GEOGRAPHY
PERSPECTIVES AND SKILLS
Perspectives
In Geography for Life: National Geography Standards (1994), attention is given to the subject matter, perspectives and skills in geography. Perhaps the principal reason to go to such lengths to characterize geography as an academic pursuit and as a profession is that most people in this country, and probably the world, have a very narrow view of what geography is and what geographers do. What you notice quickly in reading this book, some of which is on the NGS website, is that geography defies a simple explanation or definition (recall the definitions from our previous week's assignment). Unlike a subject such as botany with its primary focus on plants, geography cannot be summed up in one word which embodies its entire subject matter. Indeed the subject matter of geography is Earth. That gives us lots of latitude (pun intended) to study many things. What sets geography apart from other disciplines are its perspectives.
According to Geography for Life, there are two primary perspectives and two complementary perspectives in geography: spatial and ecological, historical and economic. Perhaps the most important perspective is the spatial. Geography is a spatial science in that it deals with subject matter by looking at it in the spatial context and by discerning spatial patterns and processes that created those patterns. In this context some of the most important questions are "where?" which would quickly be followed by "why there?" and maybe "what difference does it make?" The spatial properties of the world are seen in geographic patterns of human and physical features on the landscape, the way in which geographers regionalize the world into realms, regions, areas, and in other spatially defined places on Earth.
The ecological perspective permits geographers to view interactions between organisms and their environment using the spatial perspective. Geographers understand the numerous interactions that are possible between the four main Earth spheres, hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere and the events that affect them and are affected by them through Earth systems science. Focusing on this perspective permits a greater understanding of organisms and their environments and leads to a better understanding of the complex web of life on Earth.
The historical perspective is essential to geography because it provides a temporal background to the contemporary human and physical veneers resident on the landscape. The field of historical geography offers history within a spatial context.
People interact and use the physical landscape for a variety of purposes, most especially for daily living. Therefore, the economic perspective provides a focus on human interactions that provide livelihoods within communities and across the globe.
Skills
Geography for Life identifies 5 primary skills for the geography student. These are practically self-explanatory and require a good understanding of the subject matter and perspectives of geography. The five skills are:
Asking geographic questions
Acquiring geographic information
organizing geographic information
Analyzing geographic information
Answering geographic questions
Created by Bill Strong 2/2/02. Last update: 2/2/02 Bill Strong