🌳GEOGRAPHY AS A DISCIPLINE
Why Should We Study Geography ?
1. As we depend on the resources to sustain ourselves in the surrounding areas. For example, Primitive societies subsisted on ‘natural means of subsistence’, i.e. edible plants and animals.
2. Food , shelter, and clothing are depending on the climate where we live.
3. Cropping pattern is also based on the climate of the place, so it is important to study geography.
Importance of Geography
Geography helps us to understand the diversity and the causes and factors that have created it. Through geography we understand how spherical earth is presented through a map and we get information about soil, minerals, weather, climate, population, means of transport and communication, local landscape, etc. It also tells us about rivers, mountains, plateaus, plains, deserts, seas, lakes and cultural facts.
What is Geography ?
1. The term geography was first coined by Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar (276-194 BC). The word has been derived from two roots from Greek language Geo (earth) and Graphos (description). Put together, they mean a description of the earth.
2. The earth has always been seen as the abode of human beings and thus, scholar's defined geography as, “the description of the earth as the abode of human beings”. Geographers do not study only the variations in the phenomena over the earth’s surface (space) but also study the associations with the other factors which cause these variations. For example, cropping patterns differ from region to region but this variation in cropping pattern, as a phenomenon, is related to variations in soils, climates, demands in the market, capacity of the farmer to invest and technological inputs available to her/him. Thus, the concern of geography is to find out the casual relationship between any two phenomena or between more than one phenomenon.
Geography As A Discipline
Geography as a discipline is concerned with three sets of questions:
i.) Some questions are concerned with the identification of the patterns of natural and cultural features as found over the surface of the earth. These are the questions about “what”?
ii). Second type of questions are related to the distribution of the natural and human/ cultural features over the surface of the earth. These are the questions about where?
iii). The third question is related to the explanation or the causal relationships between features and the processes and phenomena. These are the questions about “Why”?
Geography As An Integrated Discipline
1. Geography as an integrating discipline has interface with numerous natural and social sciences.
2. Geography attempts to comprehend the associations of phenomena as related in sections of reality. Thus, Geography not only takes note of the differences in the phenomena from place to place but integrates them holistically which may be different at other places.
3. Geography influences historical events.
i) In traditional warfare, countries with large size in area, gain time at the cost of space. If we look at the historical events world over, each one of them can be interpreted geographically.
ii) In India, Himalayas have acted as great barriers and provided protection but the passes provide routes to the migrants and invaders from Central Asia. The sea coast has encouraged contact with people from East and Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa.
4. Every geographical phenomenon undergoes change through time and can be explained temporally like, The changes in landforms, climate, vegetation, economic activities occupations and cultural developments have followed a definite historical course.
Physical Geography And Natural Sciences
i). All the branches of physical geography have an interface with natural sciences.
ii). The traditional physical geography is linked with geology, meteorology, hydrology and pedology, and thus, geomorphology, climatology, oceanography and soil geography respectively have very close link with the natural sciences as these derive their data from these sciences.
iii). Bio-Geography is closely related to botany, zoology as well as ecology as human beings are located in different locational niche.
iv). The cartographic and quantitative techniques require sufficient proficiency in mathematics, statistics and econometrics.
Geography And Social Sciences
Philosophy provides roots to a discipline and in the process of its evolution, it also experiences distinct historical processes. Thus, the history of geographical thought as mother branch of geography is included universally in its curricula.
All the social science disciplines, viz. sociology, political science, economics and demography study different aspects of social reality.
i). Geography and Civics: The core concern of political science is territory, people and sovereignty while political geography is also interested in the study of the state as a spatial unit as well as people and their political behavior.
ii). Geography and Economics: Economics deals with basic attributes of the economy such as production, distribution, exchange and consumption.
Branches Of Geography
The major approaches to study geography -
i) Systematic : The systematic geography was introduced by Alexander Von Humboldt, a German geographer (1769-1859) and
ii) Regional : Regional geography approach was developed by another German geographer and a contemporary of Humboldt, Karl Ritter (1779-1859).
All the social science disciplines, viz. sociology, political science, economics and demography study different aspects of social reality. The branches of geography, viz. social, political, economic and population and settlements are closely linked with these disciplines as each one of them has spatial attributes.
Branches Of Geography Based On Systematic Approach
1. Physical Geography: Branches of physical geography are:
i) Geomorphology: The study of landforms, their evolution and related processes.
ii) Climatology: The study of structure of atmosphere and elements of weather and climates and climatic types and regions.
iii) Hydrology: Studies the realm of water over the surface of the earth including oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies and its effect on different life forms including human life and their activities.
iv) Soil Geography: The study of processes of soil formation, soil types, their fertility status, distribution and use.
2. Human Geography: Branches of human geography are:
i) Social/Cultural Geography: It is concerned with the study of society and its spatial dynamics as well as the cultural elements contributed by the society.
ii) Population Geography: It studies population growth, distribution, density, sex ratio, migration and occupational structure etc.
iii) Settlement Geography: It studies the characteristics of rural and urban settlements.
iv) Economic Geography: It studies economic activities of the people including agriculture, industry7, tourism, trade, and transport, infrastructure and services, etc.
v) Historical Geography: It studies the historical processes through which the space gets organized. In other words, it studies how history has influenced the geography of a region.
vi) Political Geography: It studies the impact of political events and studies boundaries, space relations between neighboring political units, delimitation of constituencies, election scenario and develops theoretical framework to understand the political behavior of the population.
3. Biogeography : The interface between physical geography and human geography. It has three branches: Plant Geography, Zoo Geography and Ecology.
i) Plant Geography: It studies the spatial pattern of natural vegetation in their habitats.
ii) Zoo Geography: It studies the spatial patterns and geographic characteristics of animals and their habitats.
iii) Ecology: It is concerned with the scientific study of the habitats characteristic of species.
iv) Environmental Geography: It is concerned with environmental problems such as land gradation, pollution and environment conservation.
Branches of Geography Based on Regional Approach
1. Regional Studies/Area Studies: Comprising Macro, Meso and Micro Regional Studies.
2. Regional Planning: Comprising Country/Rural and Town/ Urban Planning
3. Regional Development
4. Regional Analysis: There are two aspects which are common to every discipline, these are:
i) Philosophy: a) Geographical Thought b) Land and Human Interaction/Human Ecology.
ii) Methods and Techniques: a) Cartography including Computer Cartography. b) Quantitative Techniques/Statistical Techniques. c) Field Survey Methods. d) Geo-informatics comprising techniques such as Remote Sensing, GIS, GPS, etc.
Physical Geography And Its Importance
1. Physical geography includes the study of:
i) Lithosphere (landforms, drainage, relief and physiography)
ii) Atmosphere (its composition, structure, elements and controls of weather and climate; temperature, pressure, winds, precipitation, climatic types, etc.)
iii) Hydrosphere (oceans, seas, lakes and associated features with water realm)
iv) Biosphere ( life forms including human being and macro-organism and their sustaining mechanism, viz. food chain, ecological parameters and ecological balance).
2. The study of physical geography is emerging as a discipline of evaluating and managing natural resources. Physical environment provides resources, and human beings utilize these resources and ensure their economic and cultural development. Accelerated pace of resource utilization with the help of modern technology has created ecological imbalance in the world. Hence, a better understanding of physical environment is absolutely essential for sustainable development.
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