CHAPTER

13 Human Geography Nature and Scope

Introduction:
Human geography studies the inter-relationship between the physical environment and sociocultural environment created
by human beings through mutual interaction with each other. The elements like Houses, villages, cities, road-rail networks,
industries, farms, ports, and items of our daily use and all other elements of material culture have been created by human
beings using the resources provided by the physical environment.

1. Human Geography:
“Human geography is the
synthetic study of the
relationship between human
societies and earth’s surface”.
In other words, Human
geography is a branch of
geography. It studies how
people and the environment
have an effect on each other. The study of people includes their communities, cultures, economies. The environment studied is
mostly about locations.

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• Behavioral school of thought laid great emphasis on lived experience and also on the perception of space by social categories
based on ethnicity, race and religion, etc.
 2. Nature of Human Geography:
Human geography studies the inter-relationship
between the physical environment and sociocultural
environment created by human beings through
mutual interaction with each other. The elements like
Houses, villages, cities, road-rail networks,
industries, farms, ports, and items of our daily use
and all other elements of material culture have been
created by human beings using the resources
provided by the physical environment. Human
geography offers a new conception of the
interrelationships between earth and human beings.
We often talk of the ‘face’ of the earth, ‘eye’ of the
storm, ‘mouth’ of the river, ‘snout’ (nose) of the
glacier, ‘neck’ of the isthmus and ‘profile’ of the soil. Similarly, regions, villages, towns have been described as ‘organisms.
German geographers describe the ‘state/country’ as a ‘living organism’. Networks of road, railways and waterways have often
been described as “arteries of circulation”.

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Radical school of thought employed Marxian theory to explain the basic cause of poverty, deprivation and social inequality.
Contemporary social problems were related to the development of capitalism.

3. Naturalization of Humans and Humanisation of Nature:

1. Human beings interact with
their physical environment
with the help of technology.
This indicates the level of
culture development and
Human beings were able to
develop technology after they
developed better
understanding of natural
laws.
2. Nature is a powerful force,
worshiped, revered and conserved. There is direct dependence of human beings on nature for resources which sustain them.
The physical environment for such societies becomes “Mother Nature”.
3. The interaction between primitive human society and strong forces of nature was termed as environmental determinism
which is naturalization of humans.
4. Human activities create a cultural landscape. The imprints of human activities are created everywhere; health resorts on
highlands, huge urban sprawls, fields, orchards and pastures in plains and rolling hills, ports on the coasts, oceanic routes
on the oceanic surface and satellites in space. The earlier scholars termed this as possibilism.
5. A geographer, Griffith Taylor introduced another concept which reflects a middle path (Madhyam Marg) between the two
ideas of “environmental determinism” and “possibilism”. He did not term it as “Neo Determinism” or “stops and go
determinism” which means that is Activity
there a situation of absolute necessity Q1. Make a short note on the Human Geography?
(environmental determinism) nor is Q2. Make a short note on the Nature of Human Geography?
there a condition of absolute freedom Q3. Make a short note on the Naturalization of Humans and Humanisation of
(possibilism). Nature?
 4. Human Geography through the Corridors of Time or History of human geography:

The process of adaptation, adjustment with and modification of the environment started with the appearance of human beings
over the surface of the earth in different ecological
niches. Thus, the beginning of human geography with the
interaction of environment and human beings. Before the DO YOU KNOW?
age of discovery, there was very little interaction Welfare or humanistic school of thought in human geography was
between different societies but in the late 15th Century mainly concerned with the different aspects of social well-being of
information about the unknown societies were made
the people. These included aspects such as housing, health and
available now. Exploration by travellers expanded the
education. Geographers have already introduced a paper as
area of human geography and interacted with different
societies. With this, new approaches can cross like Geography of Social well-being in the Post Graduate curriculum’.
welfare or humanistic school of thought, radical school of
thought and behavioral school of thought.

5. Fields and Subfields of Human Geography:

Human geography is interdisciplinary in nature and develops vast linkages with other sister disciplines in social sciences. The
fields and subfields of human geography explain every aspect of all elements of human life on the surface of the earth.

