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HUMAN GEOGRAPHY : NATURE AND SCOPE

Introduction
Geography is a science that is concerned with the study of earth and it’s lands , features , inhabitants a
and phenomena . It is an integrative , empirical and practical subject that studies each and every event
or phenomena which varies over space and time . Therefore, geography can be broadly classified into
two branches physical and human geography.

Physical geography is concerned about the physical features of the earth such as mountains , plains ,
atmosphere, soils etc . . On the other hand , human geography is the study of mankind over the surface
of the earth .

It is interesting to note that both physical and human phenomena are described in metaphors using
symbols from human anatomy like face of the earth, eye of the storm , mouth of the river etc .. German
geographers described the state/country as a “living organism “. Networks of road , railways and water
ways have often described as “ arteries of circulation “.

NATURE OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

 Human Geography studies the inter-relationship between the physical enviroment and socio -
cultural enviroment created by human beings through mutual interactiom with each other .
 The elements like villages , cities, road-rail networks etc and all other elements of material culture
have been created by human beings using the resources provideed by the physical enviroment .

NATURALISATION OF HUMANS ( ENVIROMENTAL DETERMINISM)

 There is a direct dependence of human beings on nature for resourceswhich sustain them . The
physical enviroment for such society is the ‘Mother Nature’.
 The level of technology was very low and the stage of human social development was also primitive
 Interaction between primitive human beings and the strong forces of nature .
 We can imagine presence of naturalised human , who listened to nature , was afraid its fury and
worshipped it .

HUMANISATION OF NATURE ( POSSIBILISM)

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 The people began to understand their enviroment and the forces of nature with passage of time and
develop better and more efficient technology .
 They move from a state of necessity to a state of freedom.
 They created possibilities with the resources obtained from the enviroment . They created their
imprints everywhere from mountains, plains, pastures, ocean to the space.
 Nature provides opportunities and the human beings make use of these and slowly nature gets
humanised and starts bearing the imprints of human endeavour .

NEO-DETERMINISM (STOP & GO DETERMINISM)

 A geographer , Griffith Taylor introduced a middle path between the two ideas of Enviromental
Determinism and Possibilism . He termed this as NEO DETERMINISM or STOP & GO DETERMINISM.
 The concept shows that neither is there a situation of absolute necessity ( Enviromental
Determinism ) nor there is a situation of absolute freedom ( Possibilism).
 Possibilities can be created within limits which do not damage the enviroment.
Over exploitation of natural resources for the development of economy causes enviromental
problems like green house effect , O zone layer depletion , Global warming etc.

VARIOUS SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

a. Welfare or Humanistic School of thought – It mainly concerned with the different aspect of social
well-being of the people such as housing , health and education.
b. Radical school of thought – it employed Marxian theory to explain basic cause of poverty
deprivation and social inequality .
c. Behavioural school of thought – It laid great emphasis on lived experience and also on the
perception of space by social categories.

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY THROUGH THE CORRIDORS OF TIME

 The emergence ogf human georaphy started with the interaction , adaptation , adjustment and
modification between the humans and the enviroment .
 Before the age of discovery there was very little interaction between different socities but in the late
15th centuary information about the unknown societies were made available now. Exploration by
travellers expanded the area of human geography and interacted with different societies.
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PERIOD APPROACHES BROAD FEATURES

Early Colonial Period Exploration & Description
Colonial Period Regional Analysis
1930 – Inter War Period Aerial Differentation
Late 1950-1960 Spatial Organization
1970s Emergence of Humanistic ,
Radical and behavioral school
1990s Post Modernism
Imperialism and trade lead
to discover many lands .
Understanding of parts
intotality would lead to
understand the whole .
Find the reason for the
uniqueness of a region .
Apply technology to study
geography .
Emergenc e of socio political
reality with the help of
schools .
Generalization and apply of
universal laws to understand
geography.

Table 1.1. : Stages through corridors of time.

FIELDS AND SUB-FIELDS OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

 Human geograohy is inter – disciplinary in nature and develops vast linkages with other sister
disciplines in social sciences.
 The fields and sub fields of human geography explains every aspect of all elements of human life on
the surface of the earth.

FIELDS OF SUB-FIELDS INTERFACE WITH SISTER DISCIPLINES OF

HUMAN SOCIAL SCIENCES
GEOGRAPHY
Social geography _ Sociology
Behavioural Geography Psychology
Geography of social well being Welfare economics
Geography of leisure Sociology
Cultural geography Anthropology
Gender geography Sociology,Anthropology,Women’s studies
Historical geography History
Medical geography Epidomology
Urban geography _ Urban studies and planning
Political _ Political science
geography Electoral geography Psephology
Military geography Military science
Population _ Demography
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geography
Settlement _ Urban/ Rural Planning
geography
Economic _ Economics
geography Geography of resource Resource economics
Geography of agriculture Agricultural sciences
Geography of industries Industrial ecomonics
Geography of marketing Buisness studies, economics, commerce
Geography of tourism Tourism and travel management
Geography of international trade International

Fig 1.2. : Human geography and sister disciplines of social science