Remedial Course outline and Chapter 1.pdf

1
Geography
JIMMA UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Course Title: Geography
Target Group: Pre-University Remedial program for
Social science Students
Credit Hour: 4
Modality: Semester Based
Instructor:- Aman H (M.A.)
YEAR 2023

• Pre-University Remedial Program for
the 2015 E.C. ESSLCE Examinees
• Geography Module Course Outline
• Credit Hours: 4 Hours/week
• Instructor’s Name :Aman H. (MA)

1. UNIT ONE: INTRODUCTION
• 1.1. The Science of Geography (2 Hours)
– 1.1.1 Definitions and Concepts
– 1.1.2 Branches of Geography
– 1.1.3 Scope/Coverage of Geography
– 1.1.4 Themes and approaches of Geography
– 1.1.5 Major School of Thoughts in Geography
– 1.1.6 Relationship between Geography and
other disciplines

2. UNIT TWO:
Map Reading and Interpretations (6 Hrs)
• 2.1 Definition and concepts
• 2.2 Uses of maps
• 2.3 Classification of maps
• 2.4 Marginal and boarder information
• 2.5 Conventional Signs and symbols
• 2.6 Measurements in maps [location,
distance, area, direction]
• 2.7 Relief representation on maps

3. UNIT THREE:
THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE EARTH (24 Hrs)
• 3.1 Physical Environment of the World
–3.1.1 The Earth in the Universe
–3.1.2 Forces that Change the Surface of
the Earth
–3.1.3 Weather and Climate
–3.1.4 Natural Regions of the Earth
–3.1.5 Ecosystem

3. UNIT THREE:
continued
• 3.2 Physical Environment of Africa
– 3.2.1 Position, Size, and Shape of Africa
– 3.2.2 Geological and Relief Structure of Africa
– 3.2.3 Climate of Africa
– 3.2.4 Drainage in Africa
– 3.2.5 Natural Vegetation and Wild Animals of
Africa
– 3.2.6 Soils of Africa

3. UNIT THREE:
continued
• 3.3 Physical Environment of Ethiopia
– 3.3.1 Location, Size and Shape of Ethiopia
– 3.3.2 Geological Structure and Relief of
Ethiopia
– 3.3.3 Climates of Ethiopia
– 3.3.4 Natural Vegetation and Wild Animals of
Ethiopia
– 3.3.5 Soils of Ethiopia

4. UNIT FOUR:
HUMAN POPULATION (21 Hours)
• 4.1 Concept and Facts about Human
Population
–4.1.1 Components of Population Change
–4.1.2 Spatial Distribution of Human
Population
–4.1.3 Population characteristics
–4.1.4 Sources of Population Data
–4.1.5 Population theories

4. UNIT FOUR: ….
• 4.2 Human Population of the World
– 4.2.1 Size and Trend of World Population Growth
– 4.2.2 Spatial Distribution of World Population
• 4.3 Population of Africa
–4.3.1 Aspects of Population, Economy and Natural
Resources of Africa
• 4.4 Population of Ethiopia
–4.4.1 Population Size and Growth Rate
–4.4.2 Spatial Distribution of Population
–4.4.3 Components of Population Change

4. UNIT FOUR: ….
–4.4.4 Population Structure of Ethiopia
–4.4.5 Impacts of Rapid Population
Growth
–4.4.6 Population Policy of Ethiopia
–4.4.7 Urbanization
• 4.4.7.1 Urban settlements
• 4.4.7.2 Factors affecting urbanization
• 4.4.7.3 Urbanization in Ethiopia

5. UNIT FIVE:
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT (15 Hours)
• 5.1 Economic Activities
– 5.1.1 Classification of Economic Activities
• 5.2 Natural Resources
– 5.2.1 Classification of Natural Resources
– 5.2.2 Natural Resources of Africa and its Politics
• 5.3 Economic Systems
• 5.4 Concept and Indicators of Economic
Development
• 5.5 Sustainable Economic Development

5. UNIT FIVE:….
• 5.6 Globalization
• 5.7 Economic Growth & Devt in Ethiopia
– 5.7.1 An Overview of Economic Growth and
Development Trend in Ethiopia
– 5.7.2 Major Features of Ethiopian Economy
– 5.7.3 Challenges and Prospects of Socio-
economic Development in Ethiopia

Mode of Delivery
• Active and interactive methods of teaching
need to be employed.
• Assessment Modalities
– Quizzes
– Tests
– Model Exam
– National Exam

Reference
• FDRE, MoE (2011), Geography Student Text
Book Grade 9,
Book Grade 10,
Book Grade 11,
Book Grade 12,

UNIT ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1. The Science of Geography
1.1.1 Definitions and Concepts
• From the ancient Greeks to modern-day geographers,
geography has been defined differently. However, the various
definitions share some common ideas.
 Here are some of the most important definitions that
geographers have proposed:
• Eratosthenes (276-196 BC) – Geography is the description of the
earth.
• Concise Oxford Dictionary (1964) – Geography is the science of
the earth’s surfaces.

