Fundamentals of Geography

Introduction

“The study of Geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It is about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end it is about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together” - Barak Obama, Former President of USA.

The subject ‘Geography’ was considered as ‘The Mother of all Sciences’ as most streams of sciences took root from geography. It is a subject much needed in everyday life .Unfortunately, in the recent past it has been demoted to the back seat in most parts of the world, while certain other sciences hold prominent places in the society. Just as an intellectual understands the value of a library, a financier understands the value of money, a parent understands the value of their child a geographer understands the value of our planet earth and the wealth of resources it offers to us. A society that lacks sufficient geographic knowledge cannot be expected to exhibit its strength of resource potentials and empowerment to make decisions in real-world context. Therefore, the knowledge of geography is very much vital for the care and concern of the earth, growth and development of every country and for minimising the issues related to human activity. In this context, the National Geographic Society, USA defines geographic literacy as being equipped to understand the complexity of the world, how our decisions affect others (and vice versa), and the interconnectedness of this rich, diverse, and not-so-large world.

This unit introduces the student to the foundations over which the subject had developed in the past, the content it offers now and the changes that it had undergone. It also opens the door to the world of physical geography and the practical skills to be acquired to understand geography which are explained in the units following this.