CLASS 12 Geography | Important points and short notes | Chapter 1 human geography nature and scope

CLASS 12 Geography | Important points and short notes | Chapter 1 human geography nature and scope      

 CHAPTER :- 1 

      Human geography Nature and scope

 1. Geography as a field of study is integrative, empirical, and practical. Earth comprises two major components: nature(physical environment) and life forms(including human brings).

2. Human geography studies "the relationship between the physical/natural and the human worlds, the spatial distributions of human phenomena and how they come about, the social and economic differences between different parts if the world."

3. The core concern of geography as a discipline is to understand the earth as home of human beings and to study all those elements that sustained them. Geography got subjected to dualism.

4. Nature and human are inseparable elements and should be seen holistically. Physical and human phenomena are described in metaphors(using a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.)  ‘face’ of the earth, ‘eye’ of the storm, ‘mouth’ of the river, ‘snout’ (nose)of the glacier, ‘neck’ of the isthmus and ‘profile’of the soil. Regions, villages, towns as ‘organisms’. State/country as a ‘living organism’. Networks of road, railways and water ways  as “arteries of circulation".

5. Houses, villages, cities, road-rail networks, industries, electricity, items of our daily use have been created by human beings using the resources provided by physical environment.While physical environment has been modified by human beings.

6. Human interact with physical environment with the help of technology. It is not important what human produce and create, extremely important is "with the help of what tools and techniques do they produce and create". They develop technology after they develop better understanding of natural laws. 

for  instances :-  the laws of aerodynamics to develop faster planes, the secrets of DNA and genetics enable us to conquer diseases, etc.

7. Interaction between primitive human society and strong forces of nature was known as environmental determinism. Nature provides opportunities and human being make use of these and slowly nature gets humanised and starts bearing the imprints of human endeavour.

8.A geographer, Griffith Taylor introduced another concept which reflects a middle path (Madhyam Marg) between the two ideas of environmental determinism and possibilism . He termed it as Neo-determinism or stop and go determinism. It means that human can conquer nature by obeying it.

9.  It means that possibilities can be created within the limits which do not damage the environment and  there is no free run without accidents.  The neo-determinism conceptually attempts to bring a balance nullifying the ‘either’‘or’ dichotomy.

10. The process of adaptation, adjustment with and modification of the environment started with the appearance of human beings over the surface of the earth in different ecological niches. Travellers and explorers used to disseminate information about the areas of their visits. Navigational skills were not developed and voyages were fraught with dangers. The late fifteenth century witnessed attempts of explorations in Europe and slowly the myths and mysteries about countries and people started to open up. This is the process of development of human geography.

11. Broad stages and Thrust of Human geography

 

12. Human geography and Sister Disciplines of social sciences