Summarize the major tools used by geographers to study Earths surface.

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Learning Objectives

• Describe the conceptual framework of world regional geography.• Identify the different components of globalization, including their controversial aspects, and list several ways in which globalization is changing world geographies.• Summarize the major tools used by geographers to study Earth’s surface.• Explain the concepts and metrics used to document changes in global population and settlement patterns.• Describe the themes and concepts used to study the interaction between globalization and the world’s cultural geographies.• Explain how different aspects of globalization have interacted with global geopolitics from the colonial period to the present day.• Identify the concepts and data important to documenting changes in the economic and social development of more and less developed countries.

Chapter Outline

• Geography Matters: Environments, Regions, Landscapes: geography as a term has

roots in Greek words for “describing the Earth”; geographers have different conceptual approaches to study the world; two main divisions—physical and human geography: physical geography examines climate, landforms, soils, vegetation, hydrology; human geography is the spatial analysis of economic, social, and cultural systems; geography also divided into thematic (or systematic) geography, which focuses on specific topic or theme, and regional geography, which analyzes a place or region; both thematic and regional geographies are complementary

• Areal Differentiation and Integration: areal differentiation is the description

and explanation of the differences that distinguish one piece of the world from another; areal integration is the study of the interconnections of places—how they interact

a. Global to Local: all systematic inquiry has sense of scale; geographers

work at different scales; geographers recognize the interactivity and interconnectivity among local, regional, and global scales 1 Concepts of World Geography (Globalization and Diversity Geography of a Changing World 5e Rowntree Lewis, Price Wyckoff) (Instructor Manual) 1 / 4

Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World

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• The Cultural Landscape: Space into Place: humans transform space into

distinct places that are unique and loaded with meaning and symbolism; cultural landscape—the visible, material expression of human settlement, past and present; reflects the most basic human needs—shelter, food, work; acts to bring people together (or keep apart); uniqueness of places may be eroded by homogenous landscapes of globalization—the ‘shopping mall’ for example

• Regions: Formal and Functional: geographers organize information about the

world into units of spatial similarity called regions; two different regions are

designated by geographers: formal regions—defined by some aspect of physical

form or cultural features; functional regions—where certain activity or cluster of activities takes place II. Converging Currents of Globalization: globalization—the increasing interconnectedness of people and places through converging economic, technological, political, and cultural activities; consequences of globalization affect all aspects of life and land; world regional geography is central to understanding these changes

• The Environment and Globalization: globalized economy creates and intensifies

environmental problems, both locally and globally; climate change is one prominent example

B. Globalization and Changing Human Geographies: economic change results in

changes in culture, e.g., consumer culture; globalization entails demographic dimensions; also includes criminal element, e.g., terrorism, slavery, drugs

C. Geopolitics and Globalization: globalization has geopolitical component;

political power of individual states is waning and the power of regional economic and political organizations is ascending; criminality and violent actions and reactions seem to follow new extra-territoriality norms

D. Economic Globalization and Uneven Development Outcomes: economic

reorganization is major component of globalization; related to global communication systems, transportation systems, transnational business strategies, flexible forms of capital accumulation, global agreements; market economics and private enterprises, abundance of planetary goods and services, economic disparities, international labor at both low manual labor and high executive decision-making levels

E. Thinking Critically about Globalization: globalization is contentious issue;

economic globalization is applauded by corporate leaders, economists; opposition is widespread in labor and environmental movements a.

Pro-Globalization Arguments: argue that globalization is logical and

inevitable expression of contemporary international capitalism; benefits all peoples and places; reduces inefficiencies; concept of economic convergence implies world’s poorest countries will catch up with more advanced economies; support multinational organizations that facilitate flow of goods and capital across international borders

b. Critics of Globalization: argue that globalization is not ‘natural’ but

product of explicit economic policies; globalization is creating greater inequity between rich and poor; globalization promotes free-market, export- oriented economies at expense of localized, sustainable activities; concern that entire system is unstable—especially bubble economies 2 / 4

Chapter 1: Concepts of World Geography

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c. A Middle Position: argue that anti-globalization and pro-globalization

stances are exaggerated; globalization holds promises and pitfalls—but can be managed

