An As De Blij's Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever

In the chapter “Geography Matters …”,Thomas Foster says geography in literature is usually about people occupying “spaces” and vice versa. It is the environment, but also it can be whatever else that location can establish in the residents there. Geography can be used several ways in a work of literature.

Kunstler, James Howard. The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. Print.

In “Why Place Matters” by Wilfred M. McClay and Ted V. McAllister, the authors establish an argument of why place matters more than virtual places brought to us by technological advancements. McClay and McAllister talk about the risks as individuals and society face, when losing connection to physical space. They discuss how a feeling of “thereness” has vanished because people focus on a virtual place. Technologies around us have “absorbed our energies,” is something they mention, and it is what the satellites revolving around Earth are doing. The authors say when we move we have no emotion because we have detached ourselves very quickly from the place. McClay and McAllister reason how we all come from a place or “places” that

In Somalia, no one is spared from crisis. Children and health workers have been murdered and kidnapped. People fight over food and water, adding another burden to citizens of Somalia who are already struggling to get through resource droughts. In a country with no central government, little happens without trauma-force. As resources continue to diminish, conflict arises when there are very little resources and Somalis all want to have priority (Unicef, 2006). Before environmental resource scarcity in Somalia is discussed in depth, let’s take a closer look at the physical and human geography in the country, global climate change and its impact on Somalia’s vegetation, the evolution of Somalia during the colonial and imperial periods, and many Somali conflicts that cause to be in crisis (in no particular order), even today.

Changes are an important part of history, and a natural part of life. In the case of geography throughout history, the world has made many changes to its borders and who has grievances with one another. From the High Middle Ages of olden Europe, to the twentieth century, change has occurred. These changes have unified and broken ties between countries and regions time and time again throughout history. There are many forces that push toward and against unity throughout time. The world map became what is today because of both unity and division marking change in the past.

There is a saying that “Geography is destiny”. For early civilizations, geography was an obstacle when it came to survival. As people settled in permanent locations, they relied on the local geographical features to sustain themselves. As people relied on geography, it helped shape the development of early civilizations, such as to provide many natural barriers, trade routes, and fertile land. China, for example, was able to develop and prosper due to its natural barriers.

In this essay The Geography of the Imagination the author Guy Davenport touches a lot of subjects that are somewhat united with Grant Wood’s artwork American Gothic. Davenport takes a closer look at the painting and analysing it from the top to the bottom by drawing interesting comparisons related to ancient history art, events and recent events that were happening at the time. While comparing every small detail he makes a main comparison by comparing Grant Woods to Hans Memling but from Iowa. The author compares both of these artists because Grant Woods like Hans Memling’s style is picking up the same late gothic feel with finely designed interior and landscape backgrounds. However, Memling was the first North European artist that began to

The importance of geography in terms on economic development has been a long disputed topic, yet it is the most obvious explanation to the yawning gaps between several different economies, like the situation between Western Europe and Africa, in which the1820 average GDP per capita in Western Europe was about three times that in Africa; then by 1992, the average was more than thirteen times as high (Gallup, Mellinger, Sachs 1999 p.176). By saying that there is an apparent relationship between geography and economic development, it is meant that the geography of an economy, like location, climate, and natural resources, strongly influences different aspects of the economy, like trade and institution, which, in turn, determine the

In the section entitled “An Enduring Human Geography”, De Blij introduces new subject matter: historical transition into modern humanity. This development into modern structure has happened at an array of points as history as well as at various rates of growth. It is implied through logic and visual displays that the earlier the point of history at which a nation has expanded upon modern humanity, the more permanent the region’s centripetal relevance to others is in modern geography. Looking back in time, there is a pattern regarding demographics that date back thousands of years. For example, China’s demographics are remaining a constant focus and a staple piece of information as the population of China has remained the world’s largest for

Imagine you lived in China with 1.38 billion people and in the center was you. You were a mother of one and expecting a 2nd child, but you lived in a society where the government had made it illegal to have more than one child because of the overpopulation. Or let's imagine that you were part of the government that made it illegal for you to have more than one child. You were apart of it all. You made the final decision, you decided to kill unborn child, forcing families to leave the country, just so they can have more than one child. Or maybe you had a girl as your firstborn but you wanted a boy and you weren’t allowed to have another child so you gave up your first born just for a chance at having a boy. All of this happens in the world, specifically in

Geography determines the future wealth of a country during its development. Geography assists in a country’s industries, trade, and agriculture. Industries in a country affect the wealth and life conditions of citizens. These industries are affected by the climate or terrain of a region. In California, the north is full of forestries so the main industry produces lumber. In southern California, the climate is warm and is fit for grape farms, created wine industries. Lastly, in the Jordan, the oil industry is booming and it makes up for the loss of agriculture because of the desert lands. Furthermore, the terrain and soil of a region affects the trading patterns. The soil influences the quantity and quality of crops. The terrain of a region

Many types of maps and documents were marked “red lines” on the border to territories Changkufeng Hill. Japanese were investigating a boundary problem, by comparing the original map with many identical new maps of the borders. However, Japan believes that China has the original map in a secret place without being addressed or confronted about the boundary issue. The Japanese figured that the Chinese text could still be found by proving that the Russians did not commute the boundary issue to the Ching commissioner.

Maybe some people will think human geography has no relation between physical geography. But I think human geography has a great effect on physical geography, and physical geography has a great effect on human geography too.

Maps were influential during the Western Civilization since it facilitated in unifying: political, legal, and economic rights of societies. Through this unification, it supported societies to economically prosper with one another. According to an article written by Bruce Moran, he stated that “maps determined rights to forest lands and fields; offered proof of sovereign power and legal jurisdiction; specified taxable lands; and defined possession of economically productive regions such as mining areas, salt works, woodlands, and transportation routes.” (Moran, 260). Evidently, this statement demonstrated how

Maps hold their own great power. Knowing where people, goods, and ideas are is of immeasurable value. As most powers of this magnitude are, the government has a say in it, regulating and producing them. The government’s involvement with maps is undeniable, especially our own. The question is how well they put their ability to use. Are outcomes favorable for the citizens? Are politicians or governments benefitted from misuse of maps more often than not? While many are skeptical of governments’ actions, they primarily use maps to bring about good change.