Key Themes

in Human
Geography
Part 2
• We are still busy with an introduction
into the basic concepts of human
geography which will be elaborated
upon later in the course.
• In this lecture the evolution of the
discipline is touched upon briefly.
Important distinctions such as space vs.
place, relative location vs. absolute
location etc. are also clarified
• LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this lecture you
should be able to:

• Name some of the key role players in the

origin of geography as a discipline in
antiquity and the nature of their distinct
contributions to the development of the
discipline.
• Discuss what the goal of geography (or
human geography) is in an academic and
applied context
• Distinguish between space, place and its
related concepts and application.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The mission continues …
You should be able to:
• Distinguish between absolute location and
relative location
• Distinguish between absolute direction
and relative direction
• Distinguish between absolute distance and
relative distance
• Demonstrate and apply your
understanding of the differences between
physical and cultural attributes
 EVOLUTION OF THE
DISCIPLINE
• Fundamental inspiration for geographical
thought originated from the recognition that
one place is different from the other:
recognizing “areal differentiation”. Climate
varies, plants varies, people vary.
• Early geographic works originated in prehistoric
times from countries such as ancient Egypt,
China, Mesopotamia, the Arab world, Greece
and Rome.
• These early works were motivated by practical
problems in astronomy, land surveying,
agriculture, military activity and trade.
Evolution of the discipline
From the beginning geographic thought was characterised by three scholarly traditions:

Literary tradition: travel logs written about foreign places.

Cartographic tradition: mapping places and phenomenon

Mathematical Tradition: Involving measuring and calculating spatial and non-

spatial information about phenomenon.

These traditions still persist in contemporary geography.

Evolution of the
discipline
• Geography is seen as the “mother
of sciences” from which separate
disciplines developed such as
Anthropology, Demography,
Geology, Ecology and economics.
Evolution of the Discipline
• The combination of interest of geography
already evident in the works of the earliest
geographers.
• Greek scientist Eratosthenes 2,200 years ago
• Coined the term geography from the
words
• geo = “the Earth” and graphein = “to
write”
• Study of physical structures of the earth
and the nature of activities of the
people/inhabitants.
• Herodotus (484 – 424 BC)
• devoted much of his book to “the lands,
peoples, customs, economies of various
regions of the Persian Empire”
Evolution of the Discipline
• Strabo (64 BC – 20 AD)
• “describe the several parts of the inhabited world…
to write the assessment of the countries of the
world [and] to treat the differences between
countries”
• Greek and later Roman scholars contributed to the
development of geographic methods: introduced
latitude and longitudes= they developed surprisingly
sophisticated maps of their known world.
• Interestingly Strabo cautioned against the assumption
that the nature and actions of humans were solely
determined by the physical environment they inhabit.
Humans were seen as “active elements in a human-
env partnership”.
Evolution of the
discipline.
• Modern geography has its origins in
17th Century.
• From the outset regarded as an
integrative study.
• Described river systems, erosion,
dangers of deforestation.
• But also studied what humans did in
home and distant areas.
• A distinct and respected discipline by
end 19th century.
Geography and Human Geography

Subfields not
divisive but
Three main themes (dominating interests):
rather
interrelated

Focus on spatial
Areal variation in
systems that link
physical and
physical Regional analysis
human
phenomena and
phenomena
human activities
• Emphasis on people
• Where they are?
• What they are like?
• How they interact in space?
• Encompasses those topics not covered in physical geography or those that are
technical in orientation (cartography)
• Provides integration for the social sciences
• It can help the economist and phycologist in bringing a better space in time
perspective to their understanding.
• Helps us understand the world we occupy and to appreciate the circumstances
affecting people and countries that are nor our own.
• Geographers can assist in problem solving.
 Demography
(Population
Political Geography)
History
Science
(Historical
(Political
Geography)
Geography)

Anthropology
(Cultural
Human Urban Studies
(Urban
Geography)
Geography Geography)

Psychology Sociology
(Behavioural (Social
Geography) Regional Geography)
Economics
(Economic
Geography)
Core Concepts (Part 3)
Absolute space vs
Relative
 Core Concepts:
Absolute space
• Geography has a central concern with place
and space = areal extent (relative/absolute)
• Space implies an areal extent.
• Absolute space is objectively and
physically real with a measurable extent
and definable boundaries.
• E.g. latitute and longitude, measurement
units.
• Aerial extent given in actual
measurement units.
• Remains the same in all contexts.
Core concepts: Relative
space
• Relative space is a broader concept
than relative location.