16
Cont'd...
• Hartshorne, R. (1899-1992) – Geography is a branch of
knowledge that is concerned with the provision of an
accurate, orderly and rational description of distributions
on the surface of the earth.
• Yeates, M. (1968) – Geography is a science that is
concerned with the rational development and testing of
theories that explain and predict the spatial distribution
and locations of (things and) phenomena on the surface of
the earth.
• As can be seen from the above definitions, geography
does not have a single definition that is universally
accepted.

Cont'd...
 Nonetheless, most of the above definitions emphasize the
fact that geography is a spatial science.
 Thus, it is possible to synthesize the given definitions and
come up with a commonly acceptable definition.
 Accordingly, geography can be defined as “the study of
the spatial distribution of both physical and human-made
things and phenomena on the earth’s surface and the two-
way interactions and interdependences between natural
and human environments.”

Cont’d…
Therefore, geography is the study of:
• The physical world, its inhabitants, and the
interaction between the two; The resultant
patterns and systems of geographical
phenomena;
• Patterns and processes associated with causes;
• Relationships between humans and their
environment, with emphasis on spatial
perspectives at varying scales.

Cont'd...
• What does physical geography study?
I. Physical Geography: This branch of geography studies
the distribution of the natural features of the world,
such as climate, landforms, soil, vegetation, and drainage
systems.
• Physical geography also considers causes, effects and
interactions of these features.
 Physical geography includes the following specialized
fields of study:
 Climatology: studies factors that create climate and examines the
variation and distribution of climate and related causes and
effects.

Cont'd...
 Geomorphology: studies the distribution of landforms
(such as mountains and plains) and the forces that
change them.
 Soil geography: studies the distribution of soils and
their characteristics.
 Biogeography: studies the distribution of plants and
animals in relation to the environments that they inhabit.
 Oceanography: studies the location, causes and effects
of ocean currents, waves and tides.

Cont'd...
II Human Geography: This branch of geography studies
the distribution and influence of human aspects of
our world, including cultures, population settlement,
economic activities and political systems.
• Human geography includes these specialized fields of
study:
Cultural geography:-studies the distribution and interactions
of cultures, including peoples’ beliefs and customs. It also
examines the movement, expansion and interaction of cultures
on the surface of the earth.
Population geography: studies the distribution, growth and
structure of population.

Cont'd...
Economic geography:-studies production,
consumption and exchange and the spatial distribution
of goods and services and factors affecting them.
Political geography: studies the distribution of
political systems and the ways people use them to
exercise power and make decisions.
Urban geography: studies the development and
characteristics of towns, cities and other urban
centers.
Historical geography: is the study of the geography of
the past and how places or regions change over time.

1.1.3 Scope/Coverage of Geography
• What is scope? How wide is geography’s scope?
 Scope means the range and variety of contents which
are included in a subject or field of study. Scope refers
to
the extent of interest or focus in a certain subject.
the capacity and limits that an academic discipline
treats.
 Geography studies a great many physical and human
features of the world. Its focus includes their causes,
effects, and interactions. . It treats a wide range of
phenomena on the planet earth

Cont'd...
 Generally, the geo-sphere is considered as geography’s
scope. The geo-sphere itself is made up of five sub
spheres, namely;
 Lithosphere,
 Hydrosphere,
 Atmosphere (troposphere),
 Biosphere and
 Anthroposphere.

27
Cont'd...
 Geography’s scope is very wide and dynamic.
 Geography’s area of study is very wide and diverse in its
nature. The subject deals with
from the dry land mass of the lithosphere to the extensive
oceans of the hydrosphere,
from the earth’s crust (surface) high into its atmosphere
(troposphere) and
from the natural environment to human-related phenomena.
 As the scope is dynamic, it changes often as new
discoveries and ideas enter the field.

