Introduction to Human Geography Chapter 1 Introduction to Human Geography

A. Awakening to Hunger 1/6 of the world is malnourished they have food but not the right balance (women and children) Food issues from poverty, poor food distribution, and male dominance Lots of land does not = lots of food (Bangladesh v. Norway example)

What is Human Geography Mcdonalds in South Africa Constant interaction with the whole world Fear it will create a conforming world Study of people and places and how things in society interact Globalization idea that culture traits are not restricted by country boundaries

What are geographic questions? Geography is the why of where …why things happen in certain locations Spatial- where things occur in places Spatial distribution- seeing how things are laid out across space and why they have certain patterns

Medical geography- maps how diseases spread and can learn how to treat them Cholera pandemic in Europe 1800s cured by geography and maps Pandemic- worldwide disease Epidemic regional disease

Spatial perspective- seeing how geography varies based on where you are located

Themes of Geography Location- position of people and things Absolute location exact longitude & latitude Relative location things positioned around you Location Theory- the explanation on the logic of why things are placed in their location (star bucks all over NYC) Region- An area defined by a shared characteristic (Latin America…Spanish)

Themes of Geography Place- space distinguished by both human and physical features (Orlando has orange groves and Disney) Movement- How goods and ideas move in and out of an environment

Landscape Physical landscape- natural landscape Cultural landscape- imprint a culture is making on the land (buildings, theme parks) Sequent occupance- cultural imprints that last WAY after the culture is gone (Egyptian pyramids)

Why do geographers use maps? Cartography- art of making maps Reference maps show location of features (mountains rivers, country boundaries Thematic maps show “stories” like how many people have HIV in Africa

Mental maps-ideas we carry in our head of how things look Activity space- area that you travel each day Home school mcdonalds band practice chicfil a home

Remote sensing- satellite information GIS- computer that stores “layers” of information that can tell you multiple things at once (a city's population and racial breakdown)

Scale- how large or small of an area the map covers Large scale- map covers a small area in great (LARGE) details Small scale- map covers a large area in SMALL details Jumping scale (rescale) when a local issue becomes a global issue (swine flu)

Regions Formal- area where everyone shares a distinct characteristic (language) Functional- area shares a practical function, all receive the Orlando Sentinel Perceptual- how you think of a region (your stereotype in your head) Wilbur Zelinsky created 12 US perceptual regions based on phone book research of culture traits

Functional region A fun visualization about the geography of sports fans, specifically where can you get a radio signal for games for the Red Sox or Yankees games.  

Culture Culture trait- single unit within a culture (language) not biologically passed but learned Culture complex- all culture traits combined together to make up a unique culture Culture hearth- source of a civilization

Cultural diffusion- how ideas spread from one culture to another Time-distance decay further away a place is the less likely a culture trait will diffuse Cultural barriers prevent diffusion of a trait (no beef in Hindu countries)

Expansion diffusion- trait remains strong while spreading to other areas Contagious- all areas near the central area are affected by the idea first (like spreading of a disease) Hierarchical- spreads to only a select few in an area and then slowly to others (Fax machine) Stimulus- idea indirectly promotes local version of the trait (veggie burger)

Relocation Diffusion- when a person carries the trait to a new area Acculturation- one less dominant culture adopts the practices and ideas of a more dominant culture Assimilation- one culture becomes dominant over another and they become one

Geographic concepts Environmental determinism- human behavior is controlled by the physical environment (hurricanes) Possiblism- the environment may limit actions but people can make adjustments (raincoats)