Geography-Meaning and Scope (Teaching Exams) (Part – I)

Richard Hartshorne identified four distinct approaches for the study of the political geography of a state. These are - the power analysis approach, the historical approach, the functional approach, and the morphological approach. Hartshorne holds an important place in giving a systematic form to the study of political geography.

He introduced a new approach in political geography which came to be known as the functional approach. Hartshorne conceived of a set of two major forces - centrifugal forces and centripetal forces, which constantly act upon the cohesion of a political unit. Hence, option (c) is correct.

In geography, Kates' behavioral approach emphasizes that individuals make choices, and these choices are based on knowledge. When making decisions, individuals act according to certain assumptions of rationality.
In the behavioral (actionoriented) approach, human behavior is considered the most important factor, and in the analysis of facts, the individual conduct (behavior) of humans is given priority.

Thus, in the geographical study of the cultural elements of a region, adequate importance is given to the mental qualities of human beings, such as personal interests, needs, efficiency, awareness, and capacity.

This approach attempts to explore the fact of how and to what extent a person's individual behavior influences their decision to perform or not perform a certain action. Hence, option (c) is correct.

Aristotle's concept of climatic zones was improved by Eratosthenes, who provided information about their mathematical boundaries. Aristotle was a Greek geographer who made remarkable contributions to the development of mathematical geography.
Hе gave a factual and well-illustrated description of the shape of the Earth and its climatic zones. Eratosthenes was a Greek geographer who wrote a book called Geographika, considered the first classical geographical text.

Pythagoras is regarded as a disciple of Anaximander, who incorporated the cosmological concerns of the Ionians.

Aristotle believed that the lands around the equator were uninhabitable, and that only the temperate zone constituted the inhabited parts of the world.

Much of the informstion scholars know about ancient geography comes from the work of Strabo. Strabo was a Roman geographer who wrote the book Gcographia.

The concept of Terra Incognita was given by Ptolemy. Ptolemy was a Roman geographer and a great astronomer who authored the famous astronornical text Almagest. His other works include Geographia, Planetary Hypotheses, and Analemma.

Herodotus, Hecataeus, and Thales were Greek geographers, while Ratzel and Hettner were German geographers. Among Greek geographers, notable names include Homer, Thales, Anaximander, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Eratosthenes, Polybius, Hipparchus, and Posidonius.

• Herodotus (485-425 BCE) was a famous Greek historian and geographer who traveled around the countries near the Mediterranean and Black Seas, providing geographical descriptions. He was the first to state that Africa and Asia were separated by the Red Sea.
• Hecataeus is regarded as the "Father of Geography." His famous book 'Periodos' was published in two volumes around 520 ВСЕ.
• Thales is considered the first Greek scholar to make significant efforts toward determining the positions of various places on Earth's surface.

The book India: A Sacred Geography was written by Diana L. Eck. She is a professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University. Her work focuses on India and America.
In India, her research centers on popular religion, particularly temples. Her books include Banaras: City of Light, Darśan: Seeing the Divine Image in India, and her most recent work India: A Sacred Geography, published in 2012.

The German school of thought was the first to provide a philosophical and scientific foundation to the discipline of geography.
The German contribution to geography has been of the highest quality, enormous in scope, and long-lasting. Until the middle of the 20th century, the nature of geography was shaped largely by German geographers.
In fact, French, British, and American geography (their concepts and methodology) were based on German geography until 1950, differing from it only in a few aspects.