FOUR TRADITIONS OF
GEOGRAPHY
W.D. Pattison
W.D. Pattison
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In 1964, W.D. Pattison, a professor at the University
of Chicago, wanted to counter the idea that
geography was an undisciplined science by saying
that geographers had exhibited broad enough
consistency such that there were four distinctive, but
affiliated traditions.
Tradition One
An earth-science tradition - physical (natural)
geography.
Physical geography, descriptions according to place
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Intellectual legacy:
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.); Greek philosopher who looked
at natural processes, Earth is spherical, matter falls
together toward a common center.
Tradition Two
2) A man-land tradition - relationships between human societies and natural
environments.
Human impact on nature, perception of environment, environmentalism (Units 3,4,5,6),
Intellectual legacy:
Hippocrates; a Greek Physician of 5th century B.C. who wrote that places
affect the health and character of man.
Modern geographer(s):
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and Carl Ritter (1779-1859)
1) Move beyond describing earth’s surface to explaining why certain
phenomena are present or absent.
2) Origin of “where” and “why” approach
3) Environmental determinism – how the physical environment causes social
development
Tradition Three
3) A spatial tradition - spatial unifying theme, similar patterns between
physical & human geography.
includes: boundaries, densities, movement, transportation, spatial patterns of
development (Units 2 & 4)
Intellectual legacy:
Claudius Ptolemy (A.D. 100?-170?); a Greek, who wrote 8-volume
Geographia in the second century A.D. containing numerous maps (also
father of geometry).
Modern geographer:
Alfred Wegener; climatologist
1) Studied spatial arrangement of landmasses, used geographical and
geological evidence
2) Continental drift – landmasses were once part of supercontinent (plate
tectonics)
Tradition Four
4) An area-studies tradition - regional geography
Nature of places, character, regions, areas, international relationships,
regional differentiation (Units, 3,4,5)
Intellectual legacy:
Strabo (63? B.C.-A.D. 24?); Roman investigator, who wrote a report
called Geography, a massive production for the statesmen intended
to sum up and regularize knowledge of location and place, their
character, and their differentiation.
Modern geographer:
Carl Sauer (1889-1975); American
1) The work of human geography is to discern the relationships
among social and physical phenomena
2) Everything in the landscape is interrelated.
What is Human Geography
Human geography deals with the world as it is and
with the world as it might be made to be. Its
emphasis is on people: where they are, what they are
like, how they interact over space, and what kinds of
landscapes of human use they erect on the natural
landscapes they occupy.
FOUR TRADITIONS INTO FIVE
THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
Kevin Copeland AP Human Geography Unit 1
The Five Themes of Geography:
Purpose
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The five themes of geography help us in answering
the “where”, “how” and “why” dealing with
occurrences that take place in our world. By using
these themes as a basis for understanding
geographic information, we can gain a better
appreciation of cultural and environmental changes
around the world.
Location (Theme 1)
1)
Location
surface.
Ways to indicate location:
. position on the earth’s
Maps
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Absolute Location-Latitude and Longitude (Parallels and
Meridians), determine exact location.
Ex. Atlanta, GA-33°N, 84°W
Observe Map
Relative Location-location of a place relative to other
places (situational)
Why use relative location? Unfamiliar place, centrality
Absolute Location (Latitude and Longitude)
Human-Environment Interaction (Theme 2)
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2. Human-Environment Interaction . relations
between cultures and environment (cultural ecology).
A) Cultural Landscape-human-induced changes
that involve the surface and biosphere-Carl Sauer
B) Environmental Determinism-physical
environment causes certain human behaviors
(UT Football Game)
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C) Possibilism-natural environment limits the
range of choices available to a culture
(Limited Food Diet of Inuits)
Environmental Determinism
Possibilism
Regions (Theme 3)
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3. Regions
. areas of unique
characteristics, ways of organizing people.
Types of Regions
Formal-distinctive characteristics that can be proven
(uniform, homogeneous)
Ex. Wheat Belt, Republican state-GA
Functional-product of interactions, organized around a
node or core
Ex. Newspapers, radio stations, “The Perimeter”
Perceptual-vernacular (exists only in the mind)
Ex. Dixie South
Place (Theme 4)
4.
Place
. associations of phenomena in an area. (What makes an
area unique)
Culture-people’s lifestyles, values, beliefs and traits
What people care about: language, religion, ethnicity
What people take care of: daily necessities, leisure activities
Components of Culture:
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Culture Region-the area in which a particular cultural system prevails
Ex. Building styles, farms
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Culture Trait-a single attribute of culture
Ex. Food, clothing

Culture Complex-a discrete combination of traits
Ex. Nationalism/Patriotism
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Culture System-a grouping of certain complexes, usually based on ethnicity, language, religion
Ex. Spanish-speaking, Catholic Mexicans
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Culture Realm-an assemblage of culture (highly generalized/ster)
Ex. Sub-Saharan Africa (assuming that all of Africa south of the Sahara is virtually the same)
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Place (Theme 4 continued)
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Physical Processes-environmental processes, which explain
the distribution of human activities
Climate-long-term average weather condition
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Koppen’s Five Main Climate Regions
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Vegetation-plant life
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Tropical
Dry
Warm Mid-Latitude
Cold Mid-Latitude
Polar
Biomes-plant communities (4-forest, savanna, grassland, desert)
Soil-(12,000 soil types in the U.S. alone)
Landforms-earth’s surface features
Movement (Theme 5)
5.
Movement
. interconnection between areas.
Culture Hearths-source of idea, innovation or ideology
Cultural Diffusion-spread of idea, innovation or ideology from hearth to
another culture
Types of Diffusion
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Ex. computers, television, cell phones, religion
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Expansion Diffusion-idea, innovation or ideology develops in a source area and
remains strong there while also spreading outward
Relocation Diffusion (Transculturation)-spread of idea, innovation or ideology
through physical movement of individuals
Ex. Italian immigrants to NYC taught Irish-Americans how to make pizza
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-you-decide-where-to-go-in-a-zombie-apocalypse-davidhunter#review