Geography in the 21st century has many different meanings depending on the individual. To me, however, geography basically means the study of the world. Upon closer inspection, geography has many unique characteristics that defines it as a scientific subject. Geography has two different aspects which focuses on different areas such as human geography, which I personally took last semester, and this geography deals with studying cultures, societies, and economies. The other geography is physical geography which focuses on the physical landscapes and environment. Initially, the geography I thought of was physical geography. Geography allows us to be more knowledgeable about different places around the world, the communities within each place and how …show more content…
Teaching this scientific subject relies on using the technology available to us today, such as Google Earth to explore around the world and virtual reality programs to personally “traverse” to the place and see it with our own eyes. Exploration is an utmost important aspect of geography and with the use of today’s technologies, exploring is easier to come by. Researchers are able to use Google Earth to document their findings and attempt to explain what is currently occurring across the Earth as well as what those occurrences will mean for the future. Similarly, mapping is another important tool for geography as I have learned in class. Satellite imagery can scan the face of the earth, producing topographic information that highly goes into depth of, for example, the water levels in the area or the amount of deforested areas. By using these kinds of information, environmentalists and other researchers can predict the future outcomes of predicaments and study upon how to mitigate the hazardous effect from occurring or to simply prevent it from
Geography is the study of the world, how it works, and how people use and change the world as they live in it.
Geography will never mean the same to me, the more I read the more I’ve learned it’ so much more than land and boundaries. What I’ve learned from this literature it seems to be the study of issues that affect people and the environment, and ways to solve the world’s problems. Geography is important because it affects all aspects of life. No matter what you are talking or thinking about geography is somehow involved. Everything in the world has a direct connection to place, location, interaction, movement, and region.
“Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future”. This is a quote by one of the most successful and innovative men to ever live, Walt Disney. He was successful because he constantly kept looking to make a better future for himself and others. He did this through interactions with the world and everything around him. Interactions such as these can push mankind forward. They lead to innovations that revolutionize the world we live in. It only takes one great idea to change the world and make it a better place for everyone. Human geography deals with how human actions influence and impact other humans and the world’s environment.
This semester I learned that there are four different branches of human geography. First to define the different geographies: social, has to do with society and what that regions society values. An example of this would be school systems. Cultural geographies has to do with symbolic practices and shared sets of meaning, a simple example of this could be in Italy, most people are Roman Catholic, and share those values. Political, is the type of government that county has, for example North Korea is communist. Lastly, economic, is that countries economy, for example Greece, currently is in an economic crisis.
To me, the definition of geography means that the studies of the world, and not just that it is the language, the climate and how you study the country from the land all the way to the citizen of that country. Geography also mean the statistic of a country like the GDP, literacy rate …
Through reading How the States Got Their Shapes and Guns, Germs, and Steel I would define human geography as the study of how different factors such as culture, lifestyle, geography, and environment dictate where humans live and migrate. Both books are able to connect how the latter factors influence the pattern of human activity and movement.
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word ‘geography’ is defined as “a science that deals with the description, distribution, and interaction of the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth's surface.” This simple word with its inquisitive definition were the answer to Papua New Guinea native, Yalle’s question for Dr. Jared Diamond on the success of white people. Papua New Guinea is a country in the Pacific that has existed for over 40,000 years. Jared Diamond has spent many months with the natives, learning their way of life but has never understood why the people have not been as successful as the Europeans were. Yalle had the same question for Diamond. At first when Diamond was faced with this thought-provoking
“Why Geography Matters” is a 282 page book, including the epilogue, written by Harm de Blij. It was published in New york, New York in 2005. Over the Summer I read and finished this book. This book is full of amazing facts and knowledge that pertain to , what geography is, how it effected past societies, how it will affect future societies, and how geography is a crucial part in our society. In the following summarization of “Why Geography Matters”, i will explain three main points that embody what this book is about, and what it tries to teach.
Geography is an important factor to consider when you look at this worlds past, present, or future. So whether it be the earths physical geographic features, the geopolitics stirring up trouble across the globe, or the economics of growing or shrinking countries; geography plays a major role. In todays society, geographic knowledge is one of the most important and valuable tools to possess. Without it, we are victims of ignorance and endanger ourselves, others, and the world. This ignorance, possessed by many, is posing a great risk of self-destruction. The author of “Why Geography Matters More Than Ever”, Harm de Blij, makes many strong points on this matter, but occasionally makes unsupported and unclear statements which tend to stray off topic.
The five themes of geography consist of the location, place, human environment interactions, movement, and regions of a place. These categories are also split up into for location and are relative, or the to refer to something next to it as a direction to find this location. Absolute location is the exact coordinates or direction for an location. There 's also two parts the physical characteristics, which is the land, ecosystem, and the
What is geography to you? Well geography is the study of physical features of the earth and its atmospheres of human activity as it affects and is affected by this distribution of populations and resources.as well as land use and industries. Geography has do with many things such as history ,culture and society .the Japanese history, it has to do with feminist science it goes back further than all this . My topic about geography I have chosen to write about Mr. Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus was born in 1951 in genoa Italy. He was born into a middle class family. Although his childhood is limited to us we are aware that he was well educated. He also spoke several languages. Mr. Columbus was a very intelligent man from the start.
I agree that geographic determination has some good points and has some value while talking about how a culture gets started, but does not determine completely how wealthy or how well a country does. Countries mainly do well because of how the economy works. Also how the people within the economy help to create more efficient ways of living. For example, if you think about Puerto Rico and how it's split down the middle with hato and there are two different tribes/cultures living on each side. Both sides have the same geography and have the same resources but yet Hato is one of the poorest areas in the world and Puerto Rico is not one of the wealthiest but not poor either.
Along with this, geographic thinking is when students understand how geography can be used to gather information from a certain perspective. Using tools like maps and satellite images, students can better grasp the differences between two locations. Showing them how far apart Michigan is from Armenia won't mean much unless they can comprehend the geographical concept of distance or they're given a map as a visual representation of what they're learning. Geographic thinking also helps them formulate the idea different cultures, which in turn helps them form a more solid idea of what their own culture
In geography, place is used to describe an environment where people are able to interact and make sense of. Lester and his associates (2016) infer that place is used to define human interaction “with nature and among themselves; where there are tensions and where there is peace; where people are rich and where they are poor” (p.32). Cresswell (2008) defines place as combination of a location and meaning. Simply put, place is a space that we give meaning to. It is an empty meaningless physical space that one can take and mold it to their liking giving it meaning and filling it with things that truly describes themselves.
As an intellectual discipline, geography is divided into the sub-fields of physical geography and human geography, the latter concentrating upon the study of human activities, by the application of qualitative and quantitative research methods.