World Regional Geography

Abstract

Geography is a discipline of explorers. Some geographers explore the world using \nsatellite imagery and others by interviewing members of an indigenous community \nin an isolated area. What unites geographers everywhere is a desire to dig deeper, a \ndesire to better understand why the spatial patterns and unique features we find in the \nworld exist and how they interact and change. World Regional Geography presents an \noverview of the discipline by introducing students to key themes and concepts in the \ndiscipline of geography through a study of the world???s regions. \nIn a traditional World Regional Geography textbook, chapters are arranged around the \nvarious regions of the world with each chapter focusing on the geographic features of \nthe particular region. Concepts such as climate, physical features, culture, economics, \nand politics are discussed in every chapter and particular places and names of physical \nfeatures found in each region are emphasized. In essence, most World Regional \nGeography textbooks privilege breadth over depth. \nThere are two key problems with this traditional approach. First, most regional chapters \nfollow the same basic outline of topics, perhaps beginning with physical features, \nthen outlining historical developments, and then moving on to culture and economics. \nCountries and specific places within the region are emphasized rather than the patterns \nfound across the region as a whole. There is rarely an over-arching theme or \nstory that connects the regions to one another. Secondly, in most primary-level geography \ncourses, breadth is already emphasized. Students may take map quizzes or learn \na list of physical features, but have little exposure to the depth of concepts and theories \nthat are central to geography as a discipline. \nThis book takes a different approach. Rather than present students with a broad, \nnovice-level introduction to geography, emphasizing places and vocabulary terms, this \ntext approaches geography as experts understand the discipline, focusing on connections \nand an in-depth understanding of core themes. This thematic approach, informed \nby pedagogical research, provides students with an introduction to thinking geographically. \nInstead of repeating the same several themes each chapter, this text emphasizes \ndepth over breadth by arranging each chapter around a central theme and then exploring \nthat theme in detail as it applies to the particular region. In addition, while \nchapters are designed to stand alone and be rearranged or eliminated at the instructor???s \ndiscretion, the theme of globalization and inequality unites all of the regions discussed. \nThis core focus enables students to draw connections between regions and to better \nunderstand the interconnectedness of our world. Furthermore, the focus on both globalization \nand inequality helps demonstrate the real-world application of the concepts \ndiscussed. Colonialism, for instance, rather than a historical relict, becomes a force \nthat has shaped geography and informs social justice. This thematic approach is also \nintended to facilitate active learning and would be suitable for a flipped or team-based \nlearning-style course since it more easily integrates case studies and higher-order thinking \nthan the traditional model. \nEach chapter begins with a list of learning objectives. This text was written with the \nbackward course design model in mind and the content of each chapter was structured \naround these learning objectives. Because of this backward design focus, the length of \neach chapter is considerably shorter than most traditional textbooks. The intention is \nfor the instructor to supplement the text with problems, case studies, and news articles \nand to use the text as a springboard for discussing deeper issues. The chapters are \nwritten in an accessible style, often addressing the student directly, and the author???s \nvoice has intentionally tried to remain present in the text. Following the Washington \nPost???s gender-inclusive style guide, the singular they is intentionally used throughout \nthe text. Rhetorical questions are also used to help students reflect on concepts and to \nencourage them to dig deeper and consider concepts from different perspectives. \nFinally, a key difference between this text and others on the subject is that it is provided \nat no cost under the CC BY license. This means that the content can be distributed, \nremixed, tweaked, or built upon simply by crediting the author. Geography is an open \ndiscipline. In truth, anyone can be a geographer as long as they are curious about the \nworld around them. \nThis isn???t a perfect text and it doesn???t attempt to be. In emphasizing depth over breadth, \nsome content was sacrificed. However, the intention is that students will not only \nknow the material much more deeply, but in doing so, will also develop a passion for \ngeography and a geographical imagination that will continue beyond this course.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 7 citations exist upstream.