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I. What is Human Geo? a. Human geo- how people make places, how we organize space/society, how we interact with places, and how we make sense of ourselves and others in our regions. b. Advances in technology make communicating easier using planes, internet and automobiles c. Popular culture makes people more alike, but we are still different. d. Globalization- process of increasing worldly interaction. II. What are Geographic Questions? a. Physical Geo- the study of physical phenomena on Earth b. “Why of Where” ~ Marvin Mikesell c. Spatial Distribution- how something is laid out, organized or arranged. 1. Maps in Time of Cholera Pandemics . Medical geo- mapping of spread of disease b. (1854) Dr. John Snow, anesthesiologist I London, mapped cholera cases. c. (1816) Spread from India to China, Japan, East Africa and Mediterranean Europe. d. (1823) Initial wave was abated e. (1826-1837) Second wave that crossed Atlantic and attacked North America f. (1842-1862) England was attacked and North America g. Outbreak Struck again in 1900s in Lima, Peru, Naples, Italy, and Africa. h. (2006) Angola’s civil war ended and cholera struck allowing the spread. 2. Spatial Perspective a. The five themes of geography were deprived from spatial perspective of geography. . Location- how the position of people and things affects what happens and why. Location theory- an element of human geo that seeks answers to questions such as: Why towns are spaced like they are? Where a Super Target should be built? 2. Human Environment Interaction seeks answers to questions such as: Why the Army Corps of Engineering changed the course of the Kissimmee River? 3. Region 4. Place can be remembered using the events that occurred there, emotions and characters associated with the place, and labeling meaning. By using books, movies, stories, and pictures. 5. Movement- mobility of ideas, goods, people . Cultural Landscape- natural features, human structures, tangible objects that give a particular form to land. a. Univ of Cali at Berkeley professor, Carl Sauer says that cultural landscapes are comprised of the “forms superimposed on the physical landscape” by human activity. b. Sequent Occupance- refers to the imprints of occupants, whose impacts are layered one on top of the other. 1. Dar as Salaam, Tanzania: (1866) Arabs from Zanzibar used as a summer retreat. (1891) German colonizers imprint a new layout/architectural style, wood-beamed Teutonic, when chose as center of East African colonies.
After WWI, British took over, encouraged immigration from India, which made zone of Indian housing. (1960s) became capital. III. Why do Geographers use maps, and what do maps tell us? a. Cartography- map making b. Thematic maps- show movement of a phenomenon c. Absolute location- the exact coordinates: latitude and longitude d. Relative location- location in relation to other human/ physical features 1. Mental Maps a. Women tend to use landmarks, and men tend to use paths. Terra incognita: unknown lands that are off limits. 2. Generalization in Maps a.
Map makers generalize info because certain things cannot be predict for a length of time or show specifics. 3. Remote Sensing and GIS (geographic info systems) – using technology far away from the place being studied. a. Used to show number of voters, race of voters, party registration and likelihood of voting. IV. Why are Geographers concerned with scale and connectedness? a. Scale- distance on a map compared to the distance on the Earth, and the second is the territorial extent of something. Example: America is wealthier than India, but some people in America may be poor, and some people in India may be wealthy. b.
To the West, rice is a product that can be produced, bought and sold. To East Asians, rice is part of their culture and can help feed a community. 1. Regions a. Formal region- shared trait, cultural of physical b. Functional region- shares a political, social or economic purpose. c. Perceptual region- areas designed to help understand phenomena in human geo. We knew of the Middle East but did not know what land it included until media talked about the Middle East during the hunt for Ossama. 2. Culture a. Music, literature, dress, routine of living, food, architecture, layout of farming, education, government, and law. . “The integrated system of learned behavior patterns which are characteristic of the members of a society and which are not the result of biological inheritance… culture is not genetically predetermined; it is noninstinctive…[culture] is wholly the result of social invention and is transmitted and maintained solely through communication and learning. ” Anthropologist E. Adamson Hoebel c. Culture trait- a single attribute as a culture d. Culture complex- more than one culture has a trait in common, but each consists of differing combinations of traits e. Culture hearth- area where culture traits develop and diffuse 3.
Connectedness through Diffusion- the spread of ideas from culture hearth to other places a. Expansion- idea remains strong in hearth, yet spread outward. 1. Contagious- spreads fast and wide. Ex: Spread of religion 2. Hierarchical- Take an idea and reinvent it. Ex: Crocs were found by Scott Seamans and put holes and a strap. 3. Stimulus-Impacts the region but doesn’t adopt idea b. Relocation- movement of people who adopted idea and carry it to a new, distant locale, where they disseminate it. V. What are Geo concepts, and how are they used in answering geo questions? a. Geo concepts- vocab included in this chapter, boldfaced. 1.
Rejection of Environmental Determinism a. Northern Europeans were “full of spirit… but incapable of ruling others” whereas Asian people (Turkish) were “intelligent and inventive… but always in a state of subjection and slavery. ” b. Human behavior is controlled by physical environment c. Isotherms- lines connecting points of equal temperature values. 2. Possibilism- the natural environment serves to limit what society can do. a. Cultural ecology- culture is adaptation of environment. b. Political ecology- environmental consequences of political economics. 3. Today’s HuG a. Includes political, economic, population, urban, and cultural geo.