SSTP: SPACE, LANGUAGE, AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY SYSTEMS THINKING

Geography

The study of the natural environment and how the spatial interactions of individuals influence social and cultural development.

• Human Geography

• Physical Geography

• Environmental Geography

Types of geography

Human Geography

Studies the relationships between people and their environments where you examine the cultural, economic, political and social issues that influence regions and places.

Human Geography

This involves the study of the race, their origins, their interactions and the perceptions they have regarding various ideologies that affect them.

Human Geography

It includes the study of how these groups of people organize themselves in the places that they inhabit.

Physical Geography

Explores with the natural environment and the natural processes that shape the Earth's surface.

Physical Geography

Landforms, climate, vegetation, soil and hydrology are some of its main physical aspects.

Environmental Geography

Study of spatial aspects of interactions between humans and their immediate environment and the resultant repercussions of this interaction.

Environmental Geography

This branch of geography helps in understanding the various types of human activities over an area and their resultant effect on this area.

Humanistic Geography

Focuses on human consciousness, subjective experience, emotion, and meaning.

Humanistic Geography

It argues that space is not just a physical coordinate; it becomes a place only when humans attach memories, feelings, and identities to it.

Space

It becomes a place only when humans attach memories, feelings, and identities to it.

Feminist Geography

A critical approach that examines how gender relations, patriarchy, and sexual identities shape, and are shaped by, geographical space and spatial structures.

Feminist Geography

It actively challenges the male-dominated assumptions of traditional geography (both in who studies it and what topics are studied) and highlights how public/private spaces are deeply gendered.

Environmental Determinism

The doctrine that the physical environment—particularly climate, terrain, and natural resources—determines human behavior, societal development, and cultural progress.

Environmental Determinism

Essentially, nature dictates the fate of human societies.

Possibilism

Counter-theory that the environment does not dictate human actions, but merely offers a range of possibilities.

Possibilism

Humans are the active agents who choose among these options based on their culture, technology, and historical circumstances.

Determinism

The environment drives us.

Possibilism

We drive our interaction with the environment.

Humanistic Geography

Our internal feelings, memories, and meanings drive how we create places.

Feminist Geography

Our social identities (especially gender and power) drive unequal access to and control over those places.

Linguistics

The study of language and its structure in different levels.

Linguistics

Studies the history, usage, and effects of language in culture or heritage.

Phonetics

The study of speech sounds in their physical aspects.

Phonology

The study of speech sounds in their cognitive aspects.

Morphology

The study of the formation of words.

Syntax

The study of the formation of sentences.

Semantics

The study of meaning.

Pragmatics

The study of language use.

Historical-Comparative Linguistics

Concerned with comparing languages in order to establish their historical relatedness.

Sociolinguistics

Study of linguistic behavior as determined by sociocultural factors.

Psycholinguistics

Study of the mental faculties involved in the perception, production, and acquisition of language.

Dialectology

Form of language that is spoken in particular area and that uses some of its own words, grammar, and pronunciations.

Computational Linguistics

Techniques of computer science are applied to the analysis and synthesis of language and speech.

Applied Linguistics

Identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems.

Interactionism

Also known as social interactionist theory.

Social Interactionist Theory

Also known as interactionism.

George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley

Proponents of the social interactionist theory.

Noam Chomsky

Proponent of generative grammar.

William Labov

Proponent of sociolinguistics.

Edward Sapir

Proponent of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Ethnolinguistics

Also known as the Sapir Whorf hypothesis.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Also known as ethnolinguistics.

Social Interactionist Theory

This theory (rooted in sociology and social psychology) argues that language is not an innate biological instinct, but a learned social behavior that emerges through human interaction.

Social Interactionist Theory

It posits that we develop our sense of "self" and our linguistic abilities through symbolic communication—specifically, by using shared symbols (words, gestures, signs) to take on the roles of others.

Symbolic Communication

It posits that we develop our sense of "self" and our linguistic abilities through _ _—specifically, by using shared symbols (words, gestures, signs) to take on the roles of others.

Generative Grammar

This is a revolutionary theory in cognitive linguistics that argues human language is an innate, biologically hardwired capacity.

Noam Chomsky

He proposed that all human languages share a universal "deep structure" called Universal
Grammar (UG).

Universal Grammar

All human languages share a universal "deep structure" called _ _.

Noam Chomsky

Argued that children are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in the brain, which allows them to automatically deduce the grammatical rules of their native language from the limited and messy input they receive.

Language Acquisition Device

Children are born with a _ _ _ in the brain, which allows them to automatically deduce the grammatical rules of their native language from the limited and messy input they receive.

Generative Grammar

System of rules that generates all and only the grammatical sentences of a given language.

Sociolinguistics

Systematic, empirical study of how language varies and changes in relation to social factors such as class, age, gender, ethnicity, and social context.

Generative Grammar

Believes in idealized native speaker.

William Labov

He argued that language is inherently variable and heterogeneous.

William Labov

He proved that linguistic variation is not random chaos, but highly structured and socially meaningful.

Sociolinguistics

People use language not just to convey information, but to signal their social identity and group membership.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

This theory posits that there is a relationship between the structure of a language and the way its speakers perceive, categorize, and think about the world.

Multidisciplinary Approaches

Different disciplines study the same issue separately, each providing its own perspective.

Multidisciplinary Approaches

Disciplines work side-by-side.

Interdisciplinary Approaches

Different disciplines combine their knowledge and methods to analyze a problem.

Interdisciplinary Approaches

Disciplines integrate methods and findings.

Transdisciplinary Approaches

Experts from different fields collaborate with communities to create real-world solutions.

Interdisciplinary Approaches

Goes beyond disciplines, involving community voices and lived experiences.