Geography: It’s Nature and Perspectives Topic I

Why is Geography a Science? Explain the importance of geography as a field of study Why is Geography a Science? Field of inquiry ask questions and gather evidence “why of where” Geography: the study of where things are found on Earth’s surface and the reasons for the locations analysis of the spatial relationship between phenomena (objects that can be sensed or something perceived or mentally constructed) Ex. relationship between climate and agricultural production

Why is Geography a Science? Explain the importance of geography as a field of study Why is Geography a Science? “Each place we see is affected by and created by people, and each place reflects the culture of the people in that place over time.” To study human geography is to understand and explain the theme of human activity interacting with the environment.

Why is Geography a Science? Explain the importance of geography as a field of study Why is Geography a Science? Studying human geography requires a spatial perspective spatial: pertaining to the space on Earth’s surface; synonym for geographic differing scales interact and affect each other What happens at the global scale affects the local, but it also affects the individual, regional, and national. Similarly, the processes at these scales influence the global.

Why is Geography a Science? Explain the importance of geography as a field of study Why is Geography a Science? …What happens at the global scale affects the local, but it also affects the individual, regional, and national. Similarly, the processes at these scales influence the global… Ex. President Obama, in May 2016, sent a letter directing school districts directing to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match his or her chosen gender identity. national (U.S.) issue that affects the individual at the local scale

Why is Geography a Science? Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Why is Geography a Science? 5 Themes of Geography (spatial study) Movement Region Human-Environment Interaction Location Place

What Are Geographic Questions? Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective What Are Geographic Questions? Movement Movement refers to the mobility of people, goods, and ideas across the surface of the planet. Spatial interaction between places depends on: The distances among places The accessibility of places The transportation and communication connectivity among places

What Are Geographic Questions? Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective What Are Geographic Questions? Human-environment interactions A spatial perspective invites consideration of the relationship between humans and the physical world. Asking locational questions often means looking at the reciprocal relationship between humans and environments.

What Are Geographic Questions? Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective What Are Geographic Questions? Region Features of the Earth’s surface tend to be concentrated in particular areas, which we call regions. Understanding the regional geography of a place allows us to make sense of much of the information we have about places.

What Are Geographic Questions? Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective What Are Geographic Questions? Location Highlights how the geographical position of people and things on Earth’s surface affects what happens and why Helps to establish the context within which events and processes are situated

What Are Geographic Questions? Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective What Are Geographic Questions? Place People develop a sense of place by infusing a place with meaning and emotion. We also develop perceptions of places where we have never been through books, movies, stories, and pictures.

Use and interpret maps

Use and interpret maps

Why is Geography a Science? Explain the importance of geography as a field of study Why is Geography a Science? Geographers seek to explain why places are unique but also why they are related to other places place region scale space connections Luxembourg Describe Ruston in terms of place, region etc…

Geographic Perspective: Place Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Place Place: a specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic The place of the city, Luxembourg, is atop a hill overlooking the Alzette River. place is a unique location “sense of place” toponym (place name)

Geographic Perspective: Place Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Place Site vs situation site: physical character of a place Ex. climate, water source, vegetation, topography site factors are important for choosing settlement locations situation: location of a place in relation to another Ex. RHS is across the street from the Lambright situtation helps geographers understand the importance of a place

Geographic Perspective: Region Define region as a concept, identify world regions, and understand regionalization processes Geographic Perspective: Region Region: an area on Earth with one or more distinctive characteristics. Formal, functional, vernacular Places can be in multiple regions simultaneously Regions vary in size Regionalization: process of describing the earth in small, distinct areas

Geographic Perspective: Region Define region as a concept, identify world regions, and understand regionalization processes Geographic Perspective: Region Formal Region: (uniform region) an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics language, agricultural production, climate, political entities (Montana or France) with particular boundaries, laws, taxes predominant characteristic (not 100%) Republican or Democrat election victories

Geographic Perspective: Region Define region as a concept, identify world regions, and understand regionalization processes Geographic Perspective: Region formal region contin… pure characteristics are 100% shared among all aggregate characteristic are dominant among the group but not 100%

Geographic Perspective: Region Define region as a concept, identify world regions, and understand regionalization processes Geographic Perspective: Region Functional Region: (nodal region) an area organized around a node of focal point characteristic is more dominant the close to the node and less dominant as distance increases distance decay: the diminished importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin Ex. TV or radio stations

Geographic Perspective: Region Define region as a concept, identify world regions, and understand regionalization processes Geographic Perspective: Region Vernacular Region: (perceptual region) an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity Ex. the South

Geographic Perspective: Region Define region as a concept, identify world regions, and understand regionalization processes Geographic Perspective: Region Regions exhibit spacial association spatial association: the distribution of one feature is related to the distribution of another Ex. Crime and liquor stores, other examples?