Cont’d…
• The major areas that geography focuses on are:
– the earth, its position in the universe and its movements;
– the different physical features that constitute the earth’s
surface, the forces that cause them, their variations from
place to place and their changes over time;
– the different relationships between human beings and
their natural environment. Also, the interdependence and
the impact that each has on the other

• the conditions of the lower part of the atmosphere and
the subsequent weather and climatic conditions,
together with their spatial distribution and variation;
• the materials that make up the earth and its diverse
landforms; and
• the major economic activities of humans and the
impacts on the environment.

1.1.4 Themes and approaches of Geography
Themes of Geography
oGeography has five “Key Spatial
Themes”
oLocation
oPlace
oHuman-environment interaction
oMovement and
oRegion.

31
Location
Location is a particular place or position.
 Specific location, where ?
Location can be of two types:
 Absolute location and
 Relative location.

Place
 Place refers to the physical and human aspects of a
location.
 What is the character of a place?
 Associated with:-
 toponym (the name of a place),
 site (the description of the features of the place),
 situation (the environmental conditions of the
place).

Human-Environment Interaction
Humans have always been on ceaseless
interaction with their natural
environment.
 No other species that has lived on our
planet has a profound effect on the
environment as humans.
 How do people interact with the natural
environment of a place?

Cont'd...
Human-environment interaction involves three
distinct aspects:
 Dependency refers to the ways in which humans
are dependent on nature for a living.
 Adaptation relates to how humans modify
themselves, their lifestyles and their behavior to
live in a new environment with new challenges.
 Modification allowed humans to “conquer” the
world for their comfortable living.

35
Movement
– Movement entails to the translocation of human
beings, their goods, and their ideas from one end
of the planet to another.
• How do people, goods, and ideas move between places?
• The physical movement of people allowed the
human race to inhabit all the continents and
islands of the world. Another aspect of
movement is the transport of goods from one
place on the Earth to another.

Region
A region is a geographic area having distinctive
characteristics that distinguishes itself from adjacent
unit(s) of space.
It could be a formal region that is characterized by
homogeneity in terms of a certain phenomenon
(soil, temperature, rainfall, or other cultural
elements like language, religion, and economy).
It can also be a functional or nodal region
characterized by functional interrelationships in a
spatial system defined by the linkages binding

Approaches of Geography
There are two basic approaches to the study of
geography;
A. Topical or Systematic Approach
B. Regional Approach
A. Topical or Systematic Approach
• It applies a specific geographical element or
phenomenon over a defined geographical unit.
• It studies one issue and looks at its spatial
variations in all parts of the globe

39
Cont'd...
• For example, it takes a phenomenon such as climate,
land forms or culture, and treats the distribution of the
selected element over a country, continent or the world at
large.
• In short, the topical approach seeks to establish general
or common concepts of the phenomena studied, but only
in terms of their relationships to distribution in an area.
Example:
• The geography of hunger
• The geography of climate
• The geography of agriculture
• The geography of population

40
B. Regional Approach
• A geographic study that uses the regional approach
focuses on a region – a defined geographic unit or
locality.
• A region is an area or spatial unit consisting of similar or
homogeneous geographical features
• Within the region, the study examines a variety of
geographic features.
• The region studied could be a subcontinent, continent or a
number of countries that share a common geographic
factor.

41
Cont'd...
• The regional approach studies the various
characteristics of each region (realm) of the world.
• It divides the world into regions with each having its
own distinct features that make it different from others.
Example:
 The geography of Africa, Asia, or Oceania, etc
 The geography of sub-Sahara.
 The geography of the Middle East.
 The geography of the Balkans.
• .

1.1.5 Major School of Thoughts in Geography
• Geography has gone through a series of changes and developments.
• The 1930’s, witnessed major radical changes in the discipline, and
were turning points in the history of geography.
• The most prominent of these scholars were Alexander Von
Humboldt and Karl Ritter.
• Various schools of thought have emerged with different views
regarding the relationship between humans and their environment as
well as the interpretation of social problems by human.
• Since the mid 18th C, we have been observing these two dominant
schools of thought that explain relationships between humans and their
environment. The main schools are
– Environmental Determinism and possibilism.

44
A School of Determinism
• What is the basis of the philosophy of environmental
determinism?
• It was the dominant idea up to World War I. It
advocated that the physical environment directs or is the
master in determining the day-to-day activity of people.
• Environmental Determinism is a philosophy that bases
its view on the idea that the natural environment is an
influencing factor on humans’ mode of living.
• It believes that human activities are controlled by the
environment.

