Hide Notes 

Slide 1: World Regional Geography with Welcome to Angela (Skinner) Orr 9:10 am – 10:00 pm
Slide 2: This week we will:  Study: Introductory Lecture—What is Geography?  Chapter 1 in the textbook   Be prepared to discuss in class  PowerPoint slides will be available online by the end of the week at www.myplick.com  Receive handouts for the Quizzes
Slide 3: What is Geography? You might have thought, before taking this course, that Geography is all about: ► Maps ► Where things are in the world ► The study of Earth ► Rocks or landforms ► How humans and the environment interact with one another ► ???
Slide 4: The most important question in Geography is:
Slide 5: The most important question in Geography is: Why is it there?
Slide 6: Where did “Geography” come from? Geo- comes from Greek “ge” = “Earth” geoid geology geometry -graphy comes from Greek “graphe” = “writing” or “description” (Does it remind you of “graph”?)
Slide 7: Who were the first geographers? The Greeks were not the first to “do” Geography… Mesopotamian land ownership map on a clay tablet
Slide 8: Who were the first geographers? Egyptian gold mine map on papyrus
Slide 9: A Brief History of the Development of Geography ► Western Geography—Greece and Rome   Development of geometric principles Eratosthenes, Strabo, Hipparchus and Ptolemy China, Japan and Korea Pilgrimages to Mecca—from Spain to India and into Southwest Asia ► ► Asian Geography   Muslim scholars
Slide 10: So…Who were the first geographers? ► The Greeks  codified it, broadened it, deepened it, named it, lived it ► These were the first geographers in the Western tradition, and their ideas have been handed down over thousands of years ► The real reason we follow in the Greeks’ footsteps?  The ideas contained in their works survived and were translated into other languages
Slide 11: Immanuel Kant—18th Century philosopher Wrote of the Categories of Academic Disciplines: 1. Systematic Sciences—orderly, methodical, subject matter is easily classified 2. Temporal Sciences—the dimension of time 3. Spatial Sciences—the dimension of space (Geography, Geophysics*, Astronomy) (History, Archaeology, Paleontology) (Physics, Geology, Botany, Zoology, etc.) The map is a geographer’s primary spatial tool
Slide 12: The 5 Fundamental Spatial Concepts of Geography ► 1. Location—study of where something is found in Earth space
Slide 13: The 5 Fundamental Spatial Concepts of Geography ► 2. Place—study of the site and situation characteristics of a particular portion of space
Slide 14: The 5 Fundamental Spatial Concepts of Geography ► 2. Place—study of the site and situation characteristics of a particular portion of space  “Sense of Place” is an important geographical concept
Slide 19: The 5 Fundamental Spatial Concepts of Geography ► 3. Distribution— study of the spatial pattern of the locations of things on Earth’s surface
Slide 20: The 5 Fundamental Spatial Concepts of Geography ► 4. Circulation—study of the movement of objects, people, and ideas on Earth’s surface
Slide 21: The 5 Fundamental Spatial Concepts of Geography ► 5. Region— ► study of an area on Earth’s surface that exhibits some form of spatial cohesion reflected by a homogeneity of specific features or functional linkages to a central node (WHAAAA???)
Slide 22: Functional linkages to a central node Homogeneity of specific features
Slide 23: The 5 Fundamental Spatial Concepts of Geography ► ► 1. Location—study of where something is found in Earth space 2. Place—study of the site and situation characteristics of a particular portion of space 3. Distribution—study of the spatial pattern of the locations of things on Earth’s surface 4. Circulation—study of the movement of objects, people, and ideas on Earth’s surface 5. Region—study of an area on Earth’s surface that exhibits some form of spatial cohesion reflected by a homogeneity of specific features or functional linkages to a central node ► ► ►
Slide 24: Geography is holistic ► Interested in interrelationships ► Informed by many other sciences ►Geography is actually the Mother of most of the other fields of science! ► Test your professor:  Name a field which cannot in some way be studied by a geographer
Slide 25: AAG Specializations ► AAG: Association of American Geographers' Me
Slide 26: The Subdivisions of Geography ► Physical vs. Human Geography ►Physical  The spatial analysis of the physical elements and processes of natural phenomena (tornadoes, earthquakes, precipitation patterns, etc.) in the space accessible to human beings and their instruments (within the hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere—and, some would argue, the solar system). ► Subfields include geomorphology, climatology, hydrogeography, etc. ►Biogeography  The study of the spatial distribution of plants and animals. ► Subfields include phytogeography, zoogeography, pedology (cross-over with physical geography), etc.  Often considered a subfield of Physical Geography
Slide 27: The Subdivisions of Geography ►Human Geography  The study of how people use the land, how they perceive it and relate to it. ► Subfields include: cultural geography, economic geography, urban geography, political geography, ethinic geography, geodemography, religious geography, geolinguistics, proxemics, etc., etc., ad infinitum ►Technical Geography  All of the technical specialties within the field which assist geographic studies. ► Cartography (GIS) ► Remote sensing ► Statistical studies
Slide 28: Congratulations! You just finished Lesson #1…. Are you ready for some review questions to test how well you understood everything we’ve covered so far?
Slide 29: Quick Review 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What is the most important question in Geography? Who were the first geographers in the Western tradition? Was theirs the only culture to produce good geographic studies? Which of the Categories of Academic Disciplines does Geography fit into? Name the 5 fundamental spatial concepts of geography. What one word or phrase defines each of these? True or False? Geography is holistic.