Concepts

Space

Actively constructed by social relations, power, and cultural practices, not just an empty area.

Gendered Spaces

Public spaces that enforce gender norms and control behavior, particularly affecting non-binary individuals.

Culture

Shared practices, values, norms, and symbols that shape a community’s way of life.

Aztlán

A mythical symbol used by Chicanx communities to reclaim Indigenous roots and resist colonial narratives.

Political Geography

Examines how political power and governance shape geographic space and vice versa.

Racial Dynamics

Intersection of political geography with racial and settler-colonial power dynamics.

Physical Geography

Focuses on natural features of the Earth and their influence on human activities.

Environmental Racism

Poor environmental conditions often faced by marginalized communities due to systemic inequalities.

Mercator Projection

A map projection that distorts landmass sizes, reflecting political and cultural biases.

Geographic Information Science (GIScience)

Technology used to collect and analyze geographic data for urban planning and environmental management.

Ice Cores

Cylindrical samples from ice sheets that provide data on past climate conditions.

Dendrochronology

Study of tree rings to understand historical environmental conditions.

Human Geography

Focuses on relationships between people and their environments, influenced by geopolitical histories.

Critical Cartography

Examines the flawed process of mapmaking and the subjective nature of maps.

Primitive Accumulation

Expropriation of land and resources from colonized peoples for the benefit of colonizers.

Postcolonial Theory

Explores the ongoing effects of colonialism and critiques Eurocentric thought.

East India Company

A joint-stock company that generated capital for European monarchies through trade.

Orientalism

A Eurocentric perspective that defines the East as exotic and inferior to the West.

Eurocentrism

An ideological view that centers Europe as the ideal and superior society.

Middle East

A region defined by Eurocentric thought, often encompassing Arabic-speaking peoples.

Overseas France

Territories outside Europe still viewed as part of France, reflecting postcolonial dynamics.

Colonial Binaries

Cultural oppositions that create differences between colonizers and colonized, perpetuating conflict.

Colonial Present

Ongoing effects of colonialism impacting former colonies' social, political, and economic aspects.

Settler Colonialism

A form of colonization aimed at displacing indigenous peoples and taking over their land.

Settler

A person who moves into a new land with the intention of permanently residing there.

Indigeneity

Identity linked to a specific place, maintained rather than gained.

Imperial Ecologies

Environmental transformations benefiting imperial powers through policies like the Homestead Act.

Sovereignty

The authority of a government to govern itself or another state.

Blood Quantum

A classification system that ties ethnic identity to ancestry, often leading to the erasure of non-white identities.

UNDRIP

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, advocating for indigenous rights and awareness.

Race

A social construct without a specific scientific definition.

Racism

Structural and individual forms of discrimination based on race, with historical and contemporary implications.

Social Construction

The idea that concepts are built around societal perceptions rather than scientific definitions.

Areal Differentiation

Colonial mapping that racializes identities based on geographic space.

Environmental Determinism

The idea that environmental factors shape racial constructs and inequalities.

Gender

A social construction with political, social, and material significance, distinct from biological sex.

Sex

Defined by biological characteristics but socially constructed, often categorized into binary terms.

Gender Tyranny

The oppression faced by those challenging hegemonic gender norms in society.

Transgender

Identifying or performing a gender different from the one assigned at birth.

Cisgender

Identifying with the binary gender assigned at birth.

Third World Woman

A portrayal of women from developing countries as needy and in need of saving compared to First World women.