Geographic Perspective: Scale Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Scale Scale: relationship between the portion of the Earth studied and the Earth as a whole local, regional, global globalization: a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope technology “shrinks” the world; places are more interconnected globalization of the economy transnational corporations

Geographic Perspective: Scale Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Scale Globalization vs Local Diversity Geographers seek to explain the tension between local cultural diversity in an increasingly globalized world increasingly uniform cultural preferences increasingly uniform cultural landscape cultural landscape: combination of cultural features such as language or religion, economic features such as industry and agriculture, and physical features such as climate and vegetation

Geographic Perspective: Space Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Space Space: the physical gap or interval between two objects Geographers “think spatially”…”why of where” distribution: the arragement of a feature in space density concentration pattern

Geographic Perspective: Space Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Space Density: the frequency with which something occurs Ex. how many in a given area Concentration: the extent of a feature’s spread over a given area clustered or dispersed *Random distribution: neither clustered not dispersed Pattern: geometric arrangement of objects in space linear, rectangular, grid, irregular,

Geographic Perspective: Space Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Space Space and Distance absolute distance vs travel distance travel time distance decay friction of distance: the amount of time it takes to get from one place to another; decreases as technology increases space-time compression: describes the reduction in time it takes for something to reach another palace cognitive distance: the perceived distance between two places

Geographic Perspective: Space Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Space Inequality contemporary geographers seek to explain differences in equality, especially in gender, ethnicity, and sexuality poststructuralist humanistic behavioral

Geographic Perspective: Space Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Space Poststructuralist examines how the powerful/elite dominate space Humanistic emphasizes the ways that individuals form ideas about place and give those places symbolic meaning Ex. Christopher Street in NYC Behavioral emphasizes the importance of understanding the psychological basis for individual actions in space Ex. husband vs wife daily actions

Geographic Perspective: Connections Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Connections Connections are the relationships between people and objects across space technology reduces connection time Connections result in assimilation acculturation syncretism

Geographic Perspective: Connections Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Connections assimilation: the adoption of a new culture; the process by which a group’s cultural features are altered to resemble another acculturation: learning how to operate within a new culture; changes within a culture from meeting another syncretism: the combination of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature

Geographic Perspective: Connections Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Connections diffusion: process by which a feature spreads across space from one place to another over time relocation diffusion expansion diffusion hearth: place where a feature originates

Geographic Perspective: Connections Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Connections relocation diffusion: spread of an idea through physical movement expansion diffusion: spread of a feature in an additive process hierarchical contagious stimulus

Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Geographers are concerned with the availability of resources in the present and future resource useful substances sustainability availability for future use renewable resources use more slowly nonrenewable resources use more quickly

Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Three Pillars of Sustainability environment society economy

Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Environmental Pillar conservation and preservation Societal Pillar individual’s and society’s choice of consumer products Economic Pillar

Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Critics says, particularly the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) believe the Earth is past the point of sustainability. Other critics say resource availability has no maximum

Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Sustainability Natural resources are classified into 4 systems atmosphere hydrosphere lithosphere biosphere (biotic) Each is either biotic or abiotic biotic: living organisms abiotic: nonliving or inorganic matter

Geographic Perspective: Cultural Ecology Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Cultural Ecology Modification of the environment due to technological innovations negative consequences to the ecosystem ecology: study of ecosystems cultural ecology: geographic study of human-environment relationships Two fields of thought environmental determinism possibilism

Geographic Perspective: Cultural Ecology Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Cultural Ecology Environmental Determinism Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) Carl Ritter (1779-1859) believed the physical environment caused social development (or lack of) Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1932) geography is the study of the influences of the natural environment on people Ellsworth Huntington (1876-1947) climate is a major determinant of a civilization

Geographic Perspective: Cultural Ecology Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Cultural Ecology Possibilism modern geographic thought physical environment may limit some actions, but people can adjust to the environment Possibilism and Sustainability geographers use cultural geography to determine if an activity is sustainable Ex. world population vs food production (Malthus - Ch. 2)

Geographic Perspective: Environmental Change Explain major geographical concepts underlying the geographic perspective Geographic Perspective: Environmental Change Geographers seek to understand how and why people modify the natural environment Ex. Netherlands polder: land that is created by draining water agricultural use social use Ex. California lack of rainfall (drought) 80% of surface water used for agriculture

Geographic Perspective: Landscapes Use landscape analysis to examine the human organization of space Geographic Perspective: Landscapes landscape: an area less defined than a region and is described in an abstract manner Carl Sauer looked at landscape as an assemblage of different elements that came together in one area humans can alter landscapes exist at different spatial scales can visual or tangible

Geographic Perspective: Landscapes Use landscape analysis to examine the human organization of space Geographic Perspective: Landscapes ordinary landscape: (vernacular landscape) people encounter on a daily basis iconic landscape: brings to mind images and symbols essential to identity Ex. Statue of Liberty interior landscape: inside buildings

Geographic Perspective: Landscapes Use landscape analysis to examine the human organization of space Geographic Perspective: Landscapes

Maps The geographer’s main tool is a map Use and interpret maps Maps The geographer’s main tool is a map Communication tool Reference tool Cartography (mapmaking) has been around since about 6200 B.C. Map Projection Types of Maps

What patterns do you notice? Why? Use and interpret maps What patterns do you notice? Why?

What patterns do you notice? Use and interpret maps What patterns do you notice?

What conclusion can you draw? Use and interpret maps What conclusion can you draw?

How has the U.S. population changed over time? Use and interpret maps How has the U.S. population changed over time?

What are the implications of this graph? Apply mathematical formulas and graphs to interpret geographic concepts What are the implications of this graph?

What are the implications of this graph? Apply mathematical formulas and graphs to interpret geographic concepts What are the implications of this graph?

Use and interpret geographic models Case Studies

Use concepts such as space, place, and region to examine geographic issues Case Studies

Interpret patterns and processes at different scales Case Studies

Explain and evaluate the regionalization process RHS Case Study

Analyze changing interconnections among places Case Studies

Use and interpret geospatial data Case Studies