(Globalization and Diversity Geography of a Changing World 5e Rowntree Lewis, Price Wyckoff)
1
(Instructor Manual)
Concepts of World Geography
Learning Objectives
• Describe the conceptual framework of world regional geography.
• Identify the different components of globalization, including their controversial aspects, and list
several ways in which globalization is changing world geographies.
• Summarize the major tools used by geographers to study Earth’s surface.
• Explain the concepts and metrics used to document changes in global population and settlement
patterns.
• Describe the themes and concepts used to study the interaction between globalization and the
world’s cultural geographies.
• Explain how different aspects of globalization have interacted with global geopolitics from
the colonial period to the present day.
• Identify the concepts and data important to documenting changes in the economic and social
development of more and less developed countries.
Chapter Outline
I. Geography Matters: Environments, Regions, Landscapes: geography as a term has
roots in Greek words for “describing the Earth”; geographers have different conceptual
approaches to study the world; two main divisions—physical and human geography:
physical geography examines climate, landforms, soils, vegetation, hydrology; human
geography is the spatial analysis of economic, social, and cultural systems; geography
also divided into thematic (or systematic) geography, which focuses on specific topic or
theme, and regional geography, which analyzes a place or region; both thematic and
regional geographies are complementary
A. Areal Differentiation and Integration: areal differentiation is the description
and explanation of the differences that distinguish one piece of the world from
another; areal integration is the study of the interconnections of places—how
they interact
a. Global to Local: all systematic inquiry has sense of scale; geographers
work at different scales; geographers recognize the interactivity and
interconnectivity among local, regional, and global scales
1
© 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
,Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World
B. The Cultural Landscape: Space into Place: humans transform space into
distinct places that are unique and loaded with meaning and symbolism; cultural
landscape—the visible, material expression of human settlement, past and
present; reflects the most basic human needs—shelter, food, work; acts to bring
people together (or keep apart); uniqueness of places may be eroded by
homogenous landscapes of globalization—the ‘shopping mall’ for example
C. Regions: Formal and Functional: geographers organize information about the
world into units of spatial similarity called regions; two different regions are
designated by geographers: formal regions—defined by some aspect of physical
form or cultural features; functional regions—where certain activity or cluster of
activities takes place
II. Converging Currents of Globalization: globalization—the increasing interconnectedness
of people and places through converging economic, technological, political, and cultural
activities; consequences of globalization affect all aspects of life and land; world regional
geography is central to understanding these changes
A. The Environment and Globalization: globalized economy creates and intensifies
environmental problems, both locally and globally; climate change is one prominent
example
B. Globalization and Changing Human Geographies: economic change results in
changes in culture, e.g., consumer culture; globalization entails demographic
dimensions; also includes criminal element, e.g., terrorism, slavery, drugs
C. Geopolitics and Globalization: globalization has geopolitical component;
political power of individual states is waning and the power of regional economic
and political organizations is ascending; criminality and violent actions and
reactions seem to follow new extra-territoriality norms
D. Economic Globalization and Uneven Development Outcomes: economic
reorganization is major component of globalization; related to global communication
systems, transportation systems, transnational business strategies, flexible forms of
capital accumulation, global agreements; market economics and private enterprises,
abundance of planetary goods and services, economic disparities, international labor
at both low manual labor and high executive decision-making levels
E. Thinking Critically about Globalization: globalization is contentious issue;
economic globalization is applauded by corporate leaders, economists; opposition
is widespread in labor and environmental movements
a. Pro-Globalization Arguments: argue that globalization is logical and
inevitable expression of contemporary international capitalism; benefits all
peoples and places; reduces inefficiencies; concept of economic convergence
implies world’s poorest countries will catch up with more advanced
economies; support multinational organizations that facilitate flow of goods
and capital across international borders
b. Critics of Globalization: argue that globalization is not ‘natural’ but
product of explicit economic policies; globalization is creating greater
inequity between rich and poor; globalization promotes free-market, export-
oriented economies at expense of localized, sustainable activities; concern
that entire system is unstable—especially bubble economies
2
© 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
, Chapter 1: Concepts of World Geography
c. A Middle Position: argue that anti-globalization and pro-globalization
stances are exaggerated; globalization holds promises and pitfalls—but
can be managed
F. Diversity in a Globalizing World: some worry that world is becoming
homogeneous; diversity seen by some as threatening, but also necessary; politics
