I introduced my students (all 60 of them) to the discipline of geography this week and explained why geography is a required course for graduation at the university (and in all public high schools in Colorado as well). I did my best to explain why the skills they will learn in geography are important and even relevant to their everyday lives, and maybe even their careers. Here's a long-winded version of what I said.
A common misconception is that geography is limited to facts, such as names of states and their capitals, when really these are only the basic building blocks of geography.
Geography is the study of the world in which we live. Geography is the study of where earth’s landscapes, peoples, places, and environments are located, why and how they have changed, why and how they have come to be, and why and how they are related to one another.
Some people study physical geography, such as climate change or soil composition, but we are studying human geography in this class. Oftentimes physical and human geography overlap, like in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is not only a fight over power and space, but also over water resources.
Human geography focuses on the built environment (as opposed to the natural environment) and how humans create, view, manage, and influence space. Human geography focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape the human society. Human geographers make observations about human society, such as the cultures, transportation, and migrations of people. Some examples include: red states versus blue states, the Rwandan genocide, South African apartheid, Mexican immigration, Tibetans and other ethnic minorities in China, Taiwan, Indian reservations, the European Union, and homelessness. These are all real examples of what human geographers are studying today.
My hope is that in this class you will understand more about the world around you. Location, space, and place affect everything, including politics, culture, and economics.
Who we are as people is determined by our environment. We are all products of our environment. By understanding our own place--where we came from and where we live--as well as understanding others' environments, we can cultivate pride in our own places, as well as a respect and understanding for others' environments and origins, and therefore a respect for other ways of life.
Understanding geography and understanding the world around us helps all of us to be more socially and environmentally sensitive and more informed and responsible citizens.
Geography is the foundation of society-- the foundation of our city, our state, our country, and our world. Our environment and how we interact with that environment matters. Our personal experiences in our environments-- growing up, moving, traveling-- makes us who we are as a people, as a family, as a society, as a culture, as a country, as a region, and as a world. Where we are located and where things are located in relation to us matters; it matters for our politics, culture, and economics.
Everybody likes to hear about practical applications to geography. So here are some examples of geography in action in the real world.
Geography teaches us to think critically about…
- Political conflict- how does the fight over space and power in this place affect this war?
- Natural hazards and disaster relief
- Food, water, and oil shortages
- Inequality and segregation
- Refugees
- Migration and immigration
- Homelessness and poverty
Some jobs that are available for those skilled in the study of human geography:
-education
-business
-government
-non-profit
I got this next part from this website:
Geography informs us about...
- The places and communities in which we live and work
- Our natural environments and the pressures they face
- The interconnectedness of the world and our communities within it
- How and why the world is changing, globally and locally
- How our individual and societal actions contribute to those changes
- The choices that exist in managing our world for the future
- The importance of location in business and decision-making
And that is why, friends and family, I am studying human geography. My specialization within the sub-field of human geography is political and cultural geography. I study demolition, displacement, and redevelopment in urban China, ethnic minorities in China, Chinese political autonomous and borderland regions, and Chinese-Central Asian relations.
Thanks for reading!
awesome.
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