• It is based on the belief that the physical qualities of
geographical conditions are the causes not only for
people’s physical differences but also for differences from
place to place in people’s economic activities, cultural
practices and social structure.
• Environmental determinists thus tend to focus on the
impact of the physical environment on people, rather than
the reverse the influence of people on the environment.
Cont'd...

• This view had strong influences on the geographic
writings of the 19th century and its influence penetrated
well into the 20th century.
• The idea of environmental determinism was laid
down by Greek and Roman scholars.
• They claimed that the elements of the physical
environment such as climate, relief, soil and the like
determine peoples mode of life.
Cont'd...

• Many scientists agree that the publication of “The
Origin of species” by Charles Darwin in 1859 laid the
foundation for the concept of the influence of the
environment on people and other organisms.
• In the same way, Demolins (1901 and 1903)
postulated that “the flourishment of society is based on
the environment.”
• Furthermore, determinists consider human beings as
passive agents where the physical factors determine
their attitude and process of decision making.
Cont'd...

• However, this outlook was strongly criticized by
geographers who favored a new school of thought
known as environmental possibilism.
• The prominent scholars who supported the school of
determinism were: Charles Darwin, Demolins, F.
Rutzel, etc.
Cont'd...

B Environmental Possibilism
• What do you think of environmental possibilism is?
How is it different from environmental determinism?
• The school of possibilism was postulated by Febvre.
• His supporters argue that human beings are masters
of the environment and they can judge their benefits.
• They argued that there are no necessities but only
possibilities.
Cont'd...

• Proponents of this view emphasize that two-way
relationships exist between humans and the
environment.
• They state that people can influence the environment to
enhance their way of life.
• These geographers agree that the environment can
potentially affect people’s activities, but they believe that we
can use our knowledge and skills to regulate these effects.
• According to possibilists, it is impossible to explain the
difference between human society and the history of that
society without referring to the influence of the
environment.
Cont'd...

• Nowadays, the school of possibilism is becoming
widely accepted since it recognizes human’s ability to
change its environment using the latest or better
technologies.
C The Quantitative Revolution
• What was quantitative revolution? How did it
affect the significance of geography?
Cont'd...

• The quantitative revolution was one of the four
major changes in the history of geography.
• The other three were regional geography,
environmental determinism and critical geography.
• For centuries, geography had been primarily a
descriptive science that tried to describe how things are
distributed on the earth’s surface.
• The subject focused mainly on the “where” of
geographic features.
• In the early 1950s, however, socio-economic, physical,
and political features and processes are spatially
organized and ecologically related.
Cont'd...

• The outcomes created by them are evidenced for a
given time and place.
• As a result, a more abstract, theoretical approach to
geographical research has emerged, and the analytical
method of inquiry evolved this new approach.
• Used rigorous mathematical formulae, borrowing from
the physical sciences.
• This movement in geography is called the
“Quantitative Revolution”, It began to affect
geographers and major geography departments in
universities.
Cont'd...

• What are the contributions of the quantitative revolution to
the development of geography?
• The revolution was founded by geographers and statisticians
in Europe and the United States.
• With the purpose of bringing ‘scientific thinking’ to
geography, the quantitative revolution led to an increased use
of statistical techniques.
• In particular, it emphasized multivariable analysis and the
use of computers in geographical research.
Cont'd...

• The methods adopted included various mathematical
techniques that were more precise than the descriptive
methods of regional geography.
• The quantitative revolution was a response to the
crisis in the 1950’s.
• The crisis was the result of the challenges that
geography faced during late 1940’s and early 1950’s.
Some of the major challenges were:
Cont'd...

 Some of the major challenges were:
 The shutting down of many geography departments and
courses. for example, the geography program at Harvard
University was abolished in 1948.
 The division between Human and Physical geography
was continued-demanding the autonomous subject hood
of Human geography.
 Geography was seen as solely descriptive and
unscientific. As some argued, there was no explanation of
why processes or phenomena occur in geography.
 Geography was not useful for solving problems. Hence,
it was seen as exclusively educational.
Cont'd...

 Questions regarding the nature of geography persisted, for example,
it was unclear to some people whether geography was a science, an
art, a humanities subject or a social science.
 The revolution introduced a rapid change in the methodologies used in
geographical research.
 This change led to a shift from descriptive geography to empirical
law-making geography.
 As a result, disagreement between scholars of different schools such
as those who supported quantitative methods and those who favored
the descriptive approach arose.
Cont'd...

