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TOPICS, GEOGRAPHY 201
This is a brief description of the topics which will be discussed in Human Geography. You may wish to use
this to structure your study for exams. Are you familiar with each concept/generalization?
Unit 1: What is Geography?
Definitions of geography as two perspectives (spatial and ecological), five themes (location, place, humanenvironment
interaction, movement, regions), five amplifiers (pattern, perspective, scale, change, systems),
and eighteen national standards. Developing a sense of where. Issues of scale: understanding the world from
the local scale to the global. Developing a fluency in considering issues and problems at a variety of scales,
local to global, core to periphery.
Unit 2: Cultural Geography
Definitions of culture: mentifacts, sociofacts, artifacts; institutions, beliefs, technology, language. Collectivist
vs. individualist cultures: distribution, characteristics. Using these definitions of culture to explain world
culture patterns, including variations in gender roles. Culture change: independent invention and diffusion.
Diffusion of culture traits. Acculturation, assimilation, syncretism. Cultural convergence and interdependence
with improved global communication and transportation networks. Culture regions: local to global scale.
Unit 3: Cultural Geography: Language
Taxonomy of languages. Distribution of languages worldwide. Language as a clue to cultural diffusion and
interchange: Africa. Toponyms. Language as a clue to culture: structure, vocabulary, social status, gender
differences. Multilingualism in the United States and other nations. Causes of multilingualism. Lingua franca
and pidgin. Language, territoriality, and identity.
Unit 4: Cultural Geography: Religion
Types of religions: universal, ethnic, animist. Distribution, origin, and diffusion of specific religions. Effects of
religion on patterns of life (daily schedule, food preferences, role of women, importance of education, work
ethic and business practices, political conflicts, etc.) Cultural landscapes produced by specific religions,
including burial practices, attitudes toward the environment, calendar.
Unit 5: Political Geography
Evolution of the modern state. Nation vs. state vs. nation state. Centripetal and centrifugal forces in modern
nations: the rise of nationalism vs. regionalism. Political systems at a variety of scales: local to global.
Characteristics of states: shape, size, location of capital, core vs. periphery. Types of boundaries and
boundary disputes. Analysis of current world crises using above concepts.
Unit 6: Economic Geography
The world system(s) of making a living: subsistence, market, planned. World distribution of economic
systems. Agriculture: variations among systems in different world regions. Von Thunen theory of agricultural
location. Location of economic activities in each system. World economic systems: specialization,
comparative advantage, interdependence, trade, movement of capital to peripheral regions. Characteristics
of developed and developing world. The "rich" north vs. the “poor" south. Sustainability.

Unit 7: Population Geography
Basic concepts of population: distribution, density, growth rate, interpreting population pyramids. Historical
patterns in population growth: the J curve and the S curve. Demographic transition: will it predict future
patterns of population growth? Factors which affect population growth in the developing world: the Cycle of
Doom. Gender roles and world population growth.
Unit 8: Migration
Migration as an enduring theme of human history: migrations in ancient times, the historical past, and the
present. Migration at a variety of scales: local, regional, and international. Types of migrations. Patterns of
migration: step migration, chain migration, channeled migration. Role of distance decay and information flow
in migration patterns. Barriers to migration; inducements to migration. How is the decision to migrate made?
Push and pull factors, voluntary and involuntary migration. Rules of migration: who, what, when, and why.
Unit 9: Urban Geography
What is a city?: functions and purposes. Land value and urban growth in the United States. Systems of cities
and central place theory: threshold and range. World patterns in urban growth: links between economic
development and urbanization. World urban morphology: diversity in the United States, Europe, South
America, Africa, and Asia. The primate city vs. rank size rule. Social areas in North American cities.
Unit 10: Human Impact on the Environment
Interaction of human systems and physical systems. Ways humans adapt to, modify, and use the
environment. Issues of pollution, resource use and management in the developed and developing world.
Perceptions of natural hazards at a variety of scales. Cultural reactions to hazards: planning for disaster in
Japan vs. So. California. Variations in world patterns of technology and consequent effects on environment.
Global solutions to global problems: climate change, ozone depletion, land degradation.