Geographies of Texas: people / places /
patterns
DRAFT TEXTBOOK
for future “Geography
of Texas” courses
Erik Prout
Visiting
Assistant Professor
Department of
Geography
Texas A&M University
* Do not cite without permission*
This is a rough draft and
it is intended only for my GEOG 301 students.
*All Rights Reserved*
PART ONE
Introduction to the
Geography of Texas
Where is Texas? Not just
a rhetorical question about direction or progress, but the start of a
geographical inquiry. “Where is something located” is typically the first
question a geographer asks about a place. Yet it is definitely not the only
question. Geographers are interested in many different things including the
people who inhabit and shape the Earth and all the variations of culture and ecology
found around the world. Therefore, many questions come to mind. Who migrates to
Texas? What
trees grow in Texas? What
languages do Texans speak? What crops do Texans plant? Why does the rest of the
world think Texans ride horses to school?
We humans live on this planet,
construct complex societies, and modify our physical environments. We also read
and write, and we use those skills to build knowledge and increase
understanding about who we are, where we are, and more generally what’s going
on around us. Now we have two complex topics: Texas and
Geography. Texas is our
main topic, and it will take a complete semester to only scratch the surface.
It is Geography that is probably less known to most people yet it is the
perspective of this instructor/writer. Geography or geographies (in the plural)
are the preferred forms of knowledge and understanding used in this textbook.
Part One is organized into two
distinct chapters: Texas and
Geography. Chapter One is an initial survey of and discussion about Texas.
Basically, the first chapter starts our answer to the question “where is Texas?” Chapter
Two is a condensed introduction to Geography, so the reader can better
understand the author. The second chapter includes the purpose of regional
geography, some foundational geographical ideas, and a primer on maps, which is
an important tool for geographers and an essential skill in geography.
CHAPTER TWO
Regional Geography
Texas is a
region. In fact, Texas is a very complex
region, but what is a region? In Chapter Two, we turn our attention to academic
geography and some important geographical ideas. Geography is one of the oldest
educational pursuits, and there are numerous ancient texts that we rightfully call
geography such as Strabo’s Orbis. Strabo
wrote elaborate descriptions of the Roman Empire detailing
the nations (peoples) and provinces (regions) contained within it. Strabo did
what people have always done—describe their worlds in as much detail as
possible.
Geography in its most basic form is
space. Basic spatial cognition, such as orientation and discovery, is an
integral part of being human. Meanwhile, drawing maps is an advanced form of
language—also unique to humans. Imagine cavemen and cavewomen sitting around
the campfire; someone tells young Grog to walk up to the ridgeline and return
with a report of what he saw. Alas, we have prehistoric geography: simple
description of the unknown. As one describes what’s beyond the horizon, she or
he is doing geography. Not all geography has to be real exploration, but
bringing back direct observations and/or new perspectives is still at the heart
of geographical inquiry.
Geography is both commonplace and
learned in that one can be interested and engaged without formal training. A
popular example is the National
Geographic magazine and cable television, which relies on spectacular
photographic images. Commonplace geography includes not only National
Geographic but also the everyday things we do such as driving to university. We
may not even be aware that we are thinking spatially when we know subconsciously
where to turn. Moving successfully, such as driving without getting lost, on
the Earth’s surface requires spatial reasoning. It is also very common to hear
other places in the world mentioned during the news, and we process the
information accordingly. For example, when we hear that American casualties
occurred in Iraq as part of
the conflict, we are sad but we don’t have to change our daily routine. Unless
we know someone in Iraq, we assign
the events and tragedies as being far away. Yet a local stabbing or mugging is
closer to home. Despite the significantly lower level of violence, we may
reassess our personal security and take precautions to avoid perceived
dangerous areas.
Earth Writing
On the other hand, Geography can be
an intellectual pursuit that searches for the philosophical meanings of space,
place, and human existence on the planet. There are many definitions of
geography; here is a widely used one: geography is the study of the Earth as
the home of humans. While clearly placing people at the center of attention,
this definition also understands that the Earth is our essential habitat. Yet my
favorite definition of Geo-graphy is simply “Earth-writing.” If one looks at
the etymological roots of the word: “geo” is Greek for earth and “graphy” is
translated as either writing or study. I prefer writing so one doesn’t confuse
geology with geography (“-ology” is usually considered as study). Therefore, Earth
Writing is the literal definition of geography.