• The quantitative revolution was driven by the
development of the computer and its ability to rapidly
process data.
• Quantitative geographers “went radical” and applied
computers, statistics, and mathematical models to the
study of geographers.
Cont'd...

 Some of the techniques that became central to geography
during the quantitative revolution were:
 Descriptive statistics
 Inferential statistics
 Basic mathematical equations and models, such as
gravity models
 Deterministic models e.g., Von Thünen’s and
Weber’s location models
 Statistical models, using concepts of probability
Cont'd...

• The analytical method of inquiry led to the
development of logically acceptable
generalizations about the spatial aspects of
closely defined events under different natural
and cultural conditions.
• Generalizations may take the form of tested
hypotheses, models, or theories.
Cont'd...

• Adoption of the analytical approach helped
geography to become a more law-giving science, and
the conception of the discipline as an idiographic field
of study became less acceptable.
• This process began in the 1980s.
Cont'd...

• What is Applied Geography?
• When did it appear as a school of thought?
• Geography has been used since human beings appeared on
earth.
• Primitive human and his successors had a good knowledge
of the geography of the things that they needed for survival.
• However, geographic knowledge had little chance of being
used to solve geographic problems.
D. The Emergence of Applied Geography

• Another major development occurred in the latter part of
the 20th Century in geography.
• This development was the development of applied
geography; geography became a science that we can use to
solve socio-economic and political problems.
• Applied geography had its roots in the quantitative
revolution.
• The emergence of applied geography increased the
applicability of geographic knowledge.
Cont'd...

• Today, many geographers work as;
• Urban planners,
• GIS analysts,
• environmentalists,
• cartographers,
• location analysts,
• transportation planners, developing-nations specialists, public-
transportation planners, highway planners, university-facility
planners, transportation logisticians, demographic analysts, etc.
Cont'd...

NOTE
• Applied geography is the use of geographic
analysis in private business, government, non-
profit organizations etc.
• Applied geography solves problems and aids in
decision making.
Cont'd...

• Geography is an interdisciplinary subject. It
has strong relationships with various disciplines
in both the natural and the social sciences.
• For instance, human geography is highly linked
with social sciences, while physical geography
is related to the natural sciences.
• Knowledge and information in geography and
the other sciences are interchangeable and
interdependent.
1.1.6 Relationship b/n Geography and other
disciplines

• As you might have noted, many academic disciplines are
linked with geography.
• Among them are: biology, meteorology, geology, astronomy,
economics, political science, history, demography, sociology,
chemistry, and mathematics.
• As indicated earlier, geography is closely linked to the social
and natural sciences.
• Geography shares facts with them and explains certain aspects
of those sciences.
Cont'd...

 Observe how geography relates to these other sciences:
Biology: is a science that deals with all forms of life,
including their classification, physiology, chemistry,
and interactions. As biogeography is the study of plant
and animal distribution, it is linked with biology.
Meteorology: is the scientific study of the earth’s
atmosphere, especially its patterns of climate and
weather.
• Hence, it is related to the sub field of geography called
climatology.
Cont'd...

Geology: is the study of the internal composition of the
earth. It examines the forces that change the earth’s
structure.
• It also investigates the history of those changes.
• Geology is linked with such branches of geography as
Geomorphology and soil geography.
Cont'd...

Economics: is the study of the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services.
• As economic geography is concerned with economic
activities, it is strongly related to this field.
Political Science: is the study of political organizations
and institutions, especially governments.
• This discipline has strong connections with political
geography.
Cont'd...

History: is a systematic and organized study of the past
socio-economic and political processes of human society.
• History helps us anticipate the future. As it is concerned
with the past, it is strongly linked with historical
geography.
Demography: is the study of human populations,
including their size, growth, density, and distribution, and
statistics regarding birth, marriage, disease, and death.
• The body of knowledge that we learn in population
geography is somehow linked with the subject matter of
demography.
Cont'd...

 Physics: is the study of matter and energy and the effects
they have on each other.
 Sociology: is the study of the origin, development, and
structure of human societies and the behavior of individual
people and groups in society.
 It connects to cultural geography.
 Mathematics: is the study of the relationships among
numbers, shapes, and quantities.
• It uses signs, symbols, and proofs and includes arithmetic,
algebra, calculus, geometry, and trigonometry.
• Mathematical geography is linked with this academic
discipline.
Cont'd...

Remedial Course outline and Chapter 1.pdf

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