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Introduction to Geography Course
So, welcome to your introductory geography lecture. We’ll begin with some basics. Firstly, what do we learn by studying geography?
Well, we learn a great deal about all the processes that have affected and continue to affect the earth surface. But we learned far more than that, because studying geography also inform us about the different kinds of relations that develop between a particular environment and the people that live there.
Okay, we like to think of geography as having two main branches. There is the study of the nature of our planet, for example its physical features, or what it actually looks like. And then there is the study of the ways in which we choose to live, and of the impact of those on our planet. Our current use of carbon fuels is a good example of that.
But there are specific study areas to consider too. And we will be looking at each of these in turn throughout this semester. These include bio-physical geography, by which I mean the study of the natural environment and all its living things. Then there is topography which looks at the shapes of the land and oceans. There is the study of political geography, and social geography too, of course, which is the study of communities of people. We have economic geography, in which we examine all kinds of resources and their use. Next comes historical geography, the understanding of how people and their environments and the ways they interact have changed over a period of time. And urban geography, an aspect I am particularly interested in, which takes, as its focus, the location of cities provide, and migration of people to and from such cities. And lastly, we have cartography. That is the art and science of net making. You will be doing a lot of that.
Okay, now for some practicalities. What do geographers actually do? Well, we collect data to begin with. How do we do this? There are several means. We might, for example, conduct a census. We also need images of the earth’s surface which we can produce by means of computer-generation technology or with the help of satellite relays. We’ve come a very long way from the early exploration of the world by sailing ships when geographers only had pens and paper at their disposal.
After we’ve gathered information, we must analyze it. We need to look for patterns, most commonly those of causes and consequences. This kind of information helps us to predict and resolve problems that could affect the world we live in. But we don’t keep all these information confidential. We then need to publish our findings so that other people can access it and be informed by it. And one way in which this information can be published is in the form of maps. You’ll all have used one at some stage of your life already.
Okay, now we’ve had a basic understanding of geography. What we’re going to do next is to look at a short presentation in which you’ll see some tools used in geography.