1.1 Introduction to Geography

The discipline of geography bridges the social sciences with the physical sciences and can provide a framework for understanding our world. By studying geography, we can understand the relationships and common factors that tie our human community together. The world is undergoing globalization on a massive scale due to the rapid transfer of information and technology and the growth of modes of transportation and communication. The more we understand our world, the better prepared we will be to address the issues that confront our future. There are many approaches to studying world geography. This textbook takes a regional approach and focuses on themes that illustrate the globalization process, which in turn assists us in better understanding our global community and its current affairs.

Geography helps us make sense of the world through four historical traditions:

• Spatial analysis of natural and human cultures
• Earth science
• Area studies
• Human-landscape interactions

Spatial analysis includes many concepts tied to geographic information science (GIS): the analysis of the interactions and distribution of many types of information using computer databases. The GIS data are entered into computer programs that convert location indicators to points or features on a map. Earth science includes the study of landforms, climates, and the distribution of plants and animals. Area or regional studies focuses on a particular region to understand the dynamics of a specific interaction between human activity and the environment. For example, researchers studying human-landscape interaction examine the impact of humans on their landscape and find out how different cultures have used and changed their environments.

Geography provides the tools to integrate knowledge from many disciplines into a usable form by providing a sense of place to natural or human events. You will find that geography often explains why or how something occurs in a specific location. World geography utilizes the spatial approach to help understand the components of our global community.

The world is a complicated place that is getting harder to understand. Today, the world is trying to address climate change, mass extinction of species, globalization versus isolationism, terrorism versus threats by nations, and COVID-19, to name a few. This is where geography comes to play. To understand our world, we must understand the history and current social and economic situations worldwide. In addition, we need to have a strong understanding of science and how empirical understanding, data, and evidence helps us understand the natural world. Moreover, we need to be able to see the interconnections between the physical and cultural environments we all live within.

Geography is a discipline that strives to understand the spatial and temporal distribution, connection, and patterns between those environments. Geographers use quantitative data through drones, satellite imagery, global positioning systems, geographic information systems, spatial statistics, and more to contribute to scientific knowledge. However, the discipline also used qualitative data, data not in the form of numbers, to understand phenomena in their natural setting and the meaning people bring to that phenomena.

Updated: January 12, 2023