1992 Introduction to Human Geography
Review for Midterm 2
(Wednesday, October 31, 2007. 3:00pm)
Students with last names that begin with A,B,C,D,E, or F should go to HUMN 1B80. map is here. The rest of the class will take the exam in our normal lecture hall.
Chapter 6
Be aware of the world map of distributions of major religions
Distinguish:
o Universal Religions from Ethnic Religions
- What’s the difference between a proselytizing and a non-proselytizing religion?
- How do different religious groups explain the practice of proselytizing?
o Monotheism from Polytheism
o Syncretic Religions from Orthodox Religions
- Is orthodoxy identical with fundamentalism?
Christianity
o Where is it growing?
o Historically, in what sorts of social environments has Christianity spread? Urban? Rural?
o Through what sorts of social forms has Christianity diffused?
- Militaries
- Missionaries
- Colonialism
o What's the history of the division between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church?
- Where is this division visible in space?
o What's the history of the division between Catholicism and Protestantism?
- Where is this division visible in space?
- How do Protestant conventions for organizing and administering social relations across space differ from those of Catholics?
- Locally autonomous
- Hierarchical
Buddhism
o Is Buddhism characterized by strict orthodoxy or by syncretism?
o Where, geographically, does Buddhism overlap with Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism?
o Distinguish Mahayana, Theravada, and Tantryana forms of Buddhism
Islam
o Does the term Islam refer to the religion itself or to religious adherents? And the term Muslim?
o What are the differences between the Shiite and Sunni sects?
- What’s the historical origin of these differences?
- Where are these differences visible in space?
- In what countries is there a Shiite majority? Plurality?
o What is Shariah?
o Through what social forms has Islam been diffused?
- Trade
- Military
- Missionaries
Cultural Barriers to Religious Diffusion
o Religious ideas might not be amenable to preexisting systems of ideas about the social world
- For example, traditionally, people in China have taken the view that human beings are inherently good. This viewpoint conflicts with the Christian view that individuals are inherently evil. Also, within the symbolic universe familiar to many Chinese people, the dragon has positive connotations. Thus, for a Chinese person the image of the serpent likely will not resonate with negative feelings in the way that it might for an American who has grown up in a Christian tradition.
Religion and the ordering of Space
o How are religious beliefs reflected in the organization of space?
- At the scale of the city?
- The layout of road systems in Mormon towns/cities
- At the scale of architecture?
- The arrangement of Christian churches, especially medieval churches
- The arrangement of homes and other buildings – Feng Shui
Sacred Spaces
o Religious as well as secular sites may undergo processes of sacralization. Similarly, dates may undergo processes of sacralization.
- These processes may be thought of in terms of designation, sanctification, rectification and obliteration.
- Manzanar, formerly a concentration camp where Japanese-Americans were held during WWII, has been redefined over the years as people have gathered there to memorialize the events of the past and to celebrate their shared identity.
o Sacred sites/dates may be contested – think Columbus Day protests in Denver.
Religious systems mediate interactions between humans and their environments
- Systems of religious thought may be understood to contain strategies for adapting to the natural environment. Just as religion influences the organization of social space, it also influences the organization of what we think of as natural space.
- Religions may be understood to have distinct styles for habitat modification. Eco-theology has emerged as a field of inquiry in which people study similarities differences between these styles.
- Systems of religious impact conceptions of the relationship between human beings and the natural environment at a very fundamental level.
o Christian thought has cultivated the idea that nature was created for human beings, that developing nature is an extension of God’s greater plan.
o In contrast to Christian thought, which presupposes a radical separation between human beings and nature, many systems of religious thought take a more holistic view toward the relationship between human beings and their environments.
- Traditional, perhaps more holistic religions, are not necessarily more eco-friendly.
For religious adherents, religious practices are often believed to serve as a means for influencing nature – Christians pray for rain; Native Americans dance.
Chapter 7
The difference between ethnicity, race, and nationality as demonstrated by the conflict in Eritrea/Ethiopia
· Why race is referred to by social scientists as being socially constructed
· The purpose of census definitions and how that information has been abused
· How identity is both chosen for us and by us—“Hispanic, Chicano, Latino” as examples of this
· The purpose of Jane Elliot’s “Blue-eyed, Brown-eyed Experiment”
· Why do ethnicities cluster geographically?
o Defensive functions
o Support functions
o Cultural preservation
o “Attack” functions
· The predominant patterns of migration among African Americans
· What perpetuates segregation
o Structural racism
o Discriminatory behavior (ex. housing market)
o Blockbusting, Steering
o How you and I perpetuate segregation
· Landmark racial legislation in the US
o Jim Crow Laws
o Plessy vs. Ferguson
o Brown vs. Board of Education
· The apartheid system in South Africa
· Self determination, The nation-state, Nationalism (how it is instilled, pros and cons, centripetal force)
· Multi-ethnic states and multinational states—definitions of, examples of, conflicts within
· Ethnic identity—why there is a revival, and how this is manifested
Questions:
How governmental policies tied to ethnicity in Sudan led to civil war
What the conflict in Somalia in the 1990s illustrates about ethnicity
How ethnicity is divided and causes conflict in Lebanon
Why was Pakistan separated from India?
