What is geography?

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What is geography?

1. Definitions
2. Parts of geography
3. Parts of geography in 5 themes and 6 essential
   elements
4. Jobs of geographers
5. Do you think like a geographer?
6. Misconceptions of geography

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1. Definition

• Patricia Gober, Past-President of Association of
  American Geographers Geography is more than a
  repository of place facts. It encompasses the
  dynamic interactions that give character to
  places, the spatial organization of human
  activity and natural processes on the surface of
  the Earth, and the influence that places have on
  a wide range of natural and human events.

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(No Transcript)
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Royal Geographical Society
http//www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/freethinking2006/pip/h
cb0r -- 1 hour lecture why geography is
essential in the future of our world
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2. Parts of geography

• Common organization Jeff Lee, Texas Tech
  University

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2. Parts of geography (contd)

• Many geography
• departments have this
• organization

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2. Parts of geography (contd)
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2. Parts of geography (contd)
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2. Parts of geography (contd)
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3. Parts of geography in the K-12 World 5 themes

• Five Themes of Geography (thinking like a
  geographer)
• Location Where is it located? Absolute and
  Relative
• Place What is it like there?
• Human Environment Interaction How do people
  relate to their environment?
• Movement How are people, goods, and ideas
  moved?
• Regions How are areas linked together?

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Relative Location
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Absolute Location

• Clear Placement on Geographic Grid

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• Five Themes of Geography This will be covered in
  detail in several lessons for your students that
  help them learn to think geographically.
• Location Where is it located? Absolute and
  Relative
• Place What is it like there?
• Human Environment Interaction How do people
  relate to their environment?
• Movement How are people, goods, and ideas
  moved?
• Regions How are areas linked together?

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3. Parts of geography in the K-12 World content
of geography

• Six Essential Elements (16 national standards of
  geography) http//www.ncge.org/publications/tutori
  al/standards/
• THE WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS
• PLACES AND REGIONS
• PHYSICAL SYSTEMS
• HUMAN SYSTEMS
• ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
• THE USES OF GEOGRAPHY

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• STANDARD 1 How to use maps and other
  geographic representations, tools, and
  technologies to acquire, process, and report
  information.STANDARD 2 How to use mental maps
  to organize information about people, places, and
  environments.STANDARD 3 How to analyze the
  spatial organization of people, places, and
  environments on Earth's surface.
• In Arizona, this is
• Concept 1

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• STANDARD 4 The physical and human
  characteristics of places.STANDARD 5 That
  people create regions to interpret Earth's
  complexity.STANDARD 6 How culture and
  experience influence people's perception of
  places and regions.
• In Arizona, this
• Is concept 2

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• STANDARD 7 The physical processes that shape
  the patterns of Earth's surface.STANDARD 8 The
  characteristics and spatial distribution of
  ecosystems on Earth's surface.
• In Arizona, this
• is concept 3 and
• is linked to
• science

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• STANDARD 9 The characteristics,
  distribution, and migration of human populations
  on Earth's surface.STANDARD 10 The
  characteristics, distributions, and complexity of
  Earth's cultural mosaics.STANDARD 11 The
  patterns and networks of economic interdependence
  on Earth's surface.STANDARD 12 The process,
  patterns, and functions of human
  settlement.STANDARD 13 How forces of
  cooperation and conflict among people influence
  the division and control of Earth's surface.

In Arizona, this is concept 4
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• STANDARD 14 How human actions modify the
  physical environment.STANDARD 15 How physical
  systems affect human systems.STANDARD 16 The
  changes that occur in the meaning, use,
  distribution, and importance of resources.
• in Arizona, this
• is concept 5

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• STANDARD 17 How to apply geography to
  interpret the past.STANDARD 18 To apply
  geography to interpret the present and plan for
  the future.
• in Arizona
• this is
• concept 6

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Great Review Online (free with registration)
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What is geography?

1. Definitions
2. Parts of geography
3. Parts of geography in 5 themes and 6 elements
   Now real examples
4. Jobs of geographers
5. Do you think like a geographer?
6. Misconceptions of geography

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4. Jobs of Geographers

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor latest report
• http//www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2005/
  spring/art01.pdf
• One of the hottest job opportunities rest in
  geography, and this website is a great portal
• http//www.geospatialcareers.net/

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The concept of GIS is very old Snows Study of
London
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Importance to Cities
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From the BLM to the NIH
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Hundreds of Job Titles Involve Geography
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4. Jobs of Geographers 1/10th of the list of
job titles

• Aerial Photo Interpreter
• Air Pollution Specialist for a regional air
  quality district
• Airline Cargo Marketing Executive
• Appraiser for a real estate corporation
• Avalanche Specialist in a U.S. National Forest
• Business Analyst in a corporation
• Cartographer
• Climatologist
• Colonel in the U.S. Army
• Community Development Analyst
• Computer Mapping Specialist
• Demographer
• Demographic Analyst for a county
• Director of Planning and Zoning for a township
• Economic Development Analyst

