[CM+CP] 24-25 APHUG SG

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2024-2025 APHUG Midterm Study Guide

• Authors: Conan Matos, Colin Camp

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Chapter 1: Key Concepts in Geography

Cultural Landscape

• Definition: The visible human imprint on the natural environment.

Location

• Absolute Location: Exact coordinates (latitude and longitude) that do not change.

• Relative Location: Location of something in relation to other things.

  • Site: Physical characteristics of a place’s immediate surroundings.

  • Situation: Relative location of a place concerning other non-changing locations.

Spatial Approach to Geography

• Investigating where things happen, why they happen, and how they interrelate.

• Sense of Place: Emotional significance and meaning given to a location.

Five Themes of Geography

1. Location: Position of something on Earth.

   • Absolute vs. relative location.

2. Region: Areas distinguished by similar characteristics.

   • Formal Regions: Defined by similar traits (e.g., language, culture).

   • Functional Regions: Defined by interrelated activities (e.g., economic activities).

   • Perceptual Regions: Based on people's perceptions, not always accurate (e.g., Bible Belt).

3. Human-Environment Interactions: Relationship between humans and their environment.

4. Place: Unique location with a specific identity.

   • Toponym: Name of a place.

   • Perception of Place: How we think of a place, influenced by culture/media.

5. Movement: Mobility of people, goods, and ideas.

   • Spatial Interaction: Connections and movements between spaces.

Types of Maps

• Reference Maps: Show locations of places and geographic features.

• Dot Maps: Use dots to represent features.

• Thematic Maps: Tell a story or show a specific phenomenon.

• Choropleth Maps: Use colors to represent data distribution.

• Generalized Maps: Summarize trends.

Map Projections

• Mercator Map: Most accurate for navigation; distorts size at poles.

• Robinson Projection: Symmetrical design; visually appealing and widely used.

• Peters Projection: Proportionally accurate landmasses.

• Planar Maps: View from poles; focused equidistance.

Scale

• Operational Scale: Local, regional, national, international, global.

• Map Scale: Ratio of distance on map to real distance.

Globalization

• Interlinked processes that increase international interdependence.

  • E.g., Spread of multinational corporations (MNCs) like McDonald's.

Formal vs Functional Regions

• Formal Regions: Marked by shared characteristics.

• Functional Regions: Defined by interrelated activities (e.g., Chicago and its hinterlands).

Diffusion Types

• Expansion Diffusion: Innovation spreads while maintaining influence in its hearth.

  • Contagious Diffusion: Spread to nearby individuals (e.g., viral memes).

  • Hierarchical Diffusion: Spread from higher influence to lower.

  • Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion: Spread from lower influence to higher (e.g., term "woke").

  • Stimulus Diffusion: Idea modified for local acceptance (e.g., Indian McDonald's).

• Relocation Diffusion: Innovation moves with a migrating group.

Important Concepts

• Distance Decay: Likelihood of diffusion decreases with distance.

• GIS (Geographic Information Systems): Analyzes spatial data in layers.

• Possibilism vs Cultural Ecology:

  • Possibilism: Humans adapt to natural barriers.

  • Cultural Ecology: Examines reciprocal relationships between humans and their environment.

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Chapter 2: Population and Demography

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

• Average number of children born to a woman of childbearing age; replacement rate is 2.1.

Population Density Measures

• Physiologic Density: Number of people per unit of arable land.

Major Population Clusters

1. Eurasia:

   • East Asia: 25% of global population (China, Korea, Japan).

     • Declining birth rates due to policies like China’s one-child policy.

   • South Asia: (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh)

     • 1/6 global population by 2030; growth slowing.

   • Europe: 748 million people; low growth mostly from immigration.

   • North America: Megalopolis regions like BOSNYWASH and the Main Street in Canada.

Theories on Population Growth

• Thomas Malthus: Predicted that population growth will outpace food supply, leading to famine.

  • Arguments against his theory include advancements in agricultural methods.

• Demographic Momentum: Population growth continues due to a young population even when TFR drops.

Demographic Transition Model**

• Stage 1: High birth & death rates.

• Stage 2: Declining death rates.

• Stage 3: Declining birth rates.

• Stage 4: Stability with low birth and death rates.

• Stage 5: Zero-sum with birth and death rates equal.

Doubling Time

• Calculation: 70 divided by the Rate of Natural Increase (RNI).

Population Pyramids

• Visual representations of age and gender demographics, indicating societal structures.

• Shapes corresponding to different stages of demographic transition.

• IMR (Infant Mortality Rate): Deaths of infants under one year per 1,000 live births.

Population Check Mechanisms

• Positive: Events that shorten life expectancy (wars, disasters).

• Negative: Events that lower fertility rates (birth control, policies).

Population Policies

• Pro-natalist: Encouragement of higher birth rates.

• Restrictive: Policies aimed at lowering birth rates (e.g., one-child policy).

• Eugenic Policies: Favoring certain racial or cultural groups.

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Chapter 3: Migration and Movement

Types of Movement

• Cyclic Movement: Regular, short-distance movement (e.g., commuting).

