Four traditions of geography W.D. Pattison

W.D. Pattison In 1964, W.D. Pattison, a professor at the University of Chicago, wanted to counter the idea that geography was an undisciplined science by saying that geographers had exhibited broad enough consistency such that there were four distinctive, but affiliated traditions.

Tradition One An earth-science tradition - physical (natural) geography. Physical geography, descriptions according to place Intellectual legacy: Aristotle (384-322 B.C.); Greek philosopher who looked at natural processes, Earth is spherical, matter falls together toward a common center.  

Tradition Two 2)   A man-land tradition - relationships between human societies and natural environments. Human impact on nature, perception of environment, environmentalism (Units 3,4,5,6) Intellectual legacy:         Hippocrates; a Greek Physician of 5th century B.C. who wrote that places affect the health and character of man. Modern geographer(s):  Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and Carl Ritter (1779-1859) 1)   Move beyond describing earth’s surface to explaining why certain phenomena are present or absent. 2)   Origin of “where” and “why” approach 3)   Environmental determinism – how the physical environment causes social development

Tradition Three 3)  A spatial tradition - spatial unifying theme, similar patterns between physical & human geography.  includes: boundaries, densities, movement, transportation, spatial patterns of development (Units 2 & 4) Intellectual legacy: Claudius Ptolemy (A.D. 100?-170?); a Greek, who wrote 8-volume Geographia in the second century A.D. containing numerous maps (also father of geometry).   Modern geographer: Alfred Wegener; climatologist 1)   Studied spatial arrangement of landmasses, used geographical and geological evidence 2)   Continental drift – landmasses were once part of supercontinent (plate tectonics)

Tradition Four 4) An area-studies tradition - regional geography Nature of places, character, regions, areas, international relationships, regional differentiation (Units, 3,4,5) Intellectual legacy: Strabo (63? B.C.-A.D. 24?); Roman investigator, who wrote a report called Geography, a massive production for the statesmen intended to sum up and regularize knowledge of location and place, their character, and their differentiation. Modern geographer: Carl Sauer (1889-1975); American 1)  The work of human geography is to discern the relationships among social and physical phenomena 2)  Everything in the landscape is interrelated.

What is Human Geography Human geography deals with the world as it is and with the world as it might be made to be. Its emphasis is on people: where they are, what they are like, how they interact over space, and what kinds of landscapes of human use they erect on the natural landscapes they occupy.

Four traditions into five themes of geography Kevin Copeland AP Human Geography Unit 1

The Five Themes of Geography: Purpose The five themes of geography help us in answering the “where”, “how” and “why” dealing with occurrences that take place in our world. By using these themes as a basis for understanding geographic information, we can gain a better appreciation of cultural and environmental changes around the world.

Location (Theme 1) 1) Location . position on the earth’s surface. Ways to indicate location: Maps Absolute Location-Latitude and Longitude (Parallels and Meridians), determine exact location. Ex. Atlanta, GA-33°N, 84°W Observe Map Relative Location-location of a place relative to other places (situational) Why use relative location? Unfamiliar place, centrality

Absolute Location (Latitude and Longitude)

Human-Environment Interaction (Theme 2) 2. Human-Environment Interaction . relations between cultures and environment (cultural ecology). A) Cultural Landscape-human-induced changes that involve the surface and biosphere-Carl Sauer B) Environmental Determinism-physical environment causes certain human behaviors (UT Football Game) C) Possibilism-natural environment limits the range of choices available to a culture (Limited Food Diet of Inuits)

Regions (Theme 3) 3. Regions . areas of unique characteristics, ways of organizing people. Types of Regions Formal-distinctive characteristics that can be proven (uniform, homogeneous) Ex. Wheat Belt, Republican state-GA Functional-product of interactions, organized around a node or core Ex. Newspapers, radio stations, “The Perimeter” Perceptual-vernacular (exists only in the mind) Ex. Dixie South

Place (Theme 4) 4. Place . associations of phenomena in an area. (What makes an area unique) Culture-people’s lifestyles, values, beliefs and traits What people care about: language, religion, ethnicity What people take care of: daily necessities, leisure activities Components of Culture: Culture Region-the area in which a particular cultural system prevails Ex. Building styles, farms Culture Trait-a single attribute of culture Ex. Food, clothing Culture Complex-a discrete combination of traits Ex. Nationalism/Patriotism Culture System-a grouping of certain complexes, usually based on ethnicity, language, religion Ex. Spanish-speaking, Catholic Mexicans Culture Realm-an assemblage of culture (highly generalized/ster) Ex. Sub-Saharan Africa (assuming that all of Africa south of the Sahara is virtually the same)

Place (Theme 4 continued) Physical Processes-environmental processes, which explain the distribution of human activities Climate-long-term average weather condition Koppen’s Five Main Climate Regions Tropical Dry Warm Mid-Latitude Cold Mid-Latitude Polar Vegetation-plant life Biomes-plant communities (4-forest, savanna, grassland, desert) Soil-(12,000 soil types in the U.S. alone) Landforms-earth’s surface features

Movement (Theme 5) 5. Movement . interconnection between areas. Culture Hearths-source of idea, innovation or ideology Cultural Diffusion-spread of idea, innovation or ideology from hearth to another culture Types of Diffusion Expansion Diffusion-idea, innovation or ideology develops in a source area and remains strong there while also spreading outward Ex. computers, television, cell phones, religion Relocation Diffusion (Transculturation)-spread of idea, innovation or ideology through physical movement of individuals Ex. Italian immigrants to NYC taught Irish-Americans how to make pizza