Geography was first
coined by Greek scholar, Eratosthenes. He invented the discipline of geography,
including the terminology used today.
Although, Chinese
Geographical writings are considered the first predecessors, followed and
developed during the Greek and Roman times. Pilgrimages, travels for trade and
the discovery of new lands contributed significantly to the geographical
knowledge, as it did the astronomical discoveries. The Germans, Humboldt and
Ritter are considered ‘Fathers of modern Geography’, the first on the line of
physical geography and the second on the human aspects. After them and up to
the present, new directions have developed within geography, mainly due to the
introduction of quantitative and technical tools and to the recent
globalization.
Geography as a
discipline has evolved over the course of time. And it has like other subjects
passed from descriptive to the model-making stage. The Geographical Evolution
started in the 19th century and got accelerated during the mid-20th
century until the present century.
It is worthy to note
that, the discipline of geography right from the onset has always sought to
study the earth, its shape, its various processes as well as it formation. And
it also seeks to study the relationship of man (human beings) with this
(natural) environment as well as the cultural environment.
During
the first 50 years of the 1900s, many academics in the field of geography
extended the various ideas presented in the previous century to studies of
small regions all over the world. Most of these studies used descriptive field
methods to test research questions. Starting in about 1950, geographic research
experienced a shift in methodology. Geographers began adopting a more
scientific approach that relied on quantitative techniques. The quantitative revolution was also
associated with a change in the way in which geographers studied the Earth and
its phenomena. Geographers now began investigating process rather than mere
description of the event of interest. Today, the quantitative approach is
becoming even more prevalent due to advances in computer and software
technologies.
In
1964, William Pattison suggested that modern Geography was now composed of the
following four academic traditions:
Spatial Tradition - the
investigation of the phenomena of geography from a strictly spatial
perspective.
Area Studies Tradition - the
geographical study of an area on the Earth at either the local, regional, or
global scale.
Human-Land Tradition - the
geographical study of human interactions with the environment.
Earth Science Tradition - the study of
natural phenomena from a spatial perspective. This tradition is best described
as theoretical physical geography.
Today, the academic traditions described by Pattison are
still dominant fields of geographical investigation.
All the above attest to the fact that Geography has never
for once died since its inception as a field of study, rather it has only
undergone several revolution/changes over the years.
Conclusively, it can be stated that Geography as a
discipline can never die. And this is largely due to the fact that it studies a
constantly living and working system. This therefore imply that the existence
of the environment (earth system) is a function of the existence of the field
of Geography.
