What is Geography? Geography is a representation of the whole known world together with the phenomena which are contained therein. Ptolemy, Geographia 2nd Century A.D . Geography is the science of place. Its vision is grand, its view panoramic. It sweeps the surface of the Earth, charting the physical, organic and cultural terrain, their areal differentiation, and their ecological dynamics with humankind. Its foremost tool is the map. Leonard Krishtalka,Carnegie M useum ofNaturalH istory,20th Century A.D . Organized knowledge of the earth as the world of people (Balogh).
Transcript
What is Geography?
Geography is a representation of the whole known world together with thephenomena which are contained therein.
Ptolemy, Geographia 2nd Century A.D.
Geography is the science of place. Its vision is grand, its view panoramic. Itsweeps the surface of the Earth, charting the physical, organic and culturalterrain, their areal differentiation, and their ecological dynamics withhumankind. Its foremost tool is the map.
Leonard Krishtalka, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 20th CenturyA.D.
Organized knowledge of the earth as the world of people (Balogh).
Okay, but what exactly is it?
Well, it’s a way of thinking about intellectual problems, both natural and societal, which emphasizes the importance of spatial relationships.. Take any social, environmental, or physical question or problem and ask yourself whether there is a spatial aspect to it. Chances are that space and place play a role in the answers to that question.
Mike Reed, Making It Up As I Go
Five “Key Themes” of Geography
• 1. Location – specific location, where?
• 2. Place – unique properties of a place
• 3. Movement – diffusion, communications
• 4. Region – an area’s uniform characteristics
• 5. Human-Earth Relationships – human interaction with an environment
Divisions of Academic Geography
• Physical Geography Human or Cultural Geography• Rocks and Minerals Population• Landforms Settlements• Soils Economic Activities• Animals Transportation• Plants Recreational Activities• Water Religion• Atmosphere Political Systems• Rivers and Other Water Bodies Social Traditions• Environment Human Migration• Climate and Weather Agricultural Systems• Oceans Urban Systems
The Geography of Breakfast
a geographic thinking demonstration
Top Ten Coffee Growing Countries
COFFEE
Chocolate was “discovered” for Europe by Christopher Columbus, but it’s commercial possibilities were recognized by Hernan Cortez who was served a drink made from cocoa beans by Moctezuma, leader of the Aztecs (whom he later executed). The cacao tree, like coffee, grows only in the tropics. Today it is grown primarily for export to the U.S. and Europe.
CHOCOLATE
Breakfast FoodsFood Place of Origin Current Production
coffee Ethiopia Tropics
oranges South Asia, India US, Mediterranean
pork China, South Asia Worldwide
wheat Near East US, Russia, Argentina
tea China Asia
oats Near East Temperate Climates
pepper South America Americas, Asia
Cultural Geography
• What is CULTURE?• Geographic
Importance of Culture• Sequential Occupance
of California
What is CULTURE?
Spend the next minute defining culture in your notes.
What is CULTURE?Culture is learned behavior that is passed on
by imitation, instruction, and example.– Culture is almost entirely relative.
Proper behavior shifts from culture to culture.
Note: experiencing another culture is useful for gaining perspective on your own.
Harshest punishment in history: banishment in “primitive” cultures.
Geographic Importance of Culture
• Geographers study culture because it leaves dramatic imprints on the earth, both physical and cultural.– Language: a crystal ball into culture.– Religion: strongest determinant of
ethics.– Nationalism and Borders– Material Culture: tools, clothes, toys,
etc.– Architecture: Suburban garages vs.
earlier porches
What kinds of cultural values are reflected in each of these American houses?
Gated community?
Cultural Geography’s Themes
• The Cultural Landscape• Human-Environment Interaction• The Region• Space• Sense of Place• Connections
• 5. Human-Earth Relationships – human interaction with an environment
Location (“Space”)Coordinate Systems
Latitude and Longitude - a reference system designed to provide “absolute” location (as opposed to relative locations). – Parallels of Latitude – Meridians of Longitude
Distributions - how phenomena are arranged in space.
