The system of geographical sciences and the history of geography
Lessons 1–2 · 2 lessons · Sh. M. Sharipov, V. N. Fedorko, N. I. Safarova, V. A. Rafiqov. Geography (Applied geography), Grade 10, 1st edition. “O‘zbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi” State Scientific Publishing House, Tashkent, 2017
1
The system of geographical sciences
Textbook: pp. 3–5
GoalDistinguish the system of geographical sciences, the branches of physical and socio-economic geography, and research methods.
New words
geographic envelope · geografik qobiqsystem of geographical sciences · geografik fanlar tizimilandscape science · landshaftshunoslikresearch method · tadqiqot usuli
Explanation
The main object of study of geography is the geographic envelope, a single natural system formed where the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere meet and interact. This system is the environment in which people live and work and the main source of natural resources. Modern geography is not one science but a system of linked sciences: physical geography (relief, climate, waters, soil, living nature and geosystems) and socio-economic geography (population, cities, economy, the political map). At their junction stand general geographical sciences such as natural-resource geography, medical geography and cartography. Geography used to answer “what, where, how much?”; now it also asks “why, how should it be used, and what must be done to improve the situation?” The most important task is therefore to harmonise the relations between nature and society. Research uses expedition, descriptive, cartographic, statistical, comparative-geographic and regionalisation methods, joined increasingly by modelling, aerospace, geochemical and geophysical methods.
Worked examples
Research on the distribution patterns of soils belongs to a branch of physical geography (soil geography), while research on the growth of urban populations belongs to socio-economic geography (geography of population and cities).
The question “why does one district specialise in cotton while its neighbour specialises in grapes?” joins several sciences: climate and soil (physical) and labour resources and markets (economic). The answer therefore needs geography's complex approach.
Class activity
“Tree of sciences”: the class splits in two. One group draws the system of geographical sciences on the board; the other invents one research question from their own neighbourhood for each branch and attaches it to the right branch.
Practice
1
Which four shells interact to form the geographic envelope?
Lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.
2
Sort into physical or socio-economic geography: geomorphology, political geography, glaciology, transport geography.
Physical: geomorphology, glaciology. Socio-economic: political geography, transport geography.
3
Which method is it to follow a lake's shrinking over the years with satellite images?
The aerospace method (a modern research method).
4
Why does modern geography not stop at description? Explain with an example.
Because it finds causes and proposes solutions: for example, it does not just describe a river's falling flow but finds the cause and shows ways to save water.