The meaning of geography. In the modern world, geographical knowledge is becoming daily necessary for people in their work and everyday activities - from choosing a place of residence and food products (produced in different regions of the globe) to the election of country leaders.
Geography is one of the oldest sciences on Earth! Physical geography is a natural science that comprehensively studies the natural component of the geographic envelope as a whole and the nature of its components. How science developed in the 20th century. Geography Economic and social geography of the world is a social science that studies the territorial organization of human society.
Scientists: Eratosthenes of Cyrene (BC) is an ancient Greek scientist who first coined the term “geography” and first determined the size of the Earth. Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Humboldt () - German naturalist and traveler, scientist - encyclopedist. Came to understand physical geography as an independent science. Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Humboldt () - German naturalist and traveler, scientist - encyclopedist. Came to understand physical geography as an independent science. Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov () - Russian scientific encyclopedist. He introduced the term “economic geography” into science. Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov () - Russian scientific encyclopedist. He introduced the term “economic geography” into science. Nikolai Nikolaevich Baransky () is a classic of Russian geography. Founder of the school of economic geography. Nikolai Nikolaevich Baransky () is a classic of Russian geography. Founder of the school of economic geography.
Geographers and their work Specialty Examples of types of employment Physical geography, world geography Forecaster, geologist, oceanologist, soil scientist, diplomat, travel agency worker, agricultural development specialist. Economic Geography Enterprise location expert, market researcher, transport manager, logistics specialist, real estate agent, consulting firm employee. Regional GeographyRegional specialist in a government agency, business representative, guidebook author. Cartography and Geographic Information System Cartographer, surveyor, geographic information system specialist, land surveyor, map publisher. Geography of culture and populationDiplomat, consulting firm specialist, peacemaker. Environmental ManagementEnvironmental Manager. Prosecutor's office. Geographical educationSchool teacher, university teacher, textbook author. Editor of educational literature.
Methods of geographical science HistoricalEcologicalModelingmathematicalHistoricalEcologicalModelingmathematicalGeophysicalGeochemicalSociologicaleconomicGeophysicalGeochemicalSociologicaleconomicDescriptive - the oldest and most important. ExpeditionaryLiterary-cartographic Descriptive - the oldest and most important. Expeditionary Literary and cartographic general scientific Specific scientific specific
Geographers are involved in solving the following questions: How to protect the atmosphere and the oceans from pollution? To what extent is humanity provided with resources and is it in danger of “resource famine”? Is overpopulation a threat to the world? What are the land resources of our planet and the best ways to explore them. Is overpopulation a threat to the world? What are the land resources of our planet and the best ways to explore them?
The branch of socio-economic geography studies spatial processes and forms of organization of people's lives, primarily from the point of view of working conditions, living conditions, recreation, and reproduction of human life. Associated with sociological, demographic, economic and other studies.
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See what "SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY" is in other dictionaries:
See SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology
social geography- Study of territorial processes and territorial forms of social organization of people’s lives and their culture... Dictionary of Geography
The branch of socio-economic geography studies spatial processes and forms of organization of people's lives, primarily from the point of view of working conditions, living conditions, recreation, and reproduction of human life. Associated with sociological, demographic,... encyclopedic Dictionary
Branch of socio-economic geography; studies spatial processes and forms of people’s lives, primarily from the point of view of working conditions, living conditions, recreation, personal development, and reproduction of the population’s life. Geography. Modern illustrated... ... Geographical encyclopedia
Population geography (geography of population and settlements) is a section of socio-economic geography that studies the territorial organization of the population. Explores the population of territories of various scales - from individual settlements ... Wikipedia
See Social geography... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (from geo... and... graphy) a science that studies the geographical shell of the Earth, its structure and dynamics, the interaction and distribution in space of its individual components. The main goals are geographical research and scientific justification of ways... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Part of the world Asia (97%) and Europe (3%) Region Western (Western) Asia Coordinates 39°55 N. la., 32°50 e. d. Area 36th in the world 780,580 km² land: 98.8% water: 1.2% Coastline 7168 km ... Wikipedia
Part of the world Asia Region Central Asia ... Wikipedia
AND; and. [from Greek gē Earth and graphō I write]. 1. A set of sciences that study the natural conditions of the Earth, its population, economic resources and material production; a scientific discipline that studies and describes the distribution of something. on earth... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Books
- Geography. Economic and social geography of the world. 10 (11) grade. Workbook. To the textbook of E. M. Domogatskikh, N. I. Alekseevsky. In 2 parts. Part 2. Regional characteristics of the world. Basic level, E. M. Domogatskikh, E. E. Domogatskikh. The workbook for the course "Geography. Economic and social geography of the world" for grade 10 (11) is part of the teaching materials on geography. For each paragraph of the textbook there are assignments...
