II. In the article adapted from Robert Kaplan’s book, The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate, Kaplan explains his view as an environmental determinist. Kaplan rationalizes his view by describing Russia’s neo-imperialistic movement. Even though Russia has ample land, Kaplan is able to justify Putin’s invasions when he explains Russia’s geographical situation. Kaplan states that Russia’s expansive land does not provide many natural barriers; therefore, Putin’s motive for attempting to annex other countries is to provide a buffer between Russia and the rest of Europe. Moreover, Kaplan demonstrates that geography plays an important role in culture. In the first example, he analyzes Afghanistan. …show more content…
In Kaplan’s analysis of Iran, he notes that its coastline and the Iranian Plateau have helped make the country prosperous; however, he also recognizes that Iran’s government maintains control by provoking fear. He claims that Iran’s corrupt government will lead to poverty. Kaplan states, “Geography is common sense, but it is not fate.”
III. Kaplan discusses the importance of geographic determinism. I agree with his views. I find that many countries’ current situation supports the significance of geographic determinism. For example, Haiti, a country that experiences poverty in most of its cities, has mountainous terrain. The mountains pose a problem for Haiti as it makes transportation harder. This article showed me geography plays an important role in countries’ situations.
IV. This is an interesting article that thoroughly explains the importance of geography. I would recommend it to others as Kaplan does an excellent job of demonstrating his point through issues that are relevant today. This article holds value as geography is becoming more important than ever in an increasingly globalized society. This article left me with the impression that even though nations are becoming more interconnected, geography still plays a significant part in countries’
In the book “Why Geography Matters More Than Ever”, the author, Harm de Blij, discusses the importance of geography, how it can affect us in any place or any time, and why it matters. But most importantly, he succeeds to advance our perception of the world’s geography. Throughout the book de Blij highlights the many benefits of being educated about geography. He explains that it is important that we are informed about this topic so we can be more prepared for the events happening around the world. This book illustrates just how essential it is to be well-educated when it comes to geography.
The main ideas presented in “Why Geography Matters…More Than Ever!” revolve around what exactly geography is, and the implications of the subject. Geography is the study of the physical world and human actions, it also covers the affects of human actions. Geography influences a plethora of topics and geographers do research on numerous subjects. “Geographers do research on glaciations and coastlines, on desert dunes and limestone caves, on weather and climate, even on plants and animals”(7). The author stresses how underrated geography is the present times, and how the introduction of social studies have doomed the subject of geography for future generations. In a section detailing the teaching of geography
All of our history can be dated down to some place anywhere in the world and the time, now just imagine if that history could still be affecting you to this day. In Jared Diamonds Guns, Gems, and Steel he explores the idea, the theory that geographic could determine the differences between societies and social development. The book is framed upon a question that Yali, a New Guinean politician, asked him as they were chatting the question being “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” Diamond concludes that geography has ultimately affected the differences between peoples of the world.
I had to explain that the Mongolian invasion not only sacked Baghdad-- the capital of an empire wrought with political-religious divisions-- and thus signifying the end of but also facilitated cultural-technological exchanges throughout a more stabilized “Pax Mongolica” Eurasia, including the diffusion of firearms associated with later-strengthened European feudal power. AP human geography further expanded upon these skills, especially in its focus on the interaction between people and geography, of how human-constructed realities arise from and manipulate the surrounding environment, reconciling organic social dynamics alongside systematic empirical patterns. While much of current global-geographic phenomena cannot be understood without also understanding history--of drawing national boundaries and consolidating state legitimacy, industrial-economic development and land use, regulation of transnational commodities and migrant labor across borders-- I also had to understand what distinguished them as the unique socializing forces imposed onto the environment
Geography plays an important role in the development of a civilization. The impact of geography can either make or break a civilization. Early civilizations inhabited features such as river valleys, deserts, rainforests, plateaus and other geographical structures. One important geographically defining structure are river valleys . River valleys had a significant impact on one particular civilization, Mesopotamia.
Fellmann, Getis, and Getis. Human Geography, Sixth Edition, Updated Edition. McGraw Hill. New York, 2001.
Geography is the foundation of how civilizations and societies develop. Based on location, geography determines the amount of water available, temperature, available resources, and a variety of essentials. To form a civilization, the geography gives insight into whether a community can sustain, and how people need to adapt to continue growing. Ancient civilizations had to take many factors into account, and learn to adapt to the environment to become as advanced as they were. General geographical features which have an essential role in shaping societies include rivers, seas, and the flora of what the natural environment provides.
at a specific time, and a specific place, the question of "Where will you meet?"
Human activity has major effects on geography. When studying the earth you can come to several conclusions about the geography of any particular civilization. Distribution of life in the civilization allows you to analyze whether their geography is their own destiny. Do people control their own destiny? Is geography something that people can control? Technology is really the key to why geography can be overcome by any people.
Numerous students who have told me that they did not spend much time learning social studies in their elementary school, so to close some of the gap, I have added a unit on basic geography skills. Once they have completed the geography unit, I begin to compare and contrast the ancient world advances in education, religion, politics, and economics with our world today. As we go through each subtopic, we discuss how those achievements have evolved over time and continue to influence our world today.
Blij has clearly put this book into historical significance by mentioning the idea of geography and how it plays a role in societies all over the world. However, the five themes of culture regions, cultural diffusion, cultural interaction, cultural ecology, and cultural landscapes are all clearly defined within a specific context to a particular nation. Through reading this intriguing piece of literature I received the underlying notion that Blij firmly believes that landscapes of the world realm are not going to change. De Blij worldview of regions, diffusion, interaction, ecology, and landscapes has allowed him to simultaneously link issues together from the United States all the way to Southeast Asia.
The Five Themes of Geography are: Location – Absolute points on a map or grid or Relative to where something may be; Place – The physical and/or human characteristics of a locations; Human/Environment Interactions – How humans have impacted the landscape or environment; Relationship between places Movement – How humans interact on the earth (i.e. how they communicate over distance (short or long)) and Regions – a unit of space that has commonalities defined by physical, human and environmental geography. The Explorers of the New World may have not known what the Five Themes of Geography were but they quickly learned. Of the five themes the ones that they all took advantage of was the physical Location and Place as they learned to navigate to and from as well as through their new environments. Over Time the explorers began to discover the relationships within their environments and original occupants of the lands as well as the regions in which they now occupied.
As Americans we live in isolation, surrounded by advertisements, electronic screens, fast food, the internet, etc. We live these lives while thousands scream out in hunger and thirst begging to nourish their families. Living lives in excess, often unknowingly supporting a system that is not sustainable, breeds capitalism, and unplugs us from the rest of the world. Having been raised in a typical suburban home my ideas of culture were going to Olive Garden or walking by Riverside in Minneapolis. However, Geography 111 has challenged what I believed, truly allowing me to grasp that I am not part of solution I am problem that spreads neocolonialism, capitalism, and western culture wherever a profit can be made. Learning about these topics and combining it with a geographical perspective I know will enable me to break from the molds and forge new paths.
There's always something new to research in geography: new nation-states are created, natural disasters strike populated areas, the world's climate changes, and the Internet brings millions of people closer together. Knowing where countries and oceans are on a map is important but geography is much more than the answers to trivia questions. Having the ability to geographically analyze allows us to understand the world in which we live.
De, Blij Harm J., and Peter O. Muller. Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts. New York: J. Wiley, 1997. 340. Print.