HIST 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Human Geography, Integrated Geography, Regional Science
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Chapter 01 - Geography and Human Geography
CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
Humans are geographers by nature. They can think territorially or spatially and have an awareness of,
and curiosity about the distinctive nature of places. Even children possess qualities of geographers,
creating carefully mapped realms in tiny places. Places possess an emotional quality, and we all must
belong somewhere. Humans' insatiable curiosity and the place-centered element within us gave birth to
geography as an academic discipline. Conquest and commerce generated a need to know about the
world and pragmatism was added long ago by traders and explorers. Geography literally means "to
describe the Earth," and the practical aspects of geography first arose among the Greeks, Romans,
Mesopotamians, and Phoenicians.
Divisions
Physical and human geography are two great branches of the discipline, and their origins can be traced to
the Greeks and later the Romans. Greek scholars were curious about the world, particularly the physical
aspects, and collected information from traders and travelers. The Romans, un-like the Greeks, were
empire builders and brought many different cultures under their control. They added to the Greek
knowledge of the physical Earth and added information about different cultures they encountered or
conquered. By the end of the Roman era, theories about a spherical Earth, latitudinal climatic zones,
environmental influences on humans, and humans' role in modifying the Earth were established. The
latter two are quite significant because today environmental geography is emerging as a link between
human and physical geography.
Traditions
During the twentieth century, geography was marked by four durable traditions: earth-science (physical
geography); cultural-environmental (encompasses a wide range of topics with a difficult, even
controversial history); locational theory (the spatial focus of the discipline), which has be-come a modern
element of human geography; and area-analysis (primarily involving the description of areas and regions),
giving rise to what is today called regional science. These Four Traditions of Geography were first
identified in an article by University of Chicago geographer W.D. Pattison in 1964. He argued that these
were the four areas where geographic teaching, research, and other activity were concentrated.
New Themes
In the 1980s, rising concerns about geographic illiteracy in America prompted the National Geo-graphy
Society, and several other organizations, to begin campaigns to reintroduce geography into school
curricula. In a 1986 publication, the NGS proposed a useful five-theme framework for geography as
developed by the Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP). Three of the themes
correspond to traditions identified earlier: location, human-environment inter-action, and regions. As the
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fourth tradition, the NGS proposed a single word, place, because all places on the surface of the Earth
have distinguishing human and physical characteristics. A fifth theme, movement, refers to the mobility of
goods, ideas, and people, an appropriate theme in light of the mobile world we live in today.
Maps
Maps—graphic representations of all or part of the Earth's surface drawn to scale—are the most important
tool of geographers. Maps and geography are practically synonymous, and mapmaking (cartography) is
as old as geography itself. The spatial perspective is geography's unifying bond and there is no better way
to demonstrate insights gained through spatial analysis than through the use of maps. Maps are our
"window on the world."
Maps are used to portray the distinctive character of places; their relationship to environmental
issues; the movements of people, goods, and ideas; and regions of various types. Maps are used to wage
war, make political propaganda, solve medical problems, locate shopping centers, bring relief to refugees,
warn of natural hazards—in short, for countless purposes.
Maps are not always printed. Everyone has a mental map—a map in their mind—that has
developed over years of looking at wall maps, atlas maps, and maps in books, magazines, and
newspapers. People’s perception of places and regions is influenced by their individual mental maps as
well as printed maps. Since one's perception of different places is a combination of general information,
personal experiences, and what is called "hearsay" in the legal profession, that perception is not always
accurate. Look carefully at text Figure 1-9 in your text and you will begin to get some idea of the influence
that mental maps and perception of places have on people.
CHAPTER QUIZ
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. This text focuses on human geography. What is the other half of geography called?
a. environmental
b. spatial
c. physical
d. regional
2. When geographers look at the way places and things are laid out on the cultural landscape, they are
taking a:
a. pattern analysis
b. distribution measurement
c. spatial perspective
d. map measurement