of diversity demand attention to understand local and global issues
III. The Geographer’s Toolbox: Location, Maps, Remote Sensing, and GIS: geographers
use different tools to represent the world in convenient form for examination and analysis
A. Latitude and Longitude: people generally use a mental map of relative location
to locate specific places; map makers use absolute location (mathematical
location) based on universally accepted coordinate system—longitude and
latitude; lines of latitude (parallels) run east-west and measure locations north or
south of equator; lines of longitude (meridians) run north-south and measure
locations east or west of prime meridian, located at 0 degrees longitude at Royal
Naval Observatory in Greenwich, England; equator divides world into northern
and southern hemispheres, while prime meridian divides world into eastern and
western hemispheres; parallel lines of latitude mathematically define the tropics—
the Tropic of Cancer is 23.5 degrees north, the Tropic of Capricorn is 23.5
degrees south
a. Global Positioning System (GPS): GPS devices use time signals sent
from orbiting satellites and then they calculate precise coordinates of
longitude and latitude; first used by U.S. military in 1960s and made
available to public later; GPS guides airplanes, ships, private automobiles;
some smartphones also make use of GPS
B. Map Projections: because world is spherical, mapping globe on flat piece of
paper creates distortions; cartographers attempt to limit distortions through use of
map projections—different ways maps are projected onto flat surface; hundreds of
different projections developed
C. Map Scale: all maps must reduce area being mapped to smaller piece of paper—
involves the use of map scale, or the mathematical ratio between map and surface
area being mapped; many maps note scale as ratio or fraction between unit on
map and unit on surface area; representative fraction—the cartographic term for
ratio between map and area being mapped; maps categorized as large or small
scale; large-scale maps cover small areas in great detail, small-scale maps cover
larger areas with less detail (note: larger the denominator, the smaller the map
scale); also graphic or linear scale—visual depiction of scale on map, usually as
horizontal bar
D. Map Patterns and Map Legends: reference map—shows location of certain
features; thematic map—displays more complicated spatial phenomena;
choropleth maps—map different levels of intensity of data
E. Aerial Photos and Remote Sensing: much information comes from
electromagnetic images taken from aircraft or satellites—remote sensing; many
scientific applications
3
© 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
, Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World
F. Geographic Information Systems (GIS): spatial databases that contain vast
amounts of computerized data from different sources, including maps, aerial
photos, remote sensing, and census tracts; used to analyze human and physical
problems and processes
G. Themes and Issues in World Regional Geography: text defines and is
organized around twelve major world regions; each chapter employs same five-
part thematic structure
H. Physical Geography and Environmental Issues: The Changing Global
Environment: landforms, climate, energy, hydrology, and vegetation;
environmental issues and specific regional problems (elaborated in Chapter 2)
IV. Population and Settlement: People on the Land: examines distribution and growth of
populations; politics of population change; current rate of growth is half of the world high
back in the 1960s, but the absolute number of people is the highest ever; planning around
population can be contested and must include human mobility
A. Population Growth and Change: different population-related statistics
a. Population Density: average number of people per area unit; differ
considerably; used to indicate settlement patterns—where people live
b. Natural Population Increase: rate of natural increase (RNI) provides
annual growth rate for country or region as percentage—used to measure
demographic change; based on subtraction of number of deaths from
number of births in given year—migration change is not considered with
RNI; crude birth rate—divides gross number of births by total population,
crude death rate—divides gross number of deaths by total population;
vary greatly around world
c. Total Fertility Rate: artificial and synthetic number that measures
fertility of statistically fictitious yet average group of women moving
through childbearing years; TFR under 2.1 implies population has no
natural growth; varies greatly around world
d. Young and Old Populations: common statistic to measure is percent of
population under 15—shows proportion of population about to enter prime
reproductive years; percent of population over 65—useful for inferring
needs of society in providing social services for seniors.
e. Population Pyramids: graphical indicator of population’s age and sex
structure; depicts percentage of population that is male or female in
different age classes; useful for comparing different population structures
and to reveal structural changes of a population
f. Life Expectancy: the average length of life expected at the birth of a
typical male or female in a specific country; used as indicator of level of
social development; life expectancy figures vary greatly around world
g. The Demographic Transition: a conceptual model to track changes in
birth rates and death rates over time; five stages: stage 1, pre-industrial
with high birth and death rates (little population growth); stage 2,
transitional, with declining death rates and high birth rates (rapid
population growth), stage 3, transitional, with declining birth rates, low
4
© 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
