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UNIT ONE: WHY GEOGRAPHY
MATTERS
Global Geography
WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
Geography is the study of the physical and human
environments of the world and the way in which these
environments interact with one another. (Corbin, Trites,
Taylor, 2000, pg.2)
In other words, a geographer will look at our world, i.e.,
the earth and how we interact with it.
Geography records the location of food, water, where
people live, where and how people make a living.
GEOGRAPHY WILL BE USED TO:
Decide where to locate a local dump site
Decide if it is good idea to put a new home
development in an area
Decide where a new shopping mall should be built
Decide how can we prevent further environmental
damage
Study how different parts of the world is related
and connected
REASON FOR GEOGRAPHY
A knowledge of geography can awaken our
curiosity about other parts of the world.
It can also heighten our sense of responsibility for
the health of our planet and all people species that
live on it.
FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY
Just like many other disciplines, Geography has
many different specialty areas.• Economic geography• Urban geography• Political geography• Historical geography• Cultural geography
THE GEOGRAPHIC METHOD
Regardless of the area of expertise, all
geographers follow a common method of study. • Step one : Ask appropriate Questions• Step two: Collect information• Step three: Organize, summarize and display the
information gathered.• Step four: Analyze and interpret the information• Formulate an answer based on your analysis
THE CONCEPTS OF GEOGRAPHY
Six concepts are used to help guide the use of the
geographic method.
LOCATION
Where did an event happen?
A geographer would do more than simply answer this
question.
In the event of a car accident they would, for example, ask
the following questions. Have there been other accidents in
this same area? Did the accident happen as a result of the
weather? Was the accident a result of the way the road
curved just before the accident site?
REGION
An area of land that has an easily recognizable
feature such as a mountainous region or a costal
region or a region of the world identified by
language spoken such as English –speaking region of
the world.
SPATIAL PATTERN
Refers to the question, can similar events or
phenomenon occur in places that are far apart? Can
a pattern be seen? An example would be that in all
urban cities around the world wealthier people can
be found living outside of industrial areas.
SPATIAL INTERACTION
Refers to the fact that an event on one area of the
world can cause or lead to a change in another area
of the world. Example, oil spills cause damage not
only at the site of a spill, but also many sometimes
even thousands of kilometers away.
HUMAN/ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION
Refers to the effect that humans have on the
environment and that the environment has on
humans.
CULTURE
Refers to the customs and world view of a
particular people.
SUMMARY
As you can see the study of geography is complex
and involves more than simply studying rocks and
memorizing the names of the oceans and countries
of the world. Geographers are problem solving who
look at the complete and complex picture.
REFERENCES
Corbin, B., Trites, J., Taylor, J. (2000). Global
Connections: Geography for the 21st Century. Oxford
University Press: Ontario, Canada.