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Geography



Main article: Ethnography

Geographic qualitative methods, or ethnographical; research techniques, are used by human geographers. In cultural geography there is a tradition of employing qualitative research techniques also used in anthropology and sociology. Participant observation and in-depth interviews provide human geographers with qualitative data.

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History of geography

Main article: History of geography


Geography
History of geography

The ideas of Anaximander of Miletus (c. 610 B.C.-c. 545 B.C.), considered by later Greek writers to be the true founder of geography, come to us through fragments quoted by his successors. Anaximander is credited with the invention of the gnomon,the simple yet efficient Greek instrument that allowed the early measurement of latitude. Thales, Anaximander is also credited with the prediction of eclipses. The foundations of geography can be traced to the ancient cultures, such as the ancient, medieval, and early modern Chinese. The Greeks, who were the first to explore geography as both art and science, achieved this through Cartography, Philosophy, and Literature, or through Mathematics. There is some debate about who was the first person to assert that the Earth is spherical in shape, with the credit going either to Parmenides or Pythagoras. Anaxagoras was able to demonstrate that the profile of the Earth was circular by explaining eclipses. However, he still believed that the Earth was a flat disk, as did many of his contemporaries. One of the first estimates of the radius of the Earth was made by Eratosthenes.[7]

The first rigorous system of latitude and longitude lines is credited to Hipparchus. He employed a sexagesimal system that was derived from Babylonian mathematics. The parallels and meridians were sub-divided into 360°, with each degree further subdivided 60′ (minutes). To measure the longitude at different location on Earth, he suggested using eclipses to determine the relative difference in time.[8] The extensive mapping by the Romans as they explored new lands would later provide a high level of information for Ptolemy to construct detailed atlases. He extended the work of Hipparchus, using a grid system on his maps and adopting a length of 56.5 miles for a degree.[9]

During the Middle Ages, the fall of the Roman empire led to a shift in the evolution of geography from Europe to the Islamic world.[10] Scholars such as Idrisi (produced detailed maps), Yaqut al-Hamawi,Ibn Batutta, and Ibn Khaldun provided detailed accounts of their journeys and the geogarphy of the regions they visited. Turkish geigrapher, Mahmud al-Khashghari drew a world mapon linguistic basis. Further, Islamic scholars translated and interpreted the earlier works of the Romans and Greeks and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad for this purpose.[11] From the 3rd century onwards, Chinese methods of geographical study and writing of geographical literature became much more complex than what was found in Europe at the time (until the 13th century).[10] Chinese geographers such as Liu An, Pei Xiu, Jia Dan, Shen Kuo, Fan Chengda, Zhou Daguan, and Xu Xiake wrote important treatises, yet by the 17th century, advanced ideas and methods of Western-style geography were adopted in China.

Self portrait of Alexander von Humboldt, one of the early pioneers of geography
Self portrait of Alexander von Humboldt, one of the early pioneers of geography

The Age of discovery during the 16th and 17th centuries where many new lands were discovered and accounts by explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo and James Cook, revived a desire for both accurate geographic detail, and more solid theoretical foundations.[citation needed]

The 18th and 19th centuries were the times when geography became recognized as a discrete academic discipline and became part of a typical university curriculum in Europe (especially Paris and Berlin). The development of many geographic societies also occurred during the 19th century with the foundations of the Société de Géographie in 1821,[12] the Royal Geographical Society in 1830,[13] Russian Geographical Society in 1845,[14] American Geographical Society in 1851,[15] and the National Geographic Society in 1888.[16] The influence of Immanuel Kant, Alexander von Humbolt, Carl Ritter and Paul Vidal de la Blache can be seen as a major turning point in geography from a philosophy to an academic subject.

Over the past two centuries the advancements in technology such as computers, have led to the development of geomatics and new practices such as participant observation and geostatistics being incorporated into geography's portfolio of tools. In the West during the 20th century, the discipline of geography went through four major phases: environmental determinism, regional geography, the quantitative revolution, and critical geography. The strong interdisciplinary links between geography and the sciences of geology and botany, as well as economics, sociology and demographics have also grown greatly especially as a result of Earth System Science that seeks to understand the world in a holistic view.

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Some influential geographers

Main article: List of geographers
The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer
The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer

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References

  1. ^ Geography. The American Heritage Dictionary/ of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved on October 9, 2006.
  2. ^ Pattison, W.D. (1990). "The Four Traditions of Geography". Journal of Geography 89 (5): pp. 202–6. doi:10.1080/00221349008979196. ISSN 0022-1341.  Reprint of a 1964 article.
  3. ^ web.clas.ufl.edu/users/morgans/lecture_2.prn.pdf.
  4. ^ a b Hayes-Bohanan, James. What is Environmental Geography, Anyway?. Retrieved on October 9, 2006.
  5. ^ Hughes, William. (1863). The Study of Geography. Lecture delivered at King's College, London by Sir Marc Alexander. Quoted in Baker, J.N.L (1963). The History of Geography. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, p. 66. 
  6. ^ What is geography?. AAG Career Guide: Jobs in Geography and related Geographical Sciences. Association of American Geographers. Retrieved on October 9, 2006.
  7. ^ Jean-Louis and Monique Tassoul (1920). A Concise History of Solar and Stellar Physics. London: Princeton University Press. 
  8. ^ Hipparcos of Rhodes. Technology Museum of Thessaloniki (2001). Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Dan (2000). Mapmaking and its History. Rutgers University. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  10. ^ a b Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 512.
  11. ^ IslamiCity.com - Education
  12. ^ Société de Géographie, Paris, France (French). Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  13. ^ About Us. Royal Geographical Society. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  14. ^ Русское Географическое Общество (основано в 1845 г.)
  15. ^ The American Geographical Society
  16. ^ National Geographic - Inspiring People to Care About the Planet

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See also

Geography Portal
Atlas Portal
Main lists: List of basic geography topics and List of geography topics

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External links

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