Introduction to Human Geography

Units

1. 1

   Thinking geographically

   4 lessons

   1. Introduction to mapsTell reference maps from thematic maps, name the common thematic types, and explain why every flat map distorts the globe in some way.
   2. Geographic data and spatial conceptsDescribe a place by absolute and relative location, name the tools that collect and layer geographic data, and describe a distribution by density, concentration and pattern.
   3. Scales of analysis and regional conceptsDistinguish local, regional, national and global scales, say how a pattern can change with scale, and classify a region as formal, functional or perceptual.
   4. Human-environment interaction and the AnthropoceneContrast environmental determinism with possibilism, explain how people modify land with the Aral Sea and the Netherlands as examples, and say what the proposed Anthropocene epoch means.
2. 2

   Population and migration

   7 lessons

   1. Population distribution and densityDescribe where most people live, calculate arithmetic, physiological and agricultural density, and explain physical and human factors behind population distribution.
   2. Population composition and pyramidsRead a population pyramid for age and sex structure, calculate a dependency ratio and link pyramid shapes to a country's growth and history.
   3. Demographic transition and the epidemiological transitionDescribe the stages of the demographic transition model, explain why birth and death rates change, and link the stages to the epidemiological transition in causes of death.
   4. Population change: Malthus and fertilityExplain Malthus's theory and its critics, calculate natural increase, doubling time and fertility rates, and describe pronatalist and antinatalist policies.
   5. Migration: causes and typesExplain push and pull factors and intervening obstacles, and classify migration as voluntary or forced, internal or international, with real examples.
   6. Migration models: Ravenstein and the gravity modelState Ravenstein's laws of migration, apply the gravity model to compare migration between pairs of places, and explain distance decay.
   7. Refugees and effects of migrationDefine refugee, asylum seeker and internally displaced person, describe the Syrian refugee movement, and weigh the effects of migration on origin and destination.
3. 3

   Cultural patterns and processes

   4 lessons

   1. Culture and cultural landscapesDefine culture and its traits, complexes and regions, explain how culture shapes a landscape, and distinguish folk from popular culture and acculturation from assimilation.
   2. DiffusionDefine diffusion, distinguish relocation from expansion diffusion and its contagious, hierarchical and stimulus types, and explain how barriers and technology change the speed and spread.
   3. LanguageDescribe language families and branches, explain how languages spread and mix through lingua francas, pidgins and creoles, and say why many languages are endangered.
   4. ReligionDistinguish universalizing from ethnic religions, locate the hearths and main distributions of the major religions, and read religious beliefs on the landscape.
4. 4

   Political patterns and processes

   5 lessons

   1. The state and sovereigntyDefine state, nation, nation-state, multistate nation and stateless nation, apply sovereignty to real cases, and explain how colonialism shaped the map of states.
   2. BoundariesClassify boundaries as geometric, physical or cultural and as antecedent, subsequent, superimposed or relic, and explain the four kinds of boundary dispute with examples.
   3. Internal political organizationExplain how electoral districts are drawn, how gerrymandering packs and cracks voters, and how federal and unitary states divide power.
   4. Centrifugal and centripetal forcesName the forces that pull a state apart and hold it together, and use Yugoslavia, Quebec and Scotland to show devolution, ethnic separatism and nationalism at work.
   5. Supranational organizationsExplain what a supranational organization is, describe the UN and EU, and weigh how joining one raises cooperation and limits a state's sovereignty.
5. 5

   Agriculture and rural land use

   5 lessons

   1. Agricultural origins and rural land useLocate the main hearths of plant and animal domestication, explain why farming began, and describe rural settlement patterns and land survey systems.
   2. Agricultural revolutionsCompare the first, second and third agricultural revolutions, trace the spread of the Green Revolution, and weigh its benefits against its costs.
   3. Land use models: von ThünenDraw and explain von Thünen's rings of land use around a market, state his assumptions, use bid rent to place each use, and say what changes the pattern today.
   4. Agricultural systems and regionsClassify farming as subsistence or commercial and as intensive or extensive, and locate the main systems on the world map with the reason for each.
   5. Sustainability and the food systemTrace the modern commodity chain, explain agribusiness and food deserts, and judge sustainable practices against the pressures on land and water.
6. 6

   Cities and urban land use

   5 lessons

   1. Origins and urban site and situationLocate the first cities and explain why they arose there, then use site and situation to explain why a city grows where it does, using Chicago as the model case.
   2. Central place theory and rank-sizeExplain Christaller's central place theory with threshold, range and the hexagon pattern, then use the rank-size rule and the idea of a primate city to describe how a country's cities are ranked.
   3. Urban models: Burgess, Hoyt and Harris-UllmanDraw and compare the concentric zone, sector and multiple nuclei models of the North American city, say what each assumes and explain why real cities mix them.
   4. Cities in the developing worldDescribe the Latin American, African and Southeast Asian city models, explain squatter settlements and the informal economy, and read urbanization rates by region.
   5. Urban challenges and sustainabilityExplain suburbanization and sprawl, gentrification and displacement, and how new urbanism, smart growth and public transit aim to make cities more sustainable.
7. 7

   Industrial and economic development

   4 lessons

   1. Industrial Revolution and the geography of industryExplain why the Industrial Revolution began in Britain and spread, and use Weber's least-cost theory to say where a factory should locate, with material-oriented, market-oriented and footloose industries.
   2. Development measuresExplain what the Human Development Index, the Gender Inequality Index and GDP per capita measure, say what each one misses, and place countries in the core, semi-periphery or periphery.
   3. Theories of developmentDescribe Rostow's five stages of growth and Wallerstein's world-systems theory, and compare what each says about why some countries stay poor.
   4. Globalization and economic restructuringExplain deindustrialization and outsourcing, describe how firms spread production across countries, and define sustainable development with an example.