Places and Regions in Global Context Human Geography

...it takes a lot of things to change the world: Anger and tenacity. Science and indignation, The quick initiative, the long reflection, The cold patience and the infinite perseverance, The understanding of the particular case and the understanding of the ensemble: Only the lessons of reality can teach us to transform reality Bertolt Brecht, Einverstandnis Most people have an understanding of what their own lives are like and a good deal of knowledge of their own neighborhood and perhaps even of the larger city and state in which they live. Yet, even as the countries and regions of the world become more interconnected, most of us still know very little about the lives of people on the other side of our country, or in other societies, or about the ways in which the lives of those people connect to our own. In order to change the world, to make it a better place in which to live for all people, we need to understand not just our little corner of it, but the whole of it, the broad sweep of human geography that constitutes the larger world in which our small corners are just a part. This book provides an introduction to human geography that will make "the understanding of the particular case and the understanding of the ensemble" meaningful. To study human geography, to put it simply, is to study the dynamic and complex relationships between peoples and the worlds they inhabit. Our book gives students the basic geographical tools and concepts needed to understand the complexity of places and regions and to appreciate the interconnections between their own lives and those of people in different parts of the world. Objective and Approach The objective of the book is to introduce the study of human geography by providing not only a body of knowledge about the creation of places and regions, but also an understanding of the interdependence of places and regions in a globalizing world. The approach is aimed at establishing an intellectual foundation that will enable a life-long and life-sustaining geographical imagination: an essential tool for today's students to confront tomorrow's global, national, regional, and local challenges. The book takes a fresh approach to human geography, reflecting the major changes that have recently been impressed on global, regional, and local landscapes. These changes include the globalization of industry, the breakup of the Soviet empire, the upwelling of ethnic regionalisms on the heels of decolonization and the formation of new states, the physical restructuring of cities, the transformation of traditional agricultural practices throughout much of the world, and the emerging trend toward transnational political and economic organizations. The approach used inPlaces and Regions in Global Contextprovides access not only to the new ideas, concepts, and theories that address these changes but also to the fundamentals of human geography: the principles, concepts, theoretical frameworks, and basic knowledge that are necessary to m6re specialized studies. The most distinctive feature of this approach is that it employs the concept of geographical scale and emphasizes the interdependence of both places and processes at different scales. In overall terms, this approach is designed to provide an understanding of relationships between the global and the local and the outcomes of these relationships. It follows that one of the chief organizing principles is how globalization frames the social and cultural construction of particular places and regions at various scales. This approach has several advantages. It captures aspects of human geography that are among the most compelling in the contemporary world--the geographical bases of cultural diversity and their impacts on everyday life, for example. It encompasses the salient aspects of new emphases in academic human geography--the new emphasis onKnox, Paul L. is the author of 'Places and Regions in Global Context Human Geography', published 2003 under ISBN 9780131015180 and ISBN 0131015184.