- Geography. 10 (11) grade. A basic level of. Workbook. In 2 parts. Part 1. Economic and social geography of the world. A basic level of. Federal State Educational Standard, Domogatskikh E.M.. Workbook for the Geography course. Economic and social geography of the world for grade 10 (11) is part of the teaching materials in geography. For each paragraph of the textbook there are assignments...
- Geography. Economic and social geography of the world. 10 (11) grade. Workbook. To the textbook of E. M. Domogatskikh, N. I. Alekseevsky. In 2 parts. Part 2. Regional characteristics of the world. A basic level of. Federal State Educational Standard, Domogatskikh E.M.. The workbook for the course "Geography. Economic and social geography of the world" for grade 10 (11) is part of the teaching materials on geography. For each paragraph of the textbook there are assignments...
The appearance of the phrase “economic and social geography” was a reflection of complex processes beginning in our society and geographical science. It meant the beginning of a turn towards man, towards his production and non-production activities.
Economic and social geography reveals a picture of the state of the economy and life of the population in different countries, helps to better understand the current stage of their development, and specifically imagine the world.
The object of study of economic and social geography is the developed part of the geographical envelope of the Earth. The world economy is the object of study of many economic sciences. For example, population is the object of demography, ethnography and a number of other sciences; natural conditions are one of the objects of physical geography; mineral resources are a private object of geology and physical geography. Each country has its own characteristics in the structure and distribution of the economy and population. These features are determined by the entire historical course of the country’s development, by the social conditions that prevailed in it at different stages of its history. Therefore, in order to understand the current state of the economy, one must remember and know history well.
Natural conditions have a great influence on the economy. The wealth of nature favors the development of the economy. The lack of mineral wealth, climatic conditions difficult for agriculture, and poor soils, on the contrary, hinder the development of the economy.
The ability to correctly assess natural conditions from the point of view of the possibilities of their use in the economy is an important task in economic geography. In order to learn this, you need to know physical geography.
Modern science has ensured technological progress, which greatly increases labor productivity and increases the volume of output in all sectors of the economy. At the same time, new technology changes production technology, introduces new types of raw materials, and makes it possible to use lands that were recently considered unsuitable. Knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics will help to understand the technology issues of various sectors of the economy.
Economic and social geography deals with the analysis of digital indicators and various economic calculations. Many tasks in the textbook will require students to be able to work with statistical tables, make calculations, and build graphs and map diagrams.
Economic and social geography also studies the features and patterns of territorial organization of the economy in different countries and regions.
Attention to the human factor strengthens the role of the geography of the service sector, the geography of living conditions, the geography of culture, etc.
The origins of economic geography can be traced back to the old, general, descriptive geography. This was a variety of information about the nature, distribution of the population and economy of individual territories, first in the form of route notes of travelers, and then in local history and regional studies descriptions. Thus, separate directions were gradually identified that studied the geography of the economy and its individual branches.
The scientific foundations of the economic development of new territories, the issue of effective formation of production complexes, urbanization and environmental problems, rational environmental management - all these problems can only be solved by interdisciplinary sciences.
Economic and social geography is an interdisciplinary field of knowledge in which there is close interaction between the natural and social sciences.
Economic and social geography of the world is a social science and therefore is included simultaneously in other systems of sciences that study society, man, and social production.
Part 1. Introduction to economic geography
Part 2. Economic geography of the world
Section 1. Geography of the world population
Chapter 1. World Population Dynamics
Chapter 2. Socio-demographic classifications of regions and countries of the world
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Chapter 3. Projections for population growth in the world and its regions
Chapter 4. Features of population policy in countries and regions of the world
Chapter 5. Territorial movement of population (migration)
Chapter 6. Urban and rural settlements. Urbanization
Section 2. Geography of the world economy
Chapter 1. Geography of the global information industry
Chapter 2. Geography of world telecommunications
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Chapter 3. Geography of the worldwide computer telecommunications system Internet
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Chapter 4. Geography of world mechanical engineering
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Chapter 5. Geography of the global chemical industry
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Chapter 6. Geography of world energy
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Chapter 7. Geography of world metallurgy
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Chapter 8. Geography of world agriculture
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Chapter 9. Geography of the global food industry
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Chapter 10. Geography of world light industry
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Part 3. Economic geography of Russia
Chapter 1. General geographical characteristics of Russia
Peace and Russia? What is the subject of landscape science research? What does economic geography and regional economics study?
