MODULE 4: “Here Be Dragons”
THE DISCIPLINE OF GEOGRAPHY Illustrations of
monsters
Geography Suggesting that these
Came from the Greek words: were unknown places
o Geo (earth, land, ground) or areas where ships
got lost and never again
o Graphia (to write, an art, a
seen.
study)
Slain by the rationality
Combination of the words
of men
mean the study of
Ancient Greek geographers
describing earth
o Were one of the first people to
(elementary definition)
have developed the study of
As an academic discipline:
geography.
o Seeks to answer old questions:
o Mapped out parts of:
Where am I in this
Asia
world?
Europe
Where am I in the
Africa
context of this world?
Islamic scholars
As a natural science:
o Al-Khwarizmi & Abu Ali Al –
o Geography inquires on the
Marakishy
environmental or physical
Developed a system of
aspects of these questions.
map making.
As a social science:
Made maps rectangular
o Geography examines the
in shape.
human or social aspects of
Used grids to divide
these inquiries.
areas in manageable
Interdisciplinary study that explores the
sizes.
relation between Earth, its human
Chinese geographers
inhabitants, and the changes that
o Zheng He
occurred over time.
Seven voyages in the
THE DEVELOPMENT OF GEOGRAPHY China Sea and Indian
Ocean established
Cartography China’s naval
o Study of drawing maps or dominance.
creating maps. o First to utilize the compass in
o Cueva de El Castillo in Spain & navigating and charting the
Lascaux Cave in France seas.
Both mapped out the
constellations of the
night sky.
Marco Polo IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES IN GEOGRAPHY
o Reinvigorated the Westerners’
Anaximander
desire to explore the world
o One of the first, if not, the first
when he travelled from Europe
geographer.
to China through the Silk Road.
Silk Road – trading o Provided a round map divided into
route on land. three continents surrounded by
Age of Exploration or Age of Discovery the ocean.
o 15th -17th century o The three continents were:
o Main impetus was to find a Europe
Asia
maritime route to the Spice
Libya
Islands in Southeast Asia.
o They were intersected by the:
Maritime route – route
on seas/ocean. Mediterranean Sea
Spice Islands – Maluku Black Sea
Islands or Mollucas in Nile River
Indonesia Strabo
o Production of more detailed o Coined the term ‘Geographia’
maps, sea charts, and the 17-volume series on
invention of the printing press. geographical studies.
Eratosthenes
EMERGENCE OF MODERN GEOGRAPHY o “Father of Geography”
o First to have calculated
New technologies
accurately the circumference of
o Made it easier to explore the
the Earth as being 40,233 and
world.
being 151 kilometers off the
o Example: Satellite imaging.
current measurement done by
Economics and transportation
satellite technology.
o Created a link between regions
Ptolemy
and economic activities.
o Compiled and summarized
o Example: America’s westward
‘Geographike Hyphegesis’
expansion.
(Guide to Geography)
Health sciences All known information
o Dr. John Snow cholera map of geography of his
Analyzed the spread time.
and distribution of the o Formulation of map
disease. coordinates by developing the
Geographic distribution concept of latitude and
o Deepened the understanding of longitude.
how humans affected the
surface of the Earth.
o Example: Global warming.
Edrisi William Morris Davis
o Descendant of Prophet o “Father of American
Muhammad. Geography”
o Collected all geographical o Helped establish geography as a
information of his time. separate and distinct discipline
Ibn Battuta in American universities.
o Published his 30-year journey in o Categorized landscapes by
his book Rihla (Journey) their:
o Travelled farther and longer Structure (materials
than Marco Polo. and rocks that consists
the landscape)
CLASSICAL WORKS IN GEOGRAPHY Process (erosion or
weathering that occurs)
Carl Ritter
Stage (amount of time
o One of the founders of modern
the process has taken
geography
place)
o Used comparative method in
Paul Vidal de la Blache
understanding and classifying
o Founder of Modern French
the different formations
geography
occurring over the surface of
o Founder of the French School of
the Earth.
geopolitics
o Guided by geographic
o Introduced the concept of
determinism
possibilism.
Nature has influence
over man. Concept of possibilism
Alexander von Humboldt - Reaction to the idea of
o Laid the foundations of geographic determinism.
biogeography - Suggest that it still depends
o One of the founders of modern upon how humans live while
geography the environment provides
o Considered to be one of the last different possibilities to choose
great scientific generalist who from.
correlated the environment and
society.
THE FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY
o “Greatest scientific traveler
who ever lived” – Charles Physical geography
Darwin o Discipline which studies the
changes in the natural patterns
and process of the Earth’s
surface over time.
Human geography o Biogeography - study why and
o Discipline which studies the how certain organisms thrive in
relationship of people, particular locations.
communities, and culture o Cultural Anthropology - how
across space and place. society’s culture change over
o Subdisciplines: time.
Animal geography
KEY CONCEPTS IN GEOPGRAPHY
Cultural geography
Developmental Spatial Pattern – arrangement or
geography placement of objects on Earth’s surface.
Economic geography Spatial Interaction – understanding the
Health geography relationships between the movements
Historical geography of things from one location to another.
Political geography Geographic Process – series of
Population geography interrelated events that affects places,
Settlement geography societies, culture, and environment.
Integrated geography
o Discipline which studies how RESEARCH METHODS IN GEOGRAPHY
human activities impact the
Cartography – study of representing
environment through the
Earth’s surface using abstract symbols
analysis of the shifts in
or through the creation of maps.
landforms and cycles of the
Geographic Information Systems –
natural resources.
discipline which deals with the proper
Geomatics
storage and data retrieval of geographic
o Discipline which focuses on the
information using computer.
scientific management of
Remote Sensing – utilizes various
geographic data.
instruments to obtain geographic data
o Data are:
about Earth’s surface.
Gathered
Geographic Quantitative Methods or
Processed
Geostatistics – application of statistical
Stored
methodologies to analyze geographic
Delivered
information.
Regional geography
Geographic Qualitative Methods or
o Discipline which focuses on a
Ethnography – use in human geography
particular region on the surface
anthropology, and sociology when
of the Earth.
undertaking participant observations on
o Geopolitics – understand how
the field and in conducting interviews.
international relations, trade,
economics are affected by
political factor’s location.
CURRENTLY APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHY
Urban Planning, Regional Planning, and
Spatial Planning
o Analyzing the particular
characteristic of the land or
space upon which development
will be done.
Regional Science
o Explores the spatial dimension
of varying areas, whether urban
or rural.
Planetary Science
o Classically defined as “the study
of planets, moons, and
planetary systems”
