Geography
From ePedia, the electronic encyclopedia
Geography is the study of locational and spatial variation in natural and human phenomena on the Earth. The word comes from the Greek words Ge (γη) or Gaea (γεια), both meaning "Earth", and graphein (γραφειν) meaning "to describe" or "to write". Modern geography is diverse and draws upon and contributes to almost every other arena of knowledge.
"Mere place names are not geography. To know by heart a whole gazeteer full of them would not, in itself, constitute anyone a geographer. Geography has higher aims than this... to trace out the great laws of nature and to mark their influence upon man. In a word, geography is a science, a thing not of mere names, but of argument and reason, of cause and effect." -- William Hughes (King's College, 1863)
Within the discipline there are many areas of specialism. Modern geographers tend to specialise in one of the broad branches (or sub-branches). However, most introductory geography syllabuses seek to ensure that geographers have at least working knowledge of the main focus of each branch of the subject.
"Mere place names are not geography. To know by heart a whole gazeteer full of them would not, in itself, constitute anyone a geographer. Geography has higher aims than this... to trace out the great laws of nature and to mark their influence upon man. In a word, geography is a science, a thing not of mere names, but of argument and reason, of cause and effect." -- William Hughes (King's College, 1863)
Within the discipline there are many areas of specialism. Modern geographers tend to specialise in one of the broad branches (or sub-branches). However, most introductory geography syllabuses seek to ensure that geographers have at least working knowledge of the main focus of each branch of the subject.
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