Origins of science
When did geography originate? It is not easy to answer this question. Perhaps it was born precisely when ancient man first drew a primitive drawing of the area surrounding his immediate habitat with a sharp stone on the wall of his cave.
The first scientific expeditions were carried out by the ancient Egyptians about 5 thousand years ago. They were primarily interested in the Red Sea basin, as well as the central regions of Africa. They also came up with a calendar to make it more convenient to monitor river floods and other natural phenomena.
A huge leap in the early development of geographical science occurred in ancient times. Eratosthenes, Strabo, Claudius Ptolemy - all these scientists made a huge contribution to it. Aristotle's works laid the foundations of modern meteorology and oceanology. By the way, it was during the so-called Hellenistic period of history that the first signs of the division of the unified science of geography emerged.
The structure of modern geographical science
Five or six centuries ago, the leading countries of the world practiced the colonization of new lands with unprecedented passion. Accordingly, the essence of geography in those days came down to only one thing: a thorough study of newly discovered territories and laying out new routes for future voyages and expeditions.
But today everything is completely different. Modern geography is a science that spends a lot of time systematizing knowledge and facts obtained by naturalists and travelers over previous centuries. It tries to identify those patterns that will be valid for both natural and socio-economic processes and phenomena.
Geography today is usually divided into three large sectors. This:
- physical;
- economic;
- social geography.
The last two areas of knowledge are very often combined into one discipline called “socio-economic geography”.
Within each of the above sectors, there are a number of scientific disciplines. For example, physical geography includes hydrology, climatology, geomorphology, glaciology, etc. Social and economic geography is divided into political, medical, military, cultural geography, urban studies, regional studies and other disciplines.
What does economic geography study? What are the main goals and objectives of this science? Let's try to answer these questions further.
What does economic geography study?
This scientific discipline is studied today in high school, colleges, technical schools and universities. What is its essence? What does the subject study?
Economic geography (or social) is a complex scientific discipline that studies the spatial organization of the economic life of a society, country, region, planet as a whole. The main object of her research is the so-called territorial-economic systems.
What does economic geography study more specifically? The subject of this science is the study of the economic diversity of a particular country or region, the search for similar and different features in the economic development of different regions, and the identification of important patterns in the location of social production.
Modern economic geography poses a lot of theoretical and practical tasks: from finding constructive solutions to the problems of territorial-economic systems to training relevant specialists - economic geographers. At the same time, economic and geographical research uses a wide range of scientific methods: balance sheet, statistical, field, comparative descriptive, historical, cartographic and many others.
What does social geography and regional economics study?
If economic geography studies the economy, then social geography, accordingly, studies society (population). Demographic indicators, education and medicine, ethnic composition of the population, local conflicts and the level of cultural development - all this is included in the wide range of interests of this scientific discipline.
Perhaps the main task of social geography is to determine the characteristics of the socialization of a particular person, as well as to assess the pace of development in general. At the same time, science not only studies various social processes occurring in regional social systems, but also tries to develop an algorithm for their optimization.
Regional economics is another discipline that is closely related to economic and social geography. However, it belongs to the system of purely economic sciences. Regional economics studies the regional organization of production. Its main task is to identify the specifics of specific economic regions, as well as to develop effective programs for their development in the future.
What does socio-economic geography of the world and Russia study?
The difference between the socio-economic geography of the world and Russia is obvious. If in the first case science studies the spatial organization of the economic life of society on a planetary scale, then in the second it studies territorial-economic systems within one state.
What does Russian economic geography study? This discipline reveals the overall picture of economic development in the state, helps to understand the features of the location of main industries, and explores the patterns of development of the country’s economy as a whole and in individual regions.
Today, the most important centers for the development of socio-economic geography are located in the USA (Clark University in Massachusetts), Great Britain (Oxford University) and Russia (Lomonosov Moscow State University).
Physical geography and landscape science
Physical geography deals with the study of the geographical envelope of our planet as a whole, as well as the study of its individual components. In this regard, it is divided into several independent scientific disciplines, including:
- climatology;
- meteorology;
- geomorphology;
- hydrology;
- oceanology;
- paleogeography;
- biogeography, etc.
