E-Book Overview
This Very Short Introduction answers four basic questions: what is Geography, how do geographers work, why is Geography important, and where is the discipline of Geography heading? Geography has always been important, though it has had only a short history as an academic discipline and is much misunderstood. Modern Geography has come a long way from its historical roots in exploring foreign lands, in mapping the world and in describing the physical and human features of the Earth's surface. There are two parts to the discipline: Physical Geography, which covers natural environments and landscapes; and Human Geography, which investigates people and the cultural landscape. Physical and human geographers commonly do not agree with each other. But there are also common elements and Geography as a whole has an important role as a bridge between the sciences and the humanities. Using wide-ranging examples, the book paints a broad picture of the current state of Geography, its subject matter, concepts and methods, how it developed, and its strengths and weaknesses. The book's conclusion is no less than a manifesto for Geography's future.
E-Book Content
Geography: A Very Short Introduction
VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS are for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts, and have been published in more than 25 languages worldwide. The series began in 1995, and now represents a wide variety of topics in history, philosophy, religion, science, and the humanities. Over the next few years it will grow to a library of around 200 volumes – a Very Short Introduction to everything from ancient Egypt and Indian philosophy to conceptual art and cosmology.
Very Short Introductions available now: AFRICAN HISTORY John Parker and Richard Rathbone AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS L. Sandy Maisel THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY Charles O. Jones ANARCHISM Colin Ward ANCIENT EGYPT Ian Shaw ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas ANCIENT WARFARE Harry Sidebottom ANGLICANISM Mark Chapman THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE John Blair ANIMAL RIGHTS David DeGrazia ANTISEMITISM Steven Beller ARCHAEOLOGY Paul Bahn ARCHITECTURE Andrew Ballantyne ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes ART HISTORY Dana Arnold ART THEORY Cynthia Freeland THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY Michael Hoskin ATHEISM Julian Baggini AUGUSTINE Henry Chadwick BARTHES Jonathan Culler BESTSELLERS John Sutherland THE BIBLE John Riches THE BRAIN Michael O’Shea BRITISH POLITICS Anthony Wright BUDDHA Michael Carrithers BUDDHISM Damien Keown BUDDHIST ETHICS Damien Keown CAPITALISM James Fulcher THE CELTS Barry Cunliffe
CHAOS Leonard Smith CHOICE THEORY Michael Allingham CHRISTIAN ART Beth Williamson CHRISTIANITY Linda Woodhead CLASSICS Mary Beard and John Henderson CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY Helen Morales CLAUSEWITZ Michael Howard THE COLD WAR Robert McMahon CONSCIOUSNESS Susan Blackmore CONTEMPORARY ART Julian Stallabrass CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY Simon Critchley COSMOLOGY Peter Coles THE CRUSADES Christopher Tyerman CRYPTOGRAPHY Fred Piper and Sean Murphy DADA AND SURREALISM David Hopkins DARWIN Jonathan Howard THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS Timothy Lim DEMOCRACY Bernard Crick DESCARTES Tom Sorell DESIGN John Heskett DINOSAURS David Norman DOCUMENTARY FILM Patricia Aufderheide DREAMING J. Allan Hobson DRUGS Leslie Iversen THE EARTH Martin Redfern ECONOMICS Partha Dasgupta EGYPTIAN MYTH Geraldine Pinch
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITAIN Paul Langford THE ELEMENTS Philip Ball EMOTION Dylan Evans EMPIRE Stephen Howe ENGELS Terrell Carver ETHICS Simon Blackburn THE EUROPEAN UNION John Pinder and Simon Usherwood EVOLUTION Brian and Deborah Charlesworth EXISTENTIALISM Thomas Flynn FASCISM Kevin Passmore FEMINISM Margaret Walters THE FIRST WORLD WAR Michael Howard FOSSILS Keith Thomson FOUCAULT Gary Gutting THE FRENCH REVOLUTION William Doyle FREE WILL Thomas Pink FREUD Anthony Storr FUNDAMENTAL