Four traditions of geography
| William Pattison's Four traditions of geography, often referred to as just the four traditions of geography, are a proposed way to organize the various competing themes and approaches within geography. Proposed in a 1964 article in the Journal of Geography to address criticism that geography was undisciplined and calls for definitions of the scope of geography as a discipline that had been ongoing for at least half a century, the four traditions of geography propose that American geographers work was consistent, but fit into four distinct traditions rather than one overarching definition. The original traditions proposed by Pattison are the spatial tradition, the area studies tradition, the Man-Land tradition, and the Earth science tradition. The four traditions of geography have been widely used to teach geography in the classroom as a compromise between a single definition and memorization of many distinct sub-themes. There are many competing methods to organize geography. The original four traditions have had several proposed changes. | |
|---|---|
| wikipedia:: Four traditions of geography |
Spatial Analysis
Area Studies
Integrated geography (Man-land, human-environment interaction)
Earth Science - Physical Geography
Original traditions outlined by Pattison[edit]
Spatial tradition[edit]
Main article: Spatial Analysis
The spatial or locational tradition is concerned with employing quantitative methods to describe the spatial characteristics of a location.[1][2][4] The spatial tradition seeks to use the spatial characteristics of a location or phenomena to understand and explain it. The contributors to this tradition were historically cartographers, but it now encompasses what we call technical geography and geographic information science.[4]Area studies[edit]
Main article: Area studies
The area studies or regional tradition is concerned with the description of the unique characteristics of the earth's surface, resulting in each area from the combination of its complete natural or elements, as of physical and human environment.[1][2][4][6] The main aim is to understand, or define the uniqueness, or character of a particular region that consists of natural as well as human elements. Attention is paid also to regionalization, which covers the proper techniques of space delimitation into regions.Man-Land tradition[edit]
The Human Environment Interaction tradition (originally the Man-Land), also known as Integrated geography, is concerned with the description of the spatial interactions between humans and the natural world.[1][2][4][7] It requires an understanding of the traditional aspects of physical and human geography, like how human societies conceptualize the environment. Integrated geography has emerged as a bridge between human and physical geography due to the increasing specialization of the two sub-fields, or branches.[8]Earth science tradition[edit]
Main article: Earth science
The Earth science tradition is largely concerned with what is generally referred to as physical geography.[1][2][4] The tradition focuses on understanding the spatial characteristics of natural phenomena. Some argue the Earth science tradition is a subset of the spatial tradition, however, the two are different enough in their focus and objectives to warrant separation.[4]