Ronald W. Luna

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INTRODUCTION
Ronald W. Luna ronaldl_at_umd.edu
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Outline

• Syllabus
• Geographic Perspective

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Syllabus

• www.geog.umd.edu/homepage/courses/323/323.html

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World without boundaries
Source Bergman and Renwick, 2003
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Political map of the Americas
Source Bergman and Renwick, 2003
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Introduction

• What is the absolute location of Latin America?
• Latin America boundary stretches from Baja
  California (Mexico) 32.5 degrees North to Tierra
  de Fuego (Argentina) 55.0 degrees South.
• What is the geographical scope of the class?
• From Mexico to Argentina and the Spanish speaking
  Islands of the Caribbean.

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What is Geography?
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What is Geography?

• Spatial Science examines how, why, and where
  interaction between humans and the environment
  occurs.

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What is Geography?

• Geography means the study of the earth.
• Studies natural or human phenomena through
  space, scale, and time.

Natural Phenomenon
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Space

• Geography is the science of place (location) and
  space.
• Place- For place the central issue is the
  difference relative to other places
  (relationship).
• -Relative location the location of a place
  relative to other places.
• -Absolute location the exact location of a
  place on the surface of the earth.
• Space- When we discuss space (cf. place) we are
  often concerned with movement through space
  (distance and time).
• What kinds of questions can Geographers ask about
  space and place?
• -Where are things located and why are they there?
• -How are people and their activities distributed
  in space?
• -How do people perceive space?
• -How do people create spaces?

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Scale

• Geographic scale is the dimension of how we
  examine a physical or human phenomena.
• Different social and physical processes operate
  at different scales.
• -Global (macro)
• -Regional
• -Nation or State
• -Community, county, city, etc. (micro)
• Many processes interact across various scales.

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Time

• Temporal scale- The historian has no exclusive
  right in the telling of stories in time. But the
  historian hopes to bring a special understanding
  to such story-telling.
• Equally the geographer can claim no exclusive
  right to the telling of space stories, space
  futures, and space legends.
• But the geographer should hope to tell such
  stories with special insight.
• -Compare two different places at a specific
  period.
• -Compare a place throughout history.
• -Why two cities have evolved differently over
  time.

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Tools

• Remote sensing

Cairo
San Francisco
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Washington D.C. (1 meter)
Washington Monument
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Tools

• Geographic Information System (GIS)

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Tools

• Cartography

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Disciplines in Geography

• Physical Geography- is concerned primarily with
  the physical processes and the relationship
  between humans and the physical environment. Ex.
  geomorphology, climatology, ecology, biology,
  etc.
• Technique- Cartography, Remote Sensing, and
  Geographic Information System.
• Human Geography

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Human Geography

• Studies the spatial analysis of human population,
  their culture, and activities.
• Examines patterns, distribution, interaction, and
  location of human phenomenon.
• Observes the relationship between the physical
  environment and humans how we respond to change,
  and interact with the physical world.
• It is sometimes referred as cultural or social
  geography, although these terms usually refer to
  sub-fields.

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Interaction Between Human and The Physical
Environment

• What aspects of a hurricane would a Human
  Geographer be interested in?
• - Property damages
• - Landfall
• - Fatalities
• - Migration
• - Economic effect

• What aspects of a hurricane would a Physical
  Geographer be interested in?
• - Force of the winds
• - Precipitation
• - Path of the hurricane
• - Atmospheric pressure
• - Water temperature

http//earth.google.com/katrina.html
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Hurricane Katrina

• Timeline
• Photos
• Photos 2
• Photos 3
• Interactive Satellite Map

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Sub fields of Human Geography

• Cultural Geography
• Population Geography
• Political Geography
• Urban Geography
• Economic Geography
• Medical Geography
• Historical Geography
• Social Geography

• Anthropology
• Demography
• Political Science
• Urban Studies
• Economics
• Medicine and Health
• History
• Sociology

Check the following website for additional
specialty groups http//www.aag.org/sg/sg_display.
cfm