Landscape science is somewhat isolated - a science that studies the genesis, structure, functioning and development of natural complexes (landscapes). The name of the discipline comes from the German word Landschaft, which translates as “landscape”, “type of terrain”. The foundation of landscape science was laid in the works of German scientists - Karl Ritter and Alexander Humboldt.
By the way, this “layer” of geographical sciences is most closely related to other natural sciences - physics, chemistry, biology, ecology and soil science.
Geography - a complex of sciences about Earth and society
Geography is one of the oldest sciences on Earth. The name was given to it by the ancient Greek scientist Eratosthenes. The word "geography" comes from the Greek geo - "earth" and grapho - "writing". At different stages of the development of human society, she helped people solve the most pressing problems.
In the encyclopedic edition “Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia" geography is defined as “the science (more precisely, the system of natural and social sciences) that studies the functioning and evolution geographical envelope, interaction and distribution in space of its individual parts and components for the purpose of scientific substantiation of the territorial organization of society, distribution of population and production, efficient use of natural resources, preservation of the human environment, creation of the foundations for a strategy for environmentally safe sustainable development of society.”
At the same time, under geographical envelope refers to “the shell of the Earth, including the earth’s crust, hydrosphere, lower atmosphere, soil cover and the entire biosphere. The term was introduced by academician A. A. Grigoriev. The upper boundary of the geographic envelope is located in the atmosphere at an altitude of 20-25 km below the ozone layer, which protects living organisms from ultraviolet radiation, the lower - at a depth of 5-8 km under the ocean floor, 30-40 km under continents, 70-80 km under mountain ranges . Thus, its thickness varies from 50-100 km on continents to 35-45 km within the oceans. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that organic life arose at the junction of the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere.”
The most important subject of geographical study in the same publication is the processes of interaction between man and nature, patterns of placement and interaction of components geographical environment and their combinations at the local, regional, state, continental, oceanic, global levels.
Geographical environment - earthly environment of human society, part geographical envelope, to one degree or another, mastered by man and involved in social production and socio-cultural activities of mankind. Its features, which consist in the diversity of natural conditions of different countries and regions (minerals, climate, relief, water resources, etc.), affect the life of society, accelerate or slow down its development.
The complexity of the object of study led to the differentiation of a single geography into a number of specialized scientific disciplines, which gives grounds to consider modern geography as a complex system of sciences in which natural (physical-geographical), social (socio-geographical and economic-geographical), applied geographical sciences and geographical sciences that are integral (borderline) in nature.
Physiography includes complex sciences about the geographical envelope as a whole: geosciences (general physical geography), landscape science (regional physical geography), paleogeography(evolutionary geography). In the process of the long development of geography, special sciences about the components of the geographical envelope were formed - geomorphology, geocryology, climatology and meteorology, hydrology (with division on terrestrial hydrology, oceanology, limnology), glaciology, soil geography, biogeography.
IN socio-economic geography includes general sciences: social geography And economical geography, and geography of the world economy, regional socio-economic geography, political geography. Particular socio-geographical sciences: geography of industry, geography of agriculture, geography of transport, geography of population, geography of services. Integral geographical sciences include cartography, regional studies, historical geography. The development of the system of geographical sciences led to the formation of applied geographical sciences and directions - medical geography, recreational geography, military geography and etc.
Geography as a system of sciences was formed not by the convergence of geographical sciences that emerged in isolation, but by the development of a once unified geography and its division into specialized scientific disciplines in accordance with the practical needs of society. Therefore, all special geographical sciences, no matter how far they have diverged from each other, have retained the common features of the geographical approach (territoriality, complexity, specificity, globality) and the common specific language of science - a map.
During its development, geography was not isolated from other scientific disciplines. As a worldview science, it is closely connected with philosophy and history; when studying the natural components of the geographical shell, the connections of geography with physics, chemistry, geology and biology were strengthened, and when studying the social sphere - with economics, sociology, demography, etc. In turn, geography enriches related sciences with its theory and methodology; there is a process of geographization of scientific knowledge, expressed, in particular, in the emergence at the intersections of geography with other sciences of such dynamically developing scientific directions as ecology, demogeography, ethnic geography, regional planning, regional economics.