Geographers quite literally write
about the Earth. More specifically, geographers write about the people, places,
and patterns that we find on the Earth. Our observations, whether they are
scientific or humanistic, commonly refer to the human—environment component of
the Earth, which is essentially at the surface (Terra firma). The ways in which we write can vary as well: first,
we describe; second, we try to explain if possible; third if appropriate, we attempt
to predict. All together, geographers describe, explain, and predict the
people, places, and patterns on or near the Earth’s surface where humans live and
interact with the environment. Academic geographers, such as me, search for new
and improved ways to observe the world around us and to incorporate this into
the preexisting knowledge.
Like other academic disciplines,
geographers tend to specialize. The three most important subcategories are
human geography, physical geography, and geo-spatial techniques; in addition,
many geographers have a regional specialty such as Europe or Africa. Human
geography, sometimes called cultural geography, includes specializations in
political, economic, and population to name just a few. Physical geography
specializations are numerous and include geomorphology, climatology, hydrology,
and biogeography. The techniques subcategory is changing dramatically as
technology transforms our world, but cartography, remote sensing, and GIS
(geographical information systems) are the main specializations. Geography as a
discipline accommodates very different interests that collectively or even as
individuals cross over categories such as natural sciences and social sciences.
Insert 10 Ideas /
contributions:
Regions
There are many ideas surrounding
geography, but as an initial starting point it’s a good learning tool to
introduce some key terms. The five basic terms to know are: geography, region, location,
scale, and maps. Geography has already been defined as Earth-writing, so let’s
turn to region. In Chapter One, I described an essential definition of Texas and its
borders, which already tells us a lot about this region. Region was once the
core idea of academic geography, and regional geography remains a component of
undergraduate geography curriculum. {NOTE:
our GEOG 301 course is a regional geography}
A region is defined as a collection
of places or a sizable area with common characteristics. Regions consist of
multiple know spots or better called places. Sometimes a large area has no know
places, which ironically helps define it. Therefore, a region exists because we
know its multiple parts or we sense an expansive amount of space. Moreover, we
assign it a value based on some commonality. Those characteristics that are
common throughout the places or area are what we define the region with.
A region can be defined by a single
feature such as a dominant crop, commonly spoken language, and/or features of the
natural landscape. Numerous examples of dominant crops include the Corn Belt
and Cotton Belt, which implies both what one sees in the landscape as well as
what the local inhabitants are doing. The term “belt” is not necessary but
popularly used. There is an American region called the Bible Belt, therefore, a
religious fervor or revitalization can be used to define a region. Sometimes a
region relies on multiple characteristics instead of a single trait. For
example, South Texas is both southerly/lower
latitude with particular climate and vegetation and a it is border zone
adjacent to Mexico with a
strong Hispanic cultural component. Most regions have a multiplicity of
characteristics, so there’s a nuance to defining and differentiating regions
depending on what variable is most important.
The region concept is important
because it allows one to discuss parts of the whole or collective whole of the
parts. For geographers, this means some spatial scale in between global and
local, and region is a malleable concept that allows much imagination. We can
discuss the relative parts of the global whole or the aggregate whole of
multiple local parts. Furthermore, one can use region to add and divide other
intermediate levels such as U.S. states.
For example, we can subdivide Texas into
regions (e.g. East Texas) or we can add Texas with other
states to create an American region (e.g. Southwest).
Regional geography is sometimes
referred to as topical courses. A geography of Texas course is
about Texas—Texas being the
topic. Just like a geography of Europe or Latin
America course is somewhat self-defined; they would topically
be about Europe and Latin
America respectively. A world regional geography course is about
the whole world, but it is so broad that it can only survey the major world
regions. While a course on Texas (or California or the Great
Lakes) can focus much more attention to the local details.
Regional geography courses can be
both an inherent subject and an approach to teaching. What all regional
geography courses have in common is that they mix human and physical geography.
These courses focus on the topic as opposed to the systematic specializations.
When teaching world regional, it’s even possible to discuss in a regional approach
(one world region at a time). Yet when teaching regional geography of a state,
it appears to be systematic because we take long looks at the state with each
perspective.
Insert Types of Regions:
Formal
Functional
Vernacular
Insert Characteristics of
Regions:
Spatial attributes
Internal
External
Dynamic
Location and Scale
Two ideas that are inherent with
geography are location and scale.
Insert Definition of
Location:
Insert Absolute / Relative:
Insert Site and Situation:
Insert Definition of Scale:
Insert Global--Local:
Maps
Maps go with geography.
Insert Definition:
Insert Cartography:
Insert Map Types:
Insert Map Reading /
Essentials:
Insert Latitude and
Longitude:
Conclusion to Chapter Two & Part One