KEY QUESTION #4:

WHY ARE

GEOGRAPHERS

CONCERNED WITH

SCALE &

CONNECTEDNESS?

(4 slides)

KEY QUESTION #4: WHY ARE

GEOGRAPHERS CONCERNED WITH SCALE

& CONNECTEDNESS?

Scale has two meanings

• Distance on a map compared to the distance on the Earth

• Territorial extent of something

In HG, we will use the 2nd definition

For example, if we study the scale of wealth globally…

• We see wealth in Western Europe, Canada, USA, Japan & Australia

• We do not see it in Sub-Saharan Africa

If we study it in just North America, we see the greatest wealth on the coasts; lesser wealth in the interior & south

Scale

KEY QUESTION #4: WHY ARE

GEOGRAPHERS CONCERNED WITH SCALE

& CONNECTEDNESS?

Geographers also divide the world into regions for analysis(shows connectedness)

A region shares similar characteristics

• Formal region: places that share one or more homogenous phenomenon

• Functional region: Defined by a set of activities that take place and the limits in which they occur

• Perceptual region: Exists just as an idea in someone’s mind

This is definitely the most difficult to agree on

One person’s perception of the Southern U.S., or the Middle East, or Africa might be completely different than another’s

Formal and Functional

Regions

Fig. 1-11: The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence

of various television stations are examples of functional regions.

Where Pennsylvanian

students prefer to live

Where Californian

students prefer to live

Perception

of Place

The meanings of regions are often contested. In Montgomery,

Alabama, streets named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis

and Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks intersect. Photo credit: Jonathan Leib

KEY QUESTION #4: WHY ARE

GEOGRAPHERS CONCERNED WITH SCALE

& CONNECTEDNESS?

The concept of culture is also critical(again, can show elements of connectedness)

• Its an all-encompassing term that identifies not only the whole lifestyle of people, but also their values & beliefs

Cultural trait: single attribute of culture

Culture complex: combination of traits

Cultural hearth: area where traits develop and from where traits spread(fancy term is called “diffusion”)

KEY QUESTION #4: WHY ARE

GEOGRAPHERS CONCERNED WITH SCALE

& CONNECTEDNESS?

Terms relating to diffusion

• Distance decay: farther you are from a hearth, the less likely the traits/innovations will spread

• Cultural barriers: things that work against the spreading of an idea, trait or innovation

• Types of diffusion

EXPANSION: spreads outward

CONTAGIOUS: all nearby individuals are usually affected

HIERARCHICAL: spreads to a certain group first

RELOCATION: people move who carry new traits with them

STIMULUS: takes a part of an idea(not all of it)

Stimulus

Diffusion

Because Hindus believe cows are

holy, cows often roam the streets in

villages and towns. The McDonalds

restaurants in India feature veggie

burgers.

Types of Diffusion

Relocation diffusion –

movement of individuals who carry an idea or innovation with them to a new, perhaps distant locale.

Photo credit: A.B. Murphy Photo credit: H.J. de Blij

Kenya

Paris, France

KEY QUESTION #5:

WHAT IS THE “HISTORY”

OF “GEOGRAPHY”?

(5 slides)

KEY QUESTION #5: WHAT IS THE “HISTORY”

OF “GEOGRAPHY?”

Greeks were the first to classify geography

• Wrote about the Earth being round

• In Homer’s “Odyssey” and “Iliad” he makes several geographic references

• First to name the continents of Asia, Europe & Africa

• Greek named Anaximander made the first map

• Aristotle, Plato & Pythagoras furthered the belief the earth was round

• Eratosthenes was first to use the term “geography”…he also made the first accurate calculation of the Earth’s circumference

KEY QUESTION #5: WHAT IS THE “HISTORY”

OF “GEOGRAPHY?”

Romans also had an influence

• Ptolemy was 1st person to write and describe cities & civilizations

• Romans made maps, but were more into the artistic style than being accurate

Dark Ages(500-1000 AD) led to a halt in geographic & academic study in Europe

• Led to the emergence of Middle Eastern influence through more mapmaking

• Chinese eventually furthered the study---eventually stopped as they cut themselves off from the world

KEY QUESTION #5: WHAT IS THE “HISTORY”

OF “GEOGRAPHY?”

Around the time the Chinese shut themselves off, the European Age of Exploration Began(1300-1600 AD)

• Marco Polo started it

• Gerardus Mercator was first to make a map that accurately showed the continents

In the last 100 years, two geographic philosophies emerged:

• Environmental determinism & possibilism

KEY QUESTION #5: WHAT IS THE “HISTORY”

OF “GEOGRAPHY?”

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM

• Human behavior is strongly affected(if not controlled) by the physical environment

• Suggests climate is the critical factor in how human’s behave(even implying environment affects the intelligence of people)

• The counterargument to this is “possibilism”

KEY QUESTION #5: WHAT IS THE “HISTORY”

OF “GEOGRAPHY?”

POSSIBILISM

•Environment simply serves as a limit to the range of choices available to a culture

•Human decision making is the crucial factor in human development

•Much more widely accepted theory to modern geographers