Discuss the ways in which the study of human geography has changed over the past century.
Introduction
Human geography is a subject which has a significant history and which in the last one hundred years has progressed and evolved in numerous ways. "It is important for geographers to be aware of the past." (Daniels, P., et al, 2008, p 18) This is because it teaches how problems have been overcome, how ideas have changed, and gives an insight of how human geography will continue to progress and evolve, shaping how we study its different aspects. Human geography is "a major field of geography that is centrally concerned with the ways in which place, space and environment are both the condition and in part the consequence of human activities." (Gregory, D., et al, 2009, p 350) It is "a branch of the social sciences that studies of the world, it's people, communities and cultures...
organisation of human activity and its inter-relationships with the physical environment." (Johnston, R., 2000, p 353)
Prior to the 1920's, human geography wasn't recognised as a subject. "In the first half of the twentieth century it was still possible for geographers and others to travel to regions where its influence was minimal and where people still lived in pre-capitalist societies." (Daniels, P., et al, 2008, p 18) However, after the 1930's, geography changed significantly and became a subject eligible to be taught at university. "It has become common-place to argue that human geography, in recent years, has experienced a phenomenal growth in the variety of themes and places that form the substance of academic research within the sub discipline." (Jones, 2004, p 287 - 304)
Theoretical Perspectives
One of the main ways in which human geography is studied is through theoretical perspectives. The world is studied by...