HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

AN OUTLOOK AND INTRODUCTION TO A

MAJOR DISCIPLINE OF THE SUBJECT
GEOGRAPHY
WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.
Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth's surface and the human societies
spread across it. Traditionally, geography is considered the study of the Earth’s environments
and peoples, and the interactions between them. It is a field of science devoted to the study of
the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth and planets. Geography is an all-
encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural
complexities; not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be.

• Eratosthenes was the first to use the word geography. He is best known for being the first
person to calculate the circumference of the Earth. He created the first map of the world.
BRANCHES
Geography is defined in terms of two main
branches:
• human geography.
• physical geography.
PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY:
Physical geography (or physiography)
focuses on geography as an Earth science. It
aims to understand the physical problems
and the issues of lithosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere, pedosphere, and global flora
and fauna patterns (biosphere). Physical
Geography is the study of earth's seasons,
climate, atmosphere, soil, streams,
landforms, and oceans.
HUMAN
GEOGRAPHY:
Human geography is a branch of geography
that focuses on the study of patterns and
processes that shape the human society. It
encompasses the human, political, cultural,
social, and economic aspects.
What human geography focuses,
offers us, teaches us and its
branches?
WHY IS IT ESSENTIAL FOR THE STUDENTS OF
SOCIAL SCIENCES TO LEARN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY?
Geography is concerned with the Earth's atmosphere and physical surface, including how
humans affect those things and in turn are affected by them. The discipline is a mixture of
physical geography and human geography, making it both a physical science and a social
science.
Human Geography is a social science that studies the world, its people, communities and
culture. Human Geography finds solutions to issues around climate change, economic
development, environmental management, population and cultural change, and urban, rural
and regional planning.

It teaches the students of social science:

• Where are things located and why are they important?
• How are places related and connected and how are humans affected by these locations?
This is an important branch of geography that mainly involves the study of human race.
This involves the study of the race, their origins, their interactions and the perceptions
they have regarding various ideologies that affect them. It also includes the study of how
these groups of people organize themselves in the places that they inhabit. Human
geography has the following sub braches:

• Population geography: This is the study of geography that is mainly concerned with the demographic distribution of
the people. It includes the study of population distribution, migration, origin and growth in a particular region.
• Economic geography: Economic geographers study the manner in which different products and services are
produced and distributed in the various niche market. Additionally, this branch also examines the manner in which
wealth is distributed over various regions across the planet.
• Medical Geography: This is the branch of geography that deals with the study of patterns and spread of diseases.
This involves epidemics and pandemics and their origins and distribution over a given geographical location.
• Religious geography: This is the branch of human geography that studies the spread and distribution of religious
groups, their culture and the built environment.
• Political geography: This branch of human geography studies and investigates the political aspects of humans. This
involves the boundaries of countries, the development strategies put in place and the voting patterns and behaviors
within each jurisdiction.
BRANCHES OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY:
• Cultural geography
• Developmental geography
• Economical geography
• Religious geography
• Urban geography
• Rural geography
• Social geography
• Tourism geography
• Transportational geography
• Political geography
• Health geography
• Demography geography
• Geography of languages
• Environmental geography
• Agricultural geography
THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY:
The five themes of geography are location, place, human-environment interaction,
movement, and region. They were created in 1984 by the National Council for
Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers to facilitate
and organize the teaching of geography. While they have been supplanted by the
National Geography Standards, they provide an effective organization of the
teaching of geography.
1.Location
Most geographic studies begin with learning the location
of places. Location can be absolute or relative.

Absolute location: Provides a definite reference to locate

a place. The reference can be latitude and longitude, a
street address, or even the Township and Range system.
For example, you might be located at 183 Main Street in
Anytown, USA, or you might be positioned at 42.2542°
N, 77.7906° W.
Relative location: Describes a place with respect to its
environment and its connection to other places. As an
example, a home might be located 1.3 miles from the
Atlantic Ocean, .4 miles from the town's elementary
school, and 32 miles from the nearest international
airport.
2.Place
Place describes the human and physical characteristics of a
location.
Physical characteristics: Includes a description of such things
as the mountains, rivers, beaches, topography, climate, and
animal and plant life of a place. If a place is described as hot,
sandy, fertile, or forested, these terms all paint a picture of the
physical characteristics of the location. A topographical map is
one tool used to illustrate the physical characteristics of a
location.
Human characteristics: Includes the human-designed cultural
features of a place. These features include land use,
architectural styles, forms of livelihood, religious practices,
political systems, common foods, local folklore, means of
transportation, and methods of communication. For example, a
location could be described as a technologically advanced
French-speaking democracy with a Catholic majority.
3.Human-
Environment
Interaction
This theme considers how humans adapt to and
modify the environment. Humans shape the
landscape through their interaction with the land;
this has both positive and negative effects on the
environment. As an example of the human-
environment interaction, think about how people
living in cold climates have often mined coal or
drilled for natural gas in order to heat their homes.
Another example would be the massive landfill
projects in Boston conducted in the 18th and 19th
centuries to expand habitable areas and improve
transportation.
4.Movement
Humans move — a lot! In addition, ideas, fads,
goods, resources, and communication all travel
distances. This theme studies movement and
migration across the planet. The emigration of
Syrians during war, the flow of water in the Gulf
Stream, and the expansion of cell phone
reception around the planet are all examples of
movement.
5.Regions
Regions divide the world into manageable units for
geographic study. Regions have some sort of
characteristic that unifies the area. Regions can be
formal, functional, or vernacular.
Formal regions are those that are designated by
official boundaries, such as cities, states, counties,
and countries. For the most part, they are clearly
indicated and publicly known.
Functional regions are defined by their connections.
For example, the circulation area for a major city
area is the functional region of that paper.
Vernacular regions are perceived regions, such as
"The South," "The Midwest," or the "Middle East";
they have no formal boundaries but are understood
in our mental maps of the world.
THANK YOU