Question: how do we describe distributions? For example, how are the students now distributed?
The Geographic GridLatitude - angular measurement of distance north or south of the Equator.
Range: 0 - 90 degrees N or S
1o latitude = approx. 69 miles (25,000 mi. /360o).
The Geographic GridLongitude the angular measurement of distance east or west of the Prime Meridian.
Range: 0o - 180o E or W
Maximum value reached at International Date Line - 180o
Distribution of U.S. SARS Cases
Distribution of U.S. SARS Cases
Key Concept: Movement (Interconnections)
Tobler’s 1st Law of Geography• All things are related. However, all
other things being equal, those things that are closest together are more related.
• Related Concepts:– Distance Decay
Key Concepts• Diffusion - the processes by which a
feature, idea, or peoples spread to new places.
• Migration - the movement of people on the planet.
• Globalization – the increasingly interconnected nature of worldwide trade and exchange.
CONNECTIONS(Key Concepts)
Diffusion• Relocation
• Contagious
• Stimulus
• Hierarchical
Ideas, goods, and people move and diffuse across the earth. When people are involved we call this MIGRATION.
Place (versus Space)Why do places feel different to us?
Why and how do they represent and reflect different meanings and even personal identity. Every place is unique. Imagine where you lived as a child. What is home?– All five senses– Physical and cultural elements– Architecture– Symbolic
• Place and Placelessness (Relph, 1978)
Sense of Place
Groveland, CA Bourbon Street
Key Concepts: Regions• REGION - an area with unifying
characteristics
Exercise: Spend the next minute remembering and writing down the name of ten regions. You may talk to one another.
Key Concepts• Types of Cultural Regions
• Formal - all members share a characteristic
• Functional - defined by a node of activity and distance decay from center
• Vernacular - perception of cultural identity
Overlapping Formal and Functional Regions
Vernacular Regions
Culture and Regions:Nations and States
Nationality: a group of people with common cultural heritage.
State: country, a political entity with sovereignty over internal and foreign affairs.
Often the two don’t overlap: Africa, E. Europe
Nation-State: an ideal wherein state boudaries match national boundaries: Japan, France, Poland, Denmark.
Nations without states: Kurds, Gypsies, French Canadians
Key Theme: The Cultural Landscape
• A characteristic and tangible outcome of the complex interactions between a human group and the natural environment
For example, how is the European cultural landscape different than the U.S. landscape? Why?– Environmental Determinism:
environment is primary determinant of culture.
– Possibilism: humans are primary determinant of culture.
BIOMESWill these determine culture?
N.Y.C.
Environmentally Determined?
What about Bali,
Indonesia?
Human-Environment Interaction• Successful cultures are those that
adapt well to their environments. (Chaco Canyon, North Africa, Fertile Crescent, Easter Island)
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico Easter Island, Polynesia
Culture and the Land• Land tenure: Western culture allows
individual land ownership. Native American did not. Sale of Manhattan for 23 guilders worth of junk jewelry. Who ripped off whom?
• Same process is at work today in the Amazon, in Papua New Guinea, and parts of S.E. Asian rainforest. Oil, mining, and ranching companies are the explorers today.
Where are we? What values are reflected in each? What relation to physical environment?
Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
Timber House, Switzerland
Yurt on Mongolian Steppe Suburban Home, Chicago
Key Concepts:Core-Periphery
• Core– U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia– Wealthy– Powerful– Controls Media and Finance– Technologically advanced
• Periphery– Less Developed– Poor– Dependent upon Core countries for:
• Education• Technology• Media• Military Equipment
Key Concepts:Core-Periphery
Globalization• The increasing
interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, political, and cultural change.
Panama, 1997
Geography and Politics
• Ties to Military • Role in Colonization• Role in Imperialism• Role in Cold War
• Ethnocentrism• Masculinism• Racism
Foreign - 4) Situated in an abnormal or improper place. 5) Not natural: alien.
