What is Geography?

• Geography: the study of where people, places, and things are located and how they relate to each other

• Five Themes:– Location– Place– Interaction (between people and their

environment)– Movement– Region

Location

• Absolute Location: exact or precise spot on Earth that a place occupies– Use latitude (north and south) and

longitude (east and west), hemispheres, etc– Example: Santa Fe, NM is located at 35°41’

north and 105°57’ west

• Relative Location: the position of a particular place in relation to other places– Example: Santa Fe is 58 miles northeast of

Albuquerque

Place

• A location’s physical and human characteristics

• Place identity CHANGES through time

• Physical characteristics: landforms, climate, soil, vegetation, and animal life– Example: Santa Fe is in

the foothills of the southern Rocky Mountains

• Human characteristics: people’s way of life – activities, population distribution, means of transportation, architecture, religion, and languages– Example: Santa Fe has traditional Pueblo

and Spanish architecture

Human-Environment Interaction

People adapt their way of life to accommodate their environment Example: Chinese stir fry – not

many trees in China so food is cut into tiny pieces to allow it to cook quicker with little fuel

People adapt their environment to accommodate their lives Example: clearing forests,

blasting tunnels through mountains, plowing fields

Movement

• Interactions of people with one another as they travel, communicate, and exchange goods and services

• Migration: movement of people from one place to another– Example: people leave homelands to escape war or

natural disasters• Trade: movement of goods between areas• Spread of ideas

– Example: ideas of Buddhism spread from India to China

• Interdependence: dependence of countries on goods, resources, and knowledge from other parts of the world– Example: Americans get coffee from South America,

tea from India, oil from the Middle East

Regions

• Region: an area having a specific characteristic or characteristics that set it apart from other regions– Characteristics could be physical, political,

climate, cultural, etc– Any given area could be part of several

different regions– Example: Santa Fe is the state capital of New

Mexico (political region), at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains (physical region), and has a large Spanish-American population (cultural region)

Political Theme of History

Why do we need government? Provide for the common needs of the

people Keep order within a society Protecting a society from outside threats

How do governments keep order? Making laws

How do societies create laws? Customs turn into laws

Why Should People Obey the Law?• Every form of government has different

laws and punishments for breaking them• Philosophes: Enlightenment thinkers who

argued about how much control the government should have over people’s lives– Will people create chaos without government?– Do laws take away peoples’ rights?

• Social contract: people “sign” a contract with their government in which they give up certain rights in exchange for protection of other rights

Types of Government

Democracy: government by the people Free electoral system

Dictatorship: absolute power exercised by a dictator

Constitutional Monarchy: monarch is a figurehead of the government, while a Parliamentary body exercises actual power

Absolute Monarchy: monarch retains all power

• Socialism: government owns the means of production– Utopian: ideal, everyone is equal– Democratic socialism: people retain partial

control and may own some private property– Authoritarian socialism a.k.a. communism:

government overthrown violently, new leaders own all the means of production, and must act violently in order to ensure that socialism can be achieved

Fascism: government led by a dictator, emphasizing aggressive nationalism and racism, and is extremely conservative

Theocracy: rule by the church

Economic Theme of History

• Economics: how people use limited resources to satisfy their wants and needs

• Three basic economic questions:– What goods and services should we

produce?– How should we produce them?– For whom should we produce them?

• Three basic types of economies:– Free market– Command– Mixed

FREE MARKETCOMMAND ECONOMY

MIXED ECONOMY

Private ownership of property/resources

Central ownership of property/resources

Individuals and businesses make decisions for the private sector.

ProfitCentrally-planned economy

Government makes decisions for the private sector.

CompetitionLack of consumer choices

Government’s role is greater than in a free-market economy.

Individual choiceMost economies today are mixed economies.

Consumer sovereignty

Social Theme of History

• Social theme: Includes all of the items that make up a culture and involves the way in which people live their lives

• Social institutions: social systems that are built into a society– Examples:

• Educational system• Health system• Arts, music, literature• Prison system• Daily routines and rituals• Folkways and customs

Religion

Religion helps people to answer basic questions and the meaning and purpose of life Supports the values that a group of people

consider to be important Monotheism: worship one god Polytheism: worship of more than one

god

Major world religions Judaism Hinduism Buddhism Christianity Islam

Abraham Father of 3

prominent religions Judaism,

Christianity, Islam Rejected idolatry

and embraced monotheism

Judaism

Monotheistic Religious text: Torah Religious buildings: Synogogues Sacred Symbol: Star of David Sacred Site: Jerusalem

Prophets Moses, through whom Torah was revealed to

the Hebrew people Torah

(first five books of the Bible), containing religious, moral and social law which guides the life of a Jew

Does not include the New Testament

As a way of life, Judaism is based on…

Written Law 613 commandments found in Torah

Oral Law – commentary of ancient rabbis that elaborates on how to apply God’s Law in everyday life Dietary rules (Kashrut/Kosher) Dress and other symbols Prayer and devotion to the one God The Temple and Temple rites Observance of Holy days Proper social relations between male and

female, in business, judicial rulings, etc.

