking water infant mortality rate gender empowerment measure % woman in positions of political power % of women in professional/technical jobs % of woman in administration and managerial positions...