F. Diversity in a Globalizing World: some worry that world is becoming

homogeneous; diversity seen by some as threatening, but also necessary; politics of diversity demand attention to understand local and global issues III. The Geographer’s Toolbox: Location, Maps, Remote Sensing, and GIS: geographers use different tools to represent the world in convenient form for examination and analysis

• Latitude and Longitude: people generally use a mental map of relative location

to locate specific places; map makers use absolute location (mathematical location) based on universally accepted coordinate system—longitude and latitude; lines of latitude (parallels) run east-west and measure locations north or south of equator; lines of longitude (meridians) run north-south and measure locations east or west of prime meridian, located at 0 degrees longitude at Royal Naval Observatory in Greenwich, England; equator divides world into northern and southern hemispheres, while prime meridian divides world into eastern and western hemispheres; parallel lines of latitude mathematically define the tropics— the Tropic of Cancer is 23.5 degrees north, the Tropic of Capricorn is 23.5 degrees south

a. Global Positioning System (GPS): GPS devices use time signals sent

from orbiting satellites and then they calculate precise coordinates of longitude and latitude; first used by U.S. military in 1960s and made available to public later; GPS guides airplanes, ships, private automobiles; some smartphones also make use of GPS

B. Map Projections: because world is spherical, mapping globe on flat piece of

paper creates distortions; cartographers attempt to limit distortions through use of map projections—different ways maps are projected onto flat surface; hundreds of different projections developed

• Map Scale: all maps must reduce area being mapped to smaller piece of paper—

involves the use of map scale, or the mathematical ratio between map and surface area being mapped; many maps note scale as ratio or fraction between unit on map and unit on surface area; representative fraction—the cartographic term for ratio between map and area being mapped; maps categorized as large or small scale; large-scale maps cover small areas in great detail, small-scale maps cover larger areas with less detail (note: larger the denominator, the smaller the map scale); also graphic or linear scale—visual depiction of scale on map, usually as horizontal bar

D. Map Patterns and Map Legends:

reference map—shows location of certain features; thematic map—displays more complicated spatial phenomena; choropleth maps—map different levels of intensity of data

E. Aerial Photos and Remote Sensing: much information comes from

electromagnetic images taken from aircraft or satellites—remote sensing; many scientific applications

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F. Geographic Information Systems (GIS): spatial databases that contain vast

amounts of computerized data from different sources, including maps, aerial photos, remote sensing, and census tracts; used to analyze human and physical problems and processes

G. Themes and Issues in World Regional Geography: text defines and is

organized around twelve major world regions; each chapter employs same five- part thematic structure

H. Physical Geography and Environmental Issues: The Changing Global

Environment: landforms, climate, energy, hydrology, and vegetation;

environmental issues and specific regional problems (elaborated in Chapter 2) IV. Population and Settlement: People on the Land: examines distribution and growth of populations; politics of population change; current rate of growth is half of the world high back in the 1960s, but the absolute number of people is the highest ever; planning around population can be contested and must include human mobility

A. Population Growth and Change: different population-related statistics

a. Population Density: average number of people per area unit; differ

considerably; used to indicate settlement patterns—where people live

b. Natural Population Increase: rate of natural increase (RNI) provides

annual growth rate for country or region as percentage—used to measure demographic change; based on subtraction of number of deaths from number of births in given year—migration change is not considered with RNI; crude birth rate—divides gross number of births by total population, crude death rate—divides gross number of deaths by total population; vary greatly around world

c. Total Fertility Rate: artificial and synthetic number that measures

fertility of statistically fictitious yet average group of women moving through childbearing years; TFR under 2.1 implies population has no natural growth; varies greatly around world

d. Young and Old Populations: common statistic to measure is percent of

population under 15—shows proportion of population about to enter prime reproductive years; percent of population over 65—useful for inferring needs of society in providing social services for seniors.

e. Population Pyramids: graphical indicator of population’s age and sex

structure; depicts percentage of population that is male or female in different age classes; useful for comparing different population structures and to reveal structural changes of a population

f. Life Expectancy: the average length of life expected at the birth of a

typical male or female in a specific country; used as indicator of level of social development; life expectancy figures vary greatly around world

g. The Demographic Transition: a conceptual model to track changes in

birth rates and death rates over time; five stages: stage 1, pre-industrial

with high birth and death rates (little population growth); stage 2, transitional, with declining death rates and high birth rates (rapid population growth), stage 3, transitional, with declining birth rates, low

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