• Periodic Movement: Temporary, but with an intention to return (e.g., student exchange).

• Migration:

  • Forced Migration: Against one's will (e.g., human trafficking).

  • Voluntary Migration: By choice, can stem from life or death circumstances.

Countermigration

• Detainment and return of illegal migrants.

  • Deportation: Sending migrants away from host countries.

  • Repatriation: Sending back to their homeland.

Patterns of Migration

• Chain Migration: Family or community ties facilitate movement.

• Step Migration: Incremental movement towards a final destination.

• Migration Flow: Large numbers moving from one area to another (e.g., Great Migration).

Types of Refugees

• Political Refugees: Flee due to conflict or persecution.

• Environmental Refugees: Flee due to disaster.

Rural to Urban Migration

• Movement aligned with development transitions (from agricultural to industrial).

Internal Migration Trends in the USA

• Historical Movements:

  • Louisiana Purchase, Manifest Destiny, Rust Belt to Sun Belt, Great Migration.

Immigration Waves into the USA

1. First Wave (1821-1950): Primarily from Europe.

2. Second Wave (1950-Present): Diverse origins including Asia and Central America.

Gravity Model of Migration

• Describes spatial interactions between two places based on populations and distance.

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

1. Every migration has a counter-migration.

2. Most migrants move short distances.

3. Long-distance migrants tend to settle in urban areas.

4. Urban residents migrate less than rural residents.

5. Migrants with ties to a place are less likely to migrate.

Push-Pull Factors

• Push Factors: Conditions that encourage departure (e.g., political instability).

• Pull Factors: Attractive conditions in another location (e.g., job opportunities).

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Chapter 4: Culture

Defining Culture

• A collective system of beliefs, customs, and values practiced by a group.

• Culture Complex: A combination of cultural traits.

Folk vs. Popular Culture

• Folk Cultures: Traditional, rural, uniform populations.

• Local Cultures: Communities that emphasize their uniqueness (e.g., Amish).

• Popular Culture: Widespread, rapidly-changing trends affecting large demographics (e.g., celebrities, fast fashion).

Cultural Hearths

• Historical locations where specific cultures originated (e.g., Nile River, Indus Valley).

• Independent Invention: Development of similar practices independently across cultures.

Types of Diffusion

• Contagious: Non-hierarchical spread of traits/ideas (e.g., viral trends).

• Hierarchical: Spread from higher to lower levels (e.g., fashion trends).

• Reverse Hierarchical: Bottom-up diffusion (e.g., slang terms).

• Stimulus: Adaptation of ideas for acceptance in new contexts (e.g., McDonald's in India).

• Relocation Diffusion: Traits spread through migration.

Material vs Non-Material Culture

• Material Culture: Tangible aspects (food, clothing).

• Non-Material Culture: Intangible aspects (beliefs, values).

Cultural Appropriation and Commodification

• Appropriation: Adoption of cultural elements for personal benefit.

• Commodification: Transformation of cultural traits into marketable items.

Ethnic Neighborhoods and Assimilation

• Ethnic Neighborhoods: Areas occupied by specific ethnic groups.

• Assimilation: Absorption into a dominant culture.

• Acculturation: Adoption of traits from another culture while retaining one’s own.

Cultural Landscape and Placelessness

• Time-Space Compression: Increasing globalization leading to cultural similarities.

• Cultural Landscape Convergence: Loss of uniqueness in geography.

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Chapter 5: Identity and Social Spaces

Understanding Identity

• Constructed through personal and social experiences and perceptions.

• Identifying Against: Defining identity in contrast to others.

Gender Roles in Society

• Assumptions about gender differences impact societal roles (e.g., gendered spaces like bathrooms).

Race and Social Constructs

• Governmental classifications create social divisions.

• Residential Segregation: Physical separation of racial groups in urban areas.

Power Structures and Invasion/Succession

• Dynamics of control and dominance in neighborhoods.

  • Invasion: New groups settling in areas dominated by others.

  • Succession: Successful establishment of new populations displacing the previous ones.

Case Example: Barrioization

• Increasing Hispanic influence in neighborhoods over time.

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Chapter 6: Language and Communication

Definition of Language

• A structured system of sounds and symbols facilitating communication.

• Importance: Mediates culture and societal values.

Linguistic Variants

• Dialects: Regional variants of languages.

• Sound Shifts: Minor changes in words across related languages.

• Isogloss: Geographic boundary distinguishing different linguistic features.

Major Language Families

• Indo-European Family: Most widespread; includes subgroups like Germanic, Romance, and Slavic.

• Other Key Families: Afro-Asiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Niger-Congo, etc.

Historical Language Development

• Proto-Indo-European: Theoretical ancestor language.

• Backward Reconstruction: Investigating historical language changes.

Lingua Franca and Pidgin Languages

• Lingua Franca: Common language for trade and communication (e.g., English).

• Pidgin Languages: Simplified structures that develop from contact between languages.

Linguistic Diversity and Preservation

• Extinct Languages: Languages with no native speakers left.

• Efforts in Preservation: Technological assistance, educational initiatives, and policy changes that support minority languages.