1. Intro To Human Geography Flashcards
Human Geography
Focuses on:
- how people make places
- how we organize space and society
- how we interact with each other in places across space
- how we make sense of ourselves and other
(Focus of Geography)
Spatial Systems
looking at interrelated phenomena across space
(Focus of Geography)
Areal Variation on the Earh’s Surface
looking for differences across space
(Focus of Geography)
Regional Geography
looking at the sum of phenomena in a particular area
Globalization
•Diffusion of everything into the rest of the world.
- a set of processes that are increasing interactions, deepening relationships, and accelerating interdependence across national borders.
- cultural, social, and economic traits are adopted throughout the world.
- fuelled by increases in mobility/communications, cultural flows, and economic integration.
ex) fast food brands, language, religion
Hybridization
Any two cultures that meld together.
ex) McDonald’s in India using lamb patties instead of beef. (would’ve been a cultural insult)
More Globalization
-a growing integration and interdependence of world communities through a vast network of trade and communication
-associated with a wide range of technological, cultural, and economic outcomes affecting our daily lives.
-Response to two major forces:
•technology change
•global capitalism
Two Way Flows
•Other cultures impact us
- we can have Japanese, Chinese or Thai food just about anywhere. (or hybridizations).
- different languages being taught and spoken on homes.
- “manga” comic books
- tattoos
- foods at the grocery store
Globalization Video
- winners and losers in globalization
- a companies’ whole system depends on production staying away from consumption
Video “Teeth Chiseling”
-outside influence has reduced teeth filing and added smokes and t-shirts
-“look more beautiful for her husband, so that he won’t leave her”
☆-Beauty is defined by the culture and traditions of local people
—>lens with which we view the practices define how we view them
Sense of Place
infusing a place with meaning and emotion
Perception of Place
belief or understanding of what a place is like, often based on books, movies, stories, or pictures
(Interrelations between Places)
Accessibility
- degree to which isolation may be overcome
- ease of reaching a particular place
- is determined by travel time and cost. The greater the accessibility to a place the easier it is to get to.
(Interrelations between Places)
Connectivity
- total number of ways that a place is linked to other places.
ex) roads, rivers, telecommunications, electricity line.
Density
the measure of the quantity of a feature within a defined area.
ex) more robberies in Winnipeg along major routes.
Dispersion
the amount of spread in space between features.
ex) random dispersion, clustered dispersion
Pattern
the geometric arrangement of features in space.
ex) linear, clustered, or random.
(Site vs. Situation)
Site
LOCAL physical and cultural characteristics and attributes of a place.
ex) topography, vegetation, languages spoken, common religions, etc.
(Site vs. Situation)
Situation
refers to EXTERNAL relations and connections of a place.
ex) How is the place located relative to other places and things?
What’re the connections? How accessible is the place?
Atlantic Canada
•Canada’s eastern provinces
- Historically: economically poor areas due in large part to their situations.
- isolated from the rest of Canada
- manufacturing and the little agriculture possible are too expensive.
- very few close natural resources.
- many of the traditional fishing economies they did have are now crashing along with the fish populations.
Absolute Location
- a precise system of locating phenomena in space, (latitude and longitude), provides unique description of location.
- one point on earth and NO where else
Relative Location
- the position of a place or activity in relation to other places or activities: neither precise nor particularly unique.
- describing where a place is in comparison to other places. (used more than absolute location).
- location relative to somewhere else.
Movement
Expression of interconnectedness of places.
Spatial Diffusion
movement of an idea or innovation from its origin across space and over time (to new areas).
ex) newest technologies, colds and flus
What slows/prevents diffusion?
Distance decay and cultural barriers.
Expansion Diffusion
idea or innovation spreads outward from the orgin
(Expansion Diffusion)
Contagious
spreads adjacently
person to person
(Expansion Diffusion)
Hierarchical
spreads along hierarchies
ex) biggest to smallest, most powerful to least powerful, most connected to least connected.
(Expansion Diffusion)
Stimulus
an idea promotes similar (but NOT the same) development.
Relocation Diffusion
immigrant groups moving to another area, and then spreading the idea there
Relocation Diffusion
movement of individuals who carry an idea or innovation with them to a new, perhaps distant, location.
Formal Region
- defined by a commonality, typically a cultural linkage or a physical characteristic.
- CULTURAL/PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC
ex) German speaking region of Europe.
ex) Area of town where the wealthiest people live
Functional Region
- defined by a set of social, political, or economic activities or the interactions that occur within it.
- FUNCTIONS AS A SYSTEM
ex) each province and territory in Canada
ex) areas where WestJet fly to are their functional region. it’s defined by area
Perceptional Region
- ideas in our minds, based on accumulated knowledge of places and regions, that define an area of “sameness” or “connectedness.”
- no right and wrong
ex) the South, Mid-Atlantic, Middle East
Video: Formal and Functional Regions
•Formal Regions can be proven to exist.
- climate
- countries and cities
- physical features
- language and culture
- economic regions
•Functional regions based around something and connected by transportation.
- water pipelines
- power supplies
- service areas (pizza delivery)
- phone services
•Perceptual Regions no clear boundaries. Based on stereotypes, not facts.
Natural Landscape
the physical setting for human activity, help to shape how people live.
ex) climate, resources, terrain
Cultural Landscape
- the visible expression of human activity or influence on the environment.
ex) Vegas, Hover Dam, diffusion of religion
Nature
Physical environment external to people.
Culture
Culture distinguishes people from nature.
18th Century Nature-Culture Dualism
used to argue that culture makes people superior to nature.
-societies were “ranked” by their culture.
Cultural Ecology
studies the relationship between people and the environment
Culture
an all-encompassing term that identifies not only the whole tangible lifestyle of peoples, but also their prevailing values and beliefs.
Culture is:
- a social creation
- dynamic
- complex
Culture can be thought of as an abstract topic.
Sequent Occupance
Layers of imprints in a cultural landscape that reflect years of differing human activity.
ex) Athens, Greece: ancient Agora surrounded by modern buildings.
ex) Winnipeg Exchange District
(Environments as Controls)
Environmental Determinism
- environment shaped/controlled human culture and actions. (1800s, noe rejected).
- contributes to judging other cultures based on your own culture.
(Environments as Controls)
Possibilism
environment sets limits, but people decide how to respond to the environment.
