Geographical Themes
Everything happens somewhere
Geographical Themes:
Location
 Where an event occurs
 Absolute Location
– the exact location found through
the use of longitude and latitude,
street addresses, or street map
grids.
 Relative Location
– where the place is relative to
other places
Geographical Themes:
Place
 Description of the place that
makes it different from other
places
 Physical
– Natural features of the place
(temperature, bodies of water, etc.)
 Cultural
– Description of the way of life of the
people that live there
Geographical Themes:
Region
A group of places bound
together by one or more
similar characteristics
Geographical Themes:
Movement
In the historical sense, the
movement of people, goods,
and ideas
Geographical Themes:
Environmental Interaction
 The relationship with place
 How humans change the
environment of the place
Historical Themes
Looking for Patterns
Historical Themes:
Cooperation and Conflict
Cooperation:
– when members of a group work together
to achieve a common goal
Conflict:
– when rival groups seek to coerce, harm,
or even destroy each other
Historical Themes:
The Impact of Ideas
Mental threads that bind
the minds of people
together sufficiently for
joint action to occur
Ism:
–a suffix that means a
doctrine or set of ideas
Historical Themes:
Economics and History
The way that a society
provides the material
necessities for survival
(food, clothing, shelter,
etc.)
How the necessities are
distributed to its members
Historical Themes:
Technology and History
The tools and skills people
use to meet their needs
New technologies lead to
changes in society
Historical Themes:
Human-Environment Interaction
How humans affect and are
affected by their environment
Historical Themes:
Cultural Development
The expression of cultural
characteristics through
philosophy and art
Historical Themes:
Social Institutions
Groups of people working
together to provide for society’s
basic needs
Social Institutions
Government
–To maintain order and security
Social Institutions
Religion
–To explain the meaning of existence
–To reinforce moral values
Social Institutions
Education
–To train the young and instill in
them the norms and values of the
society
Social Institutions
Economic system
–To provide food and shelter
–To determine how necessities are
distributed to its members
Social Institutions
The Family
–To raise new generations to
replace the old
Historical Themes:
Individuals
Those who play a
prominent role
determining the
events of history
Historical Themes:
Continuity and Change
Continuity:
– Staying relatively the same over
time
» What can endure time
• Institutions
• Ideas
• Problems
Change:
– The constant altering of society by
the forces of history