Why did this separation drive mass migration?
Who has sought independence from India and Pakistan?
Does formation of new statesusually assuageconflicts between ethnicities?
What 20th century events caused mass forced migration?
What is ethnic cleansing?
How is ethnic cleansing different from warfare?
Why did Yugoslavia break up into five separate countries?
Why were Bosnian Muslims considered an ethnicity, rather than a nationality?
How did ethnic cleansing in Bosnia end?
Why did ethnic cleansing occur in Kosovo?
What is Balkanization?
How did ethnic conflict in Rwanda lead to anti-colonialist reforms in Zaire/Congo?
Chapter 8
◙ definition of “state”, as used in Political Geography, key characteristic being sovereignty.
◙ Problems of defining states: Korea, China/Taiwan, Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic)
◙ microstates (about 2 dozen in the world)
◙ development of the state concept: Ancient/Medieval times, colonies (imperialism)
◙ definition (and importance of) boundary
◙ ignoring the “Shapes of States” discussion
◙ historically, frontiers rather than boundaries separated states.
◙ types of physical boundaries: mountain, desert, water
◙ types of cultural boundaries: geometric, religious, language
◙ Cyprus’s “Green Line” Boundary
◙ Boundaries within states: unitary vs. federal states, electoral (gerrymandering)
The UN—what is it? What does it do? What are its strengths and weaknesses.
Military Alliances
o Multipolar systems before WWII
o Postwar bipolar system involving Russia and US
§ NATO and Warsaw Pact
§ US and Russia sometimes forcefully enforced discipline among satellite states
§ Allies do not always agree on all policies
§ The book does not thoroughly address reasons why alliances form or whether there are any perceived benefits to states of being in alliances.
Economic Cooperation
· Economic power may now be seen as more important than military power e.g Germany and Japan
· Example of EU and enlargement
· No comparison in the book of EU to other regional economic alliances e.g. ASEAN or MERCOSUR
Key Issue: Why Has Terrorism Increased?
Book’s definition of terrorism:
“Terrorism is the systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands.” p280
“Terrorism differs from other acts of violence because attacks are aimed at ordinary people or military targets” p280
· The author seems to go back on this by identifying the attack on the USS Cole as an act of terrorism
Terrorism in the US
· Identifies Ted Kaczynski and Tim McVeigh as American terrorists.
Sept. 11 and Al Qeda
· Sept. 11 happened, nearly 3000 fatalities
· Al-Qaeda
o Responsible for most attacks on US in 90s
o Lead by Bin Laden, began in Afghanistan
o Est. 20,000 members in 34 countries
o Autonomous cells, often support country specific goals
o Divided up into various functions, different cell members don’t know who they are working with
o Some cells only loosely associated with organization
State Support for Terrorism
3 levels of support
- Sanctuary
- Supplying weapons, money and intelligence
- Planning attacks using terrorist
Libya—Pan Am 103, etc.
Afghanistan harboring al-Qaeda
Iraq—The US (Bush) through Iraq was tied to al-Qaeda—unsubstantiated
Iran—The US (Bush) through Iraq was tied to al-Qaeda—unsubstantiated
Chapter 9
Definitions:
§ Gross Domestic Product (GDP and GDP per capita)
§ Productivity
§ Value-add
§ Human Development Index (HDI)
§ Less Developed Country (LDC)
§ More Developed Country (MDC)
§ Gender-related Development Index (GDI)
§ Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)
§ Foreign Direct Investment
§ Transnational Corporations
Concepts:
§ How does availability of raw materials and energy resources impact a country’s development? What countries have overcome these issues and why?
§ Availability of raw materials and energy resources measures a country’s development
§ Concept of uneven development between countries vs. within countries
§ How does the distribution between primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors of the economy vary between LDCs and MDCs?
§ Know the basic geographic, cultural and economic characteristics of the “culture regions” of the world – Anglo America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, etc.
§ What are 5-year plans and why do they traditionally fail?
§ How does geographic (climate, location, environment) influence development (e.g. if your country is mostly a desert – what does that mean for development)
§ What are the economic indicators of development?
§ What are the social indicators of development?
§ What are the demographic indicators of development?
§ How does gender inequality impact development? How is it measured?
§ What obstacles do LDCs face with regard to development?
§ What is development via self-sufficiency and what are the issues with this method?
§ What is development via international trade and what are the issues with this method?
§ What is the WTO and what purpose does it serve? What do the critics say about this organization?
§ How can LDCs finance development?
§ What does the IMF do? What do critics say about it?
§ What does the World Bank do (IBRD and IDA) and what do critics say?
§ What is a Structural Adjustment Program?
§ Concept of Fair Trade and its role in development
§ In the movie, “Life in Debt” why did Jamaica reduce its trade barriers?
§ In the movie, “Life in Debt” what impact did the reduction in these trade barriers have on Jamaica’s banana and grain agricultural sectors?
§ In the movie, “Life in Debt” what role did international lending agencies (IMF) play in solving or compounding Jamaica’s problems?
§ In the movie, “Life in Debt” how did the US powdered milk subsidies help or hurt Jamaica’s local milk industry?