Welcome to the Geography Department Web Site!
Geography is the study of the earth as the home of humanity, both its human and physical characteristics. In their quest to understand earth and its processes, geographers first ask where things are located, but more importantly, they seek to answer why these distributions occur.
Eratosthenes, a 3rd century B.C. librarian, is considered to be the first person to use the term “geography”, however geography was practiced long before the ancient Greeks. People needed a spatial perspective to provide food and shelter for themselves. They needed “mental maps” to travel and trade. And so geography as a discipline is as old as human history.
Five Themes of Geography:
Whether you take the world regional geography, physical geography or cultural geography, your course work will incorporate the five themes of geography.
1. Location – Where is it located?
2. Place – What is it like there?
3. Human / Environment Interaction
– Human adaptation, modification, dependence on the environment
4. Movement – How did it get there? Where is it going? Why did it move?
- Diffusion of people, goods and ideas
5. Regions – Classification of areas based on similar characteristics
- Formal, functional, vernacular
Geographic Literacy
Geography continues to be an exciting and relevant area of study, particularly with the rapid globalization of today’s world. Yet study after study indicates that American’s in particular have a poor grasp of the world outside of the U.S. According to the 2006 National Geographic Survey, despite the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the War on Terror and the tsunami, Americans ages 18-24 cannot find the following locations on a map:
- Afghanistan 88%
- Iran or Israel 75%
- Indonesia 75%
- North Korea 70%
- Iraq 63%
- New York 50%
In addition to poor geographical literacy, the study revealed that Americans ages 18 – 24 are also scored poorly on questions pertaining to global awareness.
- 74% believe that English is the world’s most widely spoken native language (correct answer: Mandarin)
- 48% believe the U.S. is the world’s largest exporter (correct answer: China)
- 32% would miss a conference call with colleagues who are in another time zone
In order to remain competitive in an increasingly interconnected and global society, geographical literacy and global awareness is critical.
Remember, without geography you’re nowhere!