Describe how human geography passed through the corridors of time
Answers
The discipline of Geography has undergone many changes, which have affected its definition and content. In the initial stages of the development of the discipline, it was concerned with exploration in order to increase knowledge of the earth. This was seen for example, in the voyages of explorers like Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus in 1492. Generally, Geography has been referred to as the study of the earth, i.e. the natural aspects such as mountains, valleys, vegetation and the human aspects like agriculture, settlement, industry among others. Geography is the study of the earth’s landscapes, peoples, places and environments. The discipline of Geography is unique in bridging the social sciences (Human Geography) with the natural sciences (Physical Geography).
Answer:
(i) The beginning of human geography started with interaction of environment and human beings. Thus,the concerns of human geography have a long temporal continuum though the approaches to articulate them have changed over time.
(ii) Earlier there was a little interaction between different societies and the knowledge about each other was limited. From 15th century travellers and explorers used to disseminate information about the area of thier visits.
(iii) In later colonial period, the approach shifted to regional analysis. This approach believes that regions were part of a whole, so understanding a region in totality would lead to an understanding of the whole.
(iv) After this the focus was laid on identifying the uniqueness of any region and understanding how and why it was different from other. With the introduction of computers, they were applied for identifying mappable patterns for different human activities
(v) In 1970s, human geography was made more relevant to the socio-political reality by the emergence of three schools of thought i.e. humanistic, radical and behavioral school. After 1990s, the importance of each local context in its own right was emphasised.