As a people, Jews are…

A nation in Diaspora (dispersed) 15 – 16 million in worldwide population United by a common heritage (an “ethnic”

religion), divided in contemporary practice: Orthodox:

Modern Chasidic (Ultra Orthodox)

Reformed (18th century Germany) Conservative – moderates, response to

reform

How does Judaism sanctify life?Life cycle celebrations: Bris – ritual circumcision, sign of the

covenant Bar/Bat Mitzvah – full adult status and

responsibility within the religion Marriage - "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen.

1:22) Death – funerals, mourning (sitting

“Shiva”), and memorials (“Yartzeits”)

Jewish Holidays

Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Chanukah, the “Festival of Lights” Pesach (“Passover”) – commemorates the

exodus from Egypt (events told in Exodus) Shavuot (“weeks,” Pentecost) –

commemorates receipt of Torah at Sinai Shabbat (Sabbath, 7th day, on Saturday) –

the “Day of Rest”

How is Judaism related to Christianity? Judaism predates Christianity

It is the foundation of Christianity but is not a part of it

Jesus was Jewish, as were his followers and the Apostles Jews do not believe that Jesus was anything more

than a good and wise man who lived and died 2000 years ago

Jews still await their messiah The Jewish messiah would not be divine. He would

be a political figure who restores the Hebrew monarchy and causes peace to reign on Earth

Christianity

Monotheistic Religious Text: Bible Sacred Sites: Bethlehem, Jerusalem Sacred Symbol: Cross Special Days: Easter, Christmas

World’s largest religion 1.8 billion people 1/3 of world population

Followers believe that Jesus was the son of God Lived as a carpenter and preacher who taught

using parables Believe he was resurrected after his death

Fragmented into many separate denominations Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant

Islam

Islam – submission to the will of God Muslim – follower of Islam Qur’an – holy book of Islam Jihad – struggle to defend the faith Mosques – place where Muslims

worship

5 Pillars of Islam

1. The profession of faith2. The five daily prayers3. Paying zakat4. Fasting during the holy month of

Ramadan5. Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at

least once, if possible

Muhammad

Born into merchant family in Mecca, orphaned early

Muhammad was troubled with gap between the greedy rich & honest poor

Muhammad went into mountains to meditate on the issue

While meditating, Muhammad received revelation from God through the angel Gabriel

Muhammad came to believe that Allah had revealed himself partially to Moses & Jesus and his final revelations were to him

Hijrah

Many of the people in Mecca were against Muhammad’s preaching Many people made pilgrimage there to worship

at the Kaaba Building that contained many idols that people

worshipped A.D. 622 Muhammad went on journey to

more accepting place Went to Medina (Yathrib) Hijrah: means “flight” or “migration”

Mosque Of The Prophet

In Medina

Muhammad assembled a military force to defend community Military victories attracted many

followers In 630, Muhammad returned to

Mecca with 10,000 soldiers City surrendered & many residents

converted to Islam Muhammad declared the Kaaba to

be a sacred shrine Muhammad died 2 years later,

Islam spread through the Arabian peninsula

Dome of the Rock:Where Muhammad

Ascended Into Heaven

The Islamic Community DividesSunni Shi’ah

Sufi –

Hinduism

God is one-but goes by many names No single founder-combination of beliefs Sacred texts-

Rig Veda: Hinduism’s oldest text- nearly 4000 years

Bhagavad Gita: most popular sacred text Upanishads

Reincarnation

• Death is not final for Hindus as they expect to be reborn many times.

• Samsara is the wheel of rebirth

• The soul is reborn from one life form to another

• People may be reincarnated at a higher or lower level of existence

• Depends on their karma from their present life.

• People may be reborn as plants or animals

• May be elevated to a higher caste as a human

Karma and Dharma

Karma-actions in this life that affect the next. Every action produces a Justified effect

based on its moral worthiness. Dharma-the religious and moral duties of

an individual.

Caste System

Group you are in according to class, occupation, or gender.

4 major castesBrahmin : priestsKshatriya: warriors and administratorsVaistrya: farmers, merchants, teachers,

artisansSudras: servants,laborers

Festival of Divali

Divali: row of lights Series of five festivals in October and

November Candles are floated on small rafts

If they remain lit, good luck will follow

The Ganges River

Falling fromIts source of Vishnu’s feetonto Shiva’shead and outfrom his hair, the water ofthe Ganges issacred enoughto purify all sins.

Buddhism

Founded by Siddhartha Guatama Indian Prince who lived in luxury and comfort

inside the palace

One day he left the palace gardens and saw an old man, a sick man, and a dead man Realized life was full of suffering Became the Enlightened one

1. The truth about suffering is that it exists. Life is suffering. Birth, aging and dying is suffering. 

2. Our reaching into the world of dreams, our desire to fulfill what cannot be fulfilled is what brings us our suffering. 

3. Only when we have broken the mirrors of illusion can we end our suffering, and

4. The Eight-Fold Path can help us to break our habits of suffering. 

4 noble truths

The Eightfold Path

1.Right Understanding2.Right Thoughts 3.Right Speech 4.Right Action 5.Right Livelihood 6.Right Effort 7.Right Mindfulness 8.Right Concentration

The only cure for suffering is to follow the Eightfold Path, a middle road between a life devoted to pleasure and a life of harsh self-denial.

It is important to live a moral life.

Enlightenment is achieved through meditation.

The ultimate goal is nirvana, union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth.

Different Buddhas