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More Examples

• Environment Planner for a state department of
  transportation
• Environmental Scientist
• Geographer at the Smithsonian Institution
• Geographer at the U.S. Bureau of the Census
• Geographer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Geographer for the U.S. Forest Service
• Geographer, Consulting
• Geographer in a corporation
• Geographic Specialist at the U.S. Department of
  State
• GIS Analyst in a corporation
• GIS Program Manager for a county dept of
  information and administrative services
• Land Use Planner for a city

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Yet More Examples

• Map Librarian
• Meteorologist at the U.S. National Weather
  Service or on Television
• Meteorologist, Television
• Planner, County City Urban Transportation -
  Region
• Planning Information Director for a county
• Ranger in a U.S. National Park
• Real Estate Research Analyst for a corporation
• Resources Planner for as state
• Teacher
• Transportation Planner for City County - State
• Transportation Planner for a county transit
  district
• Water Resource Specialist for a state environment
  department
• Zoning Administrator

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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• Yes, if you want your students to be aware of a
  growing field that is founded on a basic need
  to understand Earth and its changes.

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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• Yes, if you enjoy being outside and thinking
  about how nature and people connect.

Coastal California building homes where
landslides occur and re-occur
Mt. Everest region avoiding building homes
where landslides occur
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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• Yes, if you are interested in solving real
  problems, that move from place to place.

School in Sudan
Macedonia Womans March
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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• Yes, if you are interested in solving real
  problems, that spread across Earth.

Cyber Café, Benin
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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• Yes, if you are interested in solving real
  problems, that connect people and environment.

Understand changes in attitudes
Preserves, Phoenix
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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• You are interested in "big" questions about
  Earth Why is this city here and why does it
  grow, fail, decay the way it does?

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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• You are interested in "big" questions Why does
  it landslide here and why do Californians ignore
  these risks. Laguna Beach 1978 and again in 2005

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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• You are interested in "big" questions about
  Earth Worries over global warming, and yet
  people keep coming to Phoenix?

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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• Yes, if you share the view that knowledge should
  connect together, rather than be isolated pieces.

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5. Do you think like a geographer?

• Geography is to place like history is to time.
  Geography focuses on connections of topics that
  make places special.

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5. Do you think like a geographer?
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6. Misconceptions about Geography

• Number 1 misconception. That geography focuses on
  country names and capitals... and that the
  geography bee will follow you through
  life....  Place names are to geography
  like...- memorizing birthdays are to historians,
  
• - the alphabet is to interpreting
  Shakespeare,
• - a phoneme is to reading comprehension
• - picking the right color is to art

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go to www.youtube.com search for these titles
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• Knowing states, countries, capitals are
  important
• but geography is more than memorizing facts
• Not many geographers can name all the countries
  or capitals off the top of their head
• Maps A common tool used by geographers to
  organize, display, and analyze their findings or
  other data
• Where things are is an important question in
  geography, but leads to deeper questions of why
  and so what?

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Geography combats notions like this!
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Misconceptions about Geography

• 2. That geography has nothing to do with key life
  choices such as
• long commutes
• urban trends

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Misconceptions about Geography

• 2. That geography has nothing to do with key life
  choices such as buying condos houses in places
  known to flood and crack

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Misconceptions about Geography

• 3. That geography has nothing to do with
  enriching the vacations you take

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Hawaii Trip Do you stay at the cheap hotel
facing the trade winds or the more expensive
condo on the rainshadow side?
Does global politics affect where you feel safe
when you save up to travel internationally?
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Misconceptions about Geography

• 4. That other academic standards focus on
  environmental issues...
• No! Geography is the central subject that
  explores and connects on how people affect the
  environment and how the environment affects
  people.

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Misconceptions about Geography
5. Geographers only make maps... Yes we do.
Computers can make mistakes!
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Misconceptions about Geography

• 5. Geographers only make maps... yes... We do,
  but... not only. The ways we portray spatial data
  can get exciting

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Example of new cartographer Rob Edsall at ASU
and Mark Harrower at Univ of Wisconsin
http//www.geography.wisc.edu/harrower/history_an
imation.html
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Internet is ideal
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Misconceptions about Geography

• 6. Some well intentioned folks think that
  geography can be taught within history by just
  showing maps...
• can a geography
• class teach
• History just by
• showing a
• timeline?

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Misconceptions about Geography

• 7. Geography only teaches boring stuff and not
  why the great masses in America (and those
  avoiding geography) maintain silly notions about
  our world...
• for evidence
• Google video
• American
• Geography

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Misconceptions about Geography

• 8. Learning about cool places in cool movies,
  about the places you drive on near to home, and
  far away, how our land changes, has nothing to do
  NCLB and annual yearly progress.

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Conclusions

• Geography focuses on the themes of space and
  place, of how to think spatially
• College geography is exploding with student
  opportunities in employment
• Geographers think in terms of the core classes
  you will take (physical, human, techniques), but
  still with a focus on regions (world, North
  America)