GEOGRAPHY AS A FIELD OF INQUIRY
I.
II.
What is GEOGRAPHY?
A. Greek definition
1. GEO = earth
2. GRAPHY = to write about
B. Purpose of geography
1. Early geographers focused on practical
applications like trade.
2. Among the first civilizations to embrace
geography were the Greeks, Chinese and
North Africans.
3. Today geography helps us understand and
plan population, development, culture,
behavior, economics, and politics among
other things.
Early geographers
A. Erastothenes
1. Head librarian of Alexandria in 3rd century
BCE
2. Possibly first cartographer (map-maker)
3. Computed the Earth’s circumference based
on the sun’s angle at the summer solstice and
the distance between the Egyptian cities of
Alexandria and Syene.
4. Created the word geography
B. Ptolemy
1. Published “Guide to Geography” in 2nd
century CE
2. Included maps of known world and a grid
system
C. Explorers
1. European explorers like Columbus and
Magellan discovered and examined new
lands, seas, climates and cultures.
2. The Lewis and Clark Expedition Explored
and documented aspects of the Louisiana
Purchase.
D. George Perkins Marsh
1. Inventor, diplomat, politician, scholar
2. 1864 wrote “Man and Nature, or Physical
Geography as Modified by Human Action”
3. Warned against willful destruction of the
environment such as the desertification of the
fertile crescent.
E. Carl Sauer
1. 1925 argued that cultural landscapes should
be the focus Developed a method of landscape
analysis
2. Even landscapes appearing to be natural were
in some way altered by human activity.
F. The Quantitative Revolution
1. 1950’s and 60’s movement amond social
scientists that stressed use of empirical
measurements, hypothesis testing,
mathematical models and technology to
explain patterns.
2. Some felt this made geography mainstream
and acceptable as a science, others found it
limiting.
III. Divisions of Geography
A. Human
1. The study of human activity on the Earth’s
surface
2. Sub-categories: population, cultural,
economic, urban, agricultural, political
B. Physical
1. The study of spatial characteristics of the
Earth’s physical and biological systems.
2. Many natural scientists like meteorologists,
oceanographers and geologists use this type of
geography.
3. Seeks to understand the spatial variability of
various phenomena
C. Environmental (Earth System Science)
1. The study of interactions between physical
systems on a global scale.
2. Includes systematic geography which studies
Earth’s integrated systems as a whole and
broadly applies knowledge of specific spatial
processes.
3. Results from the intersection of human and
physical geography
4. Can impact almost any academic discipline
IV. W.D. Pattinson’s Four Traditions of Geography
A. Pattinson: University of Chicago geographer
published traditions in 1964
B. Four Traditions
1. Earth-science: physical geography
2. Culture-environment: human-environmental
relationships
3. Location: spatial data and cartography
4. Area-analysis: regional geography
V. The Five Themes of Geography
A. Location: position on the Earth’s surface
B. Place: associations among phenomena in a
particular area
C. Region: organizing or compartmentalizing space
D. Movement: interconnections between areas
E. Human/environmental Interaction: relates culture
and environment