• In geography, relative space refers to

space that is socially, culturally, and
economically constructed, rather than
being a fixed, objective container like
absolute space.

• It focuses on how space is perceived,

used, and structured by human
activities and interactions.
• “downtown”
• “Little China”
Core concepts: Relative
space
• Relative space is perceptual and variable and
can be seen as socially produced.
• Relative space is in essence comparative and
varies with context.
• Culturally embedded: Different cultures
think differently about space.
• Some times it is mental or subjective
“personal space”.
• Economically= how much money it cost to
move from one place to another
• Depending on livelihood and travel habits.
• “Are we there yet?”
• Relative space in the context of COVID-19?
Core Concepts: Place
• Common day use : “place” = location
• In Human geography “place” = refers to the
attributes and values we individually associate
with a location.
• Places could thus refer to: our home town, our
neighbourhood, favourite shopping mall,
university you attend.
• Geographers talk about “sense of place” i.e
impressions, feelings and attitudes we associate
with a location.
• Sense of place about “home”, school , university
• Sense of place have also linked to notions of place
stereotypes: Paris, New York, Alaska
• Sense of place vs. placelessness
 • Places have location, direction and distance
with respect to other places.
• A place has size, it may be large or small.
Scale is important.
• A place offers both a physical and social
setting.
Core Concepts: • The attributes of places develop and
PLACE change over time.
• Places are connected to other places.
• The content of places is structured and
explainable.
• Places may be generalized into regions of
similarities and difference.
Activity Slide
 Activity Slide
Could the description of
the place you provided in
the previous slide be an
account of the
characteristics of
absolute or relative
space?

Why would you say so?

Location, Direction and Distance
• Location
• Absolute location: Identification of place by precise and accepted system of
coordinates. Also known as Mathematical location.
• Coordinates (global grid parallels and meridians/latitude and longitude).

• Relative location: (real estate agents get it!!)

• The position of a place relation to that of other places or activities.
• Expresses spatial interconnection and interdependence and may carry social
(neighbourhood character) and economic (assessed valuation of the land)
implications
PORT NOLLOTH

Absolute Location: Relative Location:

29° 15’ S
16° 52’ E West Coast
Location: Site vs. Situation
• Site
• Absolute location concept
• Includes physical and cultural characteristics.
• It is more than absolute location as it tells us about the internal features of
the place.
• The site of the Drakensberg extends from the KZN into Mpumalanga
province.
• Situation
• External relations of a locale.
• It is an expression of relative location with specific reference to items of
significance to the place in question.
• Zimbabwe is our immediate neighbour to the north of SA.
Site and
Situation
Activity Slide
Examples of Site and situation factors for
the country Chiang Mai, Thailand.
 Activity Slide
Use the example of a site and
situational description of Chiang
Mai provided on the previous
slide, to describe the location (site
and situation) of South Africa.

Start with the line: “South Africa is

situated … .

Good descriptions would use:

distance (scale), compass (north,
south, east, west) position in
relation to other locations,
countries and natural features
(rivers, seas, mountain ranges)
Core Concepts: Location, Direction and Distance
• Direction
• Absolute Direction
• Based on global or macroscopic features like cardinal points of North, South,
East and West or the directions to prominent stars.
• These appear uniformly and independently in all cultures. Given facts related
to the rising and setting of suns in countries of the North and South, fixed
stars for North and South, noon time sun.
• e.g. North

• Relative (relational) Direction

• Culturally based and variable
• e.g. South Coast of SA, the “Far East”
• Conflict in the “Near East”
Location, Direction and Distance
• Distance
• Absolute
• Measurement by some accepted standard unit such as km, m
• Relative
• Transforms linear measurements into units more meaningful for the
space relationship in question
• e.g. travel time due to influence of traffic (time distance)
• Distinction between social distancing and physical distancing
Physical and Cultural Attributes
• Physical attributes
• Refers to the natural aspects of a locale (e.g. climate, soil)
• Provides the setting within which human activity occurs
• Shape, but do not dictate, how people live
• Cultural attributes
• The visible expression of human activity
• Exists at different scales and different levels of visibility
• e.g. differing farming practices
Conclusion
• In this lecture you have learned about:
• The evolution of the module
• Important contributors to the development of the module since
ancient times. Do you still remember their names and the nature of
the contributors?
• Core concepts were introduced: Place, space and location.
• Distinctions were also made in terms of site and situation.