The methodology of geographical research is a complex system that includes general scientific approaches and methods (mathematical, historical, environmental, modeling, systems, etc.); specific scientific approaches and methods (geochemical, geophysical, paleogeographic, technical and economic, economic and statistical, sociological, etc.); working methods and operations for obtaining information (balance method; remote methods, including aerospace; laboratory methods, for example, spore-pollen analysis, radiocarbon method; questionnaires; sampling method, etc.); methods of empirical and theoretical generalization of information (indicative, evaluative, analogues, classification, etc.); methods and techniques for storing and processing information (on electronic media, punched cards, etc.). The special function of geography is to obtain, generalize and disseminate knowledge about our planet and the patterns of its natural-historical development, about countries, regions, cities, localities and the peoples inhabiting them, about the history of the discovery and exploration of the world, about understanding it with the help of space means.
Geographical discoveries have been an important aspect of human culture for centuries. Geographical and cartographic knowledge is an indispensable element of general education. In the process of development, the content of geography, as well as the very concept of geographical discovery, changed repeatedly. For centuries, the main content of geography was the discovery and description of new lands and ocean spaces. At the same time, the desire to identify and explain their similarities and differences, to combine them into similar categories, and to classify laid the foundations for general, or systemic, geography. Already the ancient Mediterranean civilization was characterized by fundamental achievements in geography. The initial attempts at a natural scientific explanation of geographical phenomena belong to the ancient Greek philosophers of the Milesian school, Thales and Anaximander (VI century BC); Aristotle (IV century BC) introduced the idea of the sphericity of the Earth; Eratosthenes (III-II centuries BC) quite accurately determined the circumference of the globe, formulated the concepts of “parallels” and “meridians”, and introduced the term “geography”; Strabo (1st century BC - 1st century AD) summarized regional knowledge of geography in 17 volumes; Ptolemy (2nd century AD) in his “Manual of Geography” laid the foundations for constructing a map of the Earth. In the Middle Ages, the Arab encyclopedists Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Biruni, and the traveler Ibn Battuta played a significant role in the development of geography.
era Great geographical discoveries expanded the horizons of scientific thinking and confirmed ideas about the integrity of the world. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Along with the continuation of geographical discoveries and descriptions of the Earth, theoretical activity is progressively developing. Varenius in "General Geography" (1650) and Newton in “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” (1687) they laid the foundations of physical thinking in geography. M. V. Lomonosov in the middle of the 18th century. was the first to express the idea of the role of the time factor in the development of nature and introduced the term “economic geography” into science. Generalization of data from field expeditions led the German naturalist A .Humboldt(1845-1862) to the classification of the Earth's climates, the justification of latitudinal zonality and vertical zonation; he became the harbinger of an integrated approach in geography. In the second half of the 19th century. ideas have become widespread geographical determinism, who argued that geographical factors play a decisive role in the socio-economic development of peoples and countries. In creativity IN AND. Vernadsky the planetary role of the anthropogenic factor was substantiated; he argued that the transformation biosphere under the influence of conscious human activity will lead to the formation noosphere. Development of geography at the end of the XIX-XX centuries. associated with names K. Ritter, P.P. Se-menov-Tyan-Shansky, A.I. Voeykova, D.N. Anuchina, V.V. Dokuchaev, A. A. Grigoriev, L. S. Berg, N.N. Baransky. The Russian geographical school was formed under the influence of the teachings of Dokuchaev on natural zones, Vernadsky - on the role of living matter in the formation of the modern nature of the Earth and its evolutionary-stage development, Grigoriev - on the geographical envelope and its dynamic processes, Berg - on the landscape structure of the earth's nature, Baransky - about the geographical division of labor as a spatial form of social division of labor and the objective nature of the formation of economic regions.
At the end of the 20th century. symptoms of an environmental crisis have appeared on Earth: desiccation and erosion destruction of the territory, deforestation and desertification, depletion of mineral reserves, environmental pollution. The anthropogenic contribution to the turnover of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur has become equal to the natural one, and in some places has begun to prevail over it. A significant part of the land surface is irreversibly transformed by humans. Increasing globalization in the world, along with positive trends, is widening the gap between poor and rich countries, exacerbating old ones and giving rise to new global problems for humanity. All this poses corresponding tasks for geography: studying the dynamics of natural, socio-economic and geopolitical processes, forecasting global and regional socio-economic and political situations, developing recommendations for environmental protection, optimal design and functioning of natural-technical systems in order to improve the safety of human existence and the quality of people’s lives. Ecology and environmental science play a special role in this approach. environmental management, formed at the intersection of physical and socio-economic geography with economics and technology.
With enormous integration potential, geography unites a variety of branches of knowledge and research methods in order to help solve the most important problem of our time - to ensure the sustainable socio-economic development of mankind.