6. Human Geography and Sister Disciplines of Social Sciences:

Activity
Q1. Make a short note on the Human Geography through the Corridors of Time?
Q2. Make a short note on the Fields and Subfields of Human Geography?
Q3. Make a short note on the Human Geography and Sister Disciplines of Social Sciences?
 Questions For Practice
1. Which of the following is not a 10. Which one of the following is the 19. The main features of the First
subfield of Social Geography? most important factor in the Colonial era are?
(a) Medical Geography interaction between people and the (a) The discovery and testing of
(b) Historical Geography environment? new sites
(c) Military Geography (a) Human intelligence (b) Identifying the diversity of any
(d) Cultural Geography (b) people’s perception region
2. Which concept helped to discover (c) technology (c) The volume change phase
fire? (d) Human brotherhood.
(a) Gravity (b) Friction (d) Major generalizations and
11. Which subject is called a mother's
(c) DNA (d) Dynamics application of universal ideas
discipline?
3. Which of these factors is the most (a) Geography 20. Who first used the word
important consideration for the (b) Economics Geography?
relationship between humans and (c) History (a) Hipparchus (b) Hecate
environment? (d) Political Science. (c) Herodotus (d) Eratosthenes
(a) People’s perception 12. What method did Vidal de la 21. Which of these scholars defined
(b) Technology Blanche support? Human Geography as ‘the synthetic
(c) Human intelligence (a) Willingness study of relationship between
(d) Human brotherhood (b) Opportunities human societies and earth’s
4. Which element is not a part of the (c) Humanity surface’?
cultural environment? (d) Social approach. (a) Paul Vidal de la Blache
(a) Villages (b) Towns (b) Ellen C. Semple
13. Who suggested the concept of Neo
(c) Ports (d) Climate (c) Ratzel
determinism?
(d) Karl Marx
5. Who first used the term Geography? (a) Griffith Taylor (b) Blanche
(a) Hipparchus (b) Hecataeus (c) Huntington (d) Ritter 22. Which one of the following is the
(c) Herodotus (d) Eratosthenes 14. most important factor in the
What idea helped in finding the fire? interaction between people and the
6. Which subject is called mother (a) Gravity (b) Friction environment?
discipline? (c) DNA (d) Power (a) Human intelligence
(a) Geography (b) Economics 15. What is the segment called ‘Mother (b) People’s perception
(c) History (d) Political Nature’? (c) Technology
Science. (a) Natural Area (d) Human brotherhood.
7. Which branch of geography does (b) Cultural Environment 23. Which one of the following is not a
not belong to Human Geography? (c) The political environment source of geographical information?
(a) Population Geography (d) Industrial Environment (a) Traveller’s accounts
(b) Economic Geography 16. Which of the following is not a (b) Old maps
(c) Physical Geography source of geographical information? (c) Samples of rock materials from
(d) Social Geography (a) Traveler's accounts the moon
8. To which country does Ellen C. (b) Old maps (d) Ancient epics.
Sample belong? (c) Samples of stone objects from 24. Which geographer out of the
(a) U.S (b) France the moon following belongs to France?
(c) Germany (d) England. (d) Ancient Pottery. (a) Huntington
9. Which one of the following 17. To which country is Ellen C. Semple (b) Vidal de la Blache
statements does not describe belong? (c) Semple
Geography? (a) U.S. A (b) France (d) Trewartha
(a) An integrative discipline (c) Germany (d) in England. 25. Who was the father of modern
(b) study of the interrelationship 18. Name a school of Human Geography human geography?
between humans and that uses Marxian theory? (a) Humboldt (b) Ritter
environment (a) School of thought (c) Ratzel (d) None of these
(c) subjected to dualism
(b) School of behavioral thinking 26. “Human geography is the study of
(d) not relevant in the present time
(c) Strong school of thought mutually changeable relations of
due to the development of
(d) School of human thought
technology
 active human and unstable earth.” (c) History (d) Ancient poetry.
Who gave this definition? (d) Political Science. 36. Who was the father of the modern
(a) Ratzel 31. What idea helped in finding the fire? human race?
(b) Ellen Semple (a) Gravity (b) Conflict (a) Humboldt (b) Ritter
(c) Paul Vidal de la Blache (c) DNA (d) Power (c) Ratzel (d) None of this
(d) Carl Sauer
32. Which of the following is not the 37. Who invented determinism?
27. Which of these is not a
way to a person's place? (a) Ratzel
characteristic of the study of
(a) Actual separation (b) Griffith Taylor
Geography?
(b) Spatial order (c) Ellen C. Semple
(a) Integrative
(c) Value change (d) Paul Vidal de la Blache
(b) Practical
(d) Assessment and interpretation. 38. What method did Vidal de la Blache
(c) Idealistic
(d) Empirical 33. Who invented neo-determinism? support?
28. Who coined determinism? (a) Griffith Taylor (b) PV de la (a) Determination
(a) Ratzel Blache (b) Opportunities
(b) Griffith Taylor (c) Mackinder (d) Herbertson (c) Ubuntu
(c) Ellen C. Semple 34. Two major branches of geography (d) Social approach.
(d) Paul Vidal de la Blache (a) Economic and Social 39. Who first used the word
29. Which approach was supported by (b) Physical and urban Geography?
Vidal de la Blache? (c) Politics and History (a) Hipparchus (b) Hecate’s
(a) Determinism (d) Physical and Human (c) Herodotus (d) Eratosthenes
(b) Possibilism 35. Which of the following is not a 40. Name the School of Human
(c) Humanism source of local knowledge? Geography that uses Marxian
(d) Welfare approach. theory.
(a) Traveller’s accounts
30. Which subject is called mother (b) Old maps (a) School of thought
discipline? (b) School of behavioral thinking
(c) Samples of stone objects from
(a) Geography (c) Strong school of thought
the moon (d) School of human thought
(b) Economics

Solutions
1. (c) 5. (d) 9. (d) 13. (a) 17. (a) 21. (c) 25. (c) 29. (b) 33. (a) 37. (b)
2. (b) 6. (a) 10. (d) 14. (b) 18. (c) 22. (d) 26. (b) 30. (a) 34. (d) 38. (b)
3. (b) 7. (c) 11. (a) 15. (a) 19. (a) 23. (d) 27. (c) 31. (b) 35. (d) 39. (d)
4. (d) 8. (a) 12. (b) 16. (d) 20. (d) 24. (b) 28. (b) 32. (d) 36. (c) 40. (c)