Ptolemy's Geography
Ptolemy's Geography

Author: Ptolemy

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-06-16

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 0691214115

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Ptolemy's Geography is the only book on cartography to have survived from the classical period and one of the most influential scientific works of all time. Written in the second century AD, for more than fifteen centuries it was the most detailed topography of Europe and Asia available and the best reference on how to gather data and draw maps. Ptolemy championed the use of astronomical observation and applied mathematics in determining geographical locations. But more importantly, he introduced the practice of writing down coordinates of latitude and longitude for every feature drawn on a world map, so that someone else possessing only the text of the Geography could reproduce Ptolemy's map at any time, in whole or in part, at any scale. Here Berggren and Jones render an exemplary translation of the Geography and provide a thorough introduction, which treats the historical and technical background of Ptolemy's work, the contents of the Geography, and the later history of the work.

Approaching Human Geography
Approaching Human Geography

Author: Paul Cloke

Publisher: SAGE Publications Limited

Published: 1991-04-28

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781853961007

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This introduction to the development of new theoretical approaches to human geography sets out to explain the key features of these new approaches, and to trace their antecedents and implications. The authors also highlight points of comparison and contrast, inter-connection and dissimilarity. An introductory chapter describes and accounts for the theoretical diversity present within twentieth-century human geography, and particular attention is paid to the transition from environmental and regional approaches to the “spatial science” of the 1960s. This chapter then sets the stage for the later chapters, which deal systematically with different post-1960s approaches: Marxism, humanism, realism, structuration and postmodernism. Each of these chapters deals with the chronological development of the appropriate literature, describes the key claims and arguments, and then presents a worked example to illustrate the benefits and pitfalls of an approach in practice. A concluding chapter re-integrates the diverse themes and reflects briefly on possible future theoretical developments in human geography in the 1990s. The principal chapters of the book are framed by both a preface and an epilogue, which address questions about ‘relativism’ in approaching human geography, while also stressing the need for continued commitment and critical sensitivity in geographical enquiry. The book is written in an easily accessible style with generous expositions of key claims and arguments, and thorough cross-referencing between chapters.

Geographical Sociology
Geographical Sociology

Author: Jeremy R. Porter

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-02-29

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 940073848X

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The discipline of Sociology has a rich history of including spatial context in the analysis of social issues. Much of this history has revolved around the development and application of spatial theory aimed at understanding the geographic distribution of social problems, the organization of communities, and the relationship between society and the environment. More recently, the social sciences have seen a large number of technological innovations that now make it possible to place social behaviour in spatial context. Consequently, because of the historical disjuncture in the development of spatial theory and the recent development of relevant methodological tools, the relationship between materials describing both the methodological approaches and their theoretical importance a scattered throughout various books and articles. Geographical Sociology consolidates these materials into a single accessible source in which spatial concepts such as containment, proximity, adjacency, and others are examined in relation to such methodological tools as hierarchical linear models, point pattern analysis, and spatial regression. As these methods continue to increase in popularity among social scientists the ability to more generally understand societies relationship to geographic space will continue to increase in it importance in the field. This book represents a starting point to linking these concepts to practice and is presented in an accessible form in which students, researchers, and educators can all learn, and in turn, contribute to its development.

Evolutionary Economic Geography
Evolutionary Economic Geography

Author: Dieter Kogler

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-02

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1317358104

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Economic geographers increasingly consider the significance of history in shaping the contemporary socio-economic landscape, and increasingly believe that experiences and competencies, acquired over time by individuals and entities in particular localities, to a large degree determine present configurations as well as future regional trajectories. Attempts to trace, understand, and investigate the pathways from past to present have given rise to the thriving and exciting sub-field of Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG). EEG highlights the important factors that initiate, inhibit, or consolidate the contextual settings and relationships in which regions and their respective agents, which comprise and shape economic activity and social reproduction, change over time. It has at its core the production and destruction of novelty in space, and the links between innovation and regional economic fortunes. The creation of knowledge, its movement and recombination within different regional ensembles of economic agents and institutions plays a critical role in the evolution of the space-economy. EEG provides a framework to disentangle the complexity of technological change and regional economic development based on a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. In only a short time, EEG has established itself as a promising and rapidly evolving research framework with its focus on the driving forces of regional development across various scales and its attempt to translate findings into public policy. This book advances the theoretical foundations of EEG, and demonstrates how EEG utilises and operationalises conceptual frameworks, both established and new. Contributions also point to future research avenues and extensions of EEG, attempting to build stronger ties between theory, empirical evidence, and relevance to policy. This book was originally published as a special issue of Regional Studies.

Geography
Geography

Author: Arild Holt-Jensen

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2009-09-24

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1446242838

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Now in a fourth edition, this standard student reference has been totally revised and updated. It remains the definitive introduction to the history, philosophy, and methodology of human geography; now including a detailed explanation of key ideas in human geography's post-modernist and post-structuralist 'turns'. The book is organized into six sections: What is Geography?: an introduction to the discipline, and a discussion of its organization and basic research approaches, informed by the question 'what difference does it make to think geographically?' Foundations of Geography: an examination of geography from Antiquity to the 1950s, with a special focus on human/environment relation. Geography 1950-1980: a critical review of the development of geography as a spatial science. Paradigms and Revolutions: an analysis of paradigm shifts in geography, introducing students to key debates in the philosophy of science. Positivism and its Critics: a detailed discussion of positivism, critical theory, humanistic geography, behavioural geography, and structuralism. New Trends and Ideas developing critical responses: structuration theory, realism, post-structuralism, post-modernism, feminism and actor-network theory. This text explores complex ideas in an intelligible and accessible style. Illustrated throughout with research examples and explanations in text boxes, questions for discussion at the end of each chapter and a concept glossary, this is the essential student companion to the discipline.

Key Texts in Human Geography
Key Texts in Human Geography

Author: Phil Hubbard

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2008-05-19

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1849206368

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A book that will delight students... Key Texts in Human Geography is a primer of 26 interpretive essays designed to open up the subject′s landmark monographs of the past 50 years to critical interpretation... The essays are uniformly excellent and the enthusiasm of the authors for the project shines through... It will find itself at the top of a thousand module handouts. - THE Textbook Guide "Will surely become a ‘key text’ itself. Read any chapter and you will want to compare it with another. Before you realize, an afternoon is gone and then you are tracking down the originals." - Professor James Sidaway, University of Plymouth ′An essential synopsis of essential readings that every human geographer must read. It is highly recommended for those just embarking on their careers as well as those who need a reminder of how and why geography moved from the margins of social thought to its very core." - Barney Warf, Florida State University Undergraduate geography students are often directed to ′key′ texts in the literature but find them difficult to read because of their language and argument. As a result, they fail to get to grips with the subject matter and gravitate towards course textbooks instead. Key Texts in Human Geography serves as a primer and companion to the key texts in human geography published over the past 40 years. It is not a reader, but a volume of 26 interpretive essays highlighting: the significance of the text how the book should be read reactions and controversies surrounding the book the book′s long-term legacy. It is an essential reference guide for all students of human geography and provides an invaluable interpretive tool in answering questions about human geography and what constitutes geographical knowledge.