Understanding Cultural and Human Geography

We’re all familiar with maps, but we seldom think about the stories they tell. Consciously or not, cartographers make choices, and these choices are informed by particular cultures and political situations. Start your foray into cultural and human geography by unpacking what maps can tell us about the world of their creators.

Learn some of the arguments for and against geographic determinism. After introducing basic concepts such as “place,” “region,” and “adaptation,” Professor Robbins reflects on some of the ways in which geographic context influences people—and the way people influence the geography around them.

Humans have taken over the world. Our ecological impact has been so great that we may have created an entirely new geological epoch. Investigate some of the ways our species has affected the world around us, from changing the climate to remaking the land, and see what responsibilities we have toward the earth and our fellow humans.

Survey the history of the earth’s climate from antiquity to the present, and examine the evidence that recent human activity is accelerating climate change. If this period is profoundly different from previous periods of change, find out what challenges we will soon face and what opportunities technology and innovation afford us.

Step into the field of “land change science,” an important subfield of geography that looks at the ways human activity has transformed the global land surface. See what factors have led to deforestation around the world and throughout history, as well as signs that we may be at a turning point where our forests and other environments will rebound.

Many fear what may happen if our population continues to grow exponentially. Think geographically about the problem and see what local conditions and patterns tell us about the world at large. Gain insight from demographic trends, including education, urbanization, and economic growth, that suggest the danger may be less than anticipated.

Shift your attention from population to food production. After reviewing the tools and measurements of farming systems, take a look at the transition from local subsistence to global production models. Then, consider the way new technologies and efficiencies will affect the sustainability of our agricultural system.

From cholera in 19th-century London to the West Nile Virus today, chart the outbreak of some of the world’s most virulent diseases. A little detective work shows that pandemics are spatial. What does this mean now that we live in such an inter-connected world? How likely is a global pandemic? And how would we respond to future outbreaks?

Discover a fascinating method for putting the relationship between humans and the environment in context. Political ecology unpacks chains of explanation, traces the flow of economic value, and examines structural constraints that help us understand myriad political and environmental problems.

Go back to the years before Columbus discovered the Americas, when global trade was a new phenomenon. Here Professor Robbins introduces several key concepts of economic geography and shows the critical role of “place” in capitalism. He then surveys the economy of trade in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Experience the economic transition of the Columbian Exchange, which began with the famous voyages of 1492. After reviewing the environmental impact of merging Old World and New World ecologies, you’ll explore the rise of gold and plantation economies, as well as the “core-periphery” system of trade that emerged in the colonial era.

Turn from the history of economic activity and development to the field of “national income accounting.” You’ll map the distribution of global wealth using such measures as gross domestic product, the human development index, the corruption perception index, and the geography of debt. Find out why uneven economic development persists.

In recent decades, transportation and information technology have fundamentally changed the flow of goods around the world. Now that our transportation system has minimized the role of “space,” the global economy has shifted east to China. See what this means for business today—and where the future of the economy is heading.

People migrate from place to place for a number of reasons. Whether pursuing opportunity or escaping turmoil, people respond to global politics and the economy. In this lecture, you’ll explore the remarkable scale of human mobility and learn what structural conditions change the rate and direction of migration.

Revisit the question of population in this survey of urbanization. Look at the history of cities and find out what is driving our current state of rapid urbanization. Consider the ecological costs and economic and environmental opportunities of a global city-dwelling population.

Tour the global distribution of language families. Although our world has a remarkable diversity of languages, a small handful—including Mandarin, English, Spanish, Arabic, and others—have come to dominate the world. What does the decline and loss of so many languages mean for our global culture?

Tackle one of the most fundamental questions about culture: why does it vary at all? After exploring culture as a system of shared meanings and practices, consider the origins of culture and its relationship with place. Then reflect on the interactions, and in some cases consolidation or erasure, of cultures around the world.

Thanks to global communications, economic growth, migration, and urbanization, distinctive “places” appear to be vanishing. Re-examine the concept of place and consider the ways people make places. In the economic and environmental landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries, local cultures may be changing, but they are not going away.

In today’s world, it’s difficult to separate culture from the global economy. As local cultures become commodities in the form of art, tourism, fashion, and other industries, this changes the way culture is produced and consumed. Reflect on the challenges and opportunities inherent in cultural commodification.

Because culture is a system of shared meaning, cultural concepts—including history—are invented constructs. Meanings can change, which means some elements of culture are inseparable from politics. This lecture explores that connection by looking at the politics of women’s veils in Turkey and France.

From Afghanistan in the 19th century to the Ukraine today, tackle the global configuration of powers. Take a close look at several geopolitical theories and apply them to some of the 21st century’s key trouble spots. The competing interests in the world of statecraft are a messy but captivating business.

Continue your study of geopolitics with a look at the nation-state. Using the cases of Kosovo, South Sudan, and East Timor, this lecture shows how political geographies emerge and asks questions about the distinction between national identity and state territory. See what challenges accompany the creation of new states.

Solving international challenges is a bit like playing whack-a-mole: if one state cracks down on a problem, such as locusts, the problem often simply moves to a neighboring state. Close your study of geopolitics with a consideration of supranational organizations such as the European Union. Learn about the possibilities and obstacles to international governance.

Visit five places around the world, each a distinct window into a possible future for humanity on this planet. You’ll discover that even though the pace of globalization is accelerating, the future nonetheless will be filled with remarkable geographic diversity—even if that diversity is different from the geography we have today.