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Human Geography. An Essential Introduction. Edition No. 2

  • Book

  • 512 Pages
  • April 2021
  • John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • ID: 5841019

Revised, Extended, and Extensively Updated Text Uses Historical Geographical and Thematic Approach to Provide Undergraduates with a Firm Foundation in Human Geography

Drawing on nearly three decades of instructional experience and a wealth of testing pedagogical innovations with students, Mark Boyle has revised and expanded this authoritative and comprehensive introduction to Human Geography. As with the First Edition, Boyle follows the premise that “history makes geography whilst geography makes history,” and that the key to studying the principal demographic, social, political, economic, cultural and environmental processes in any region in the world today is to look at how that region has been impacted by, and in turn has impacted, the story of the rise, reign, and decline of the West. Moreover he argues that Human Geog­raphy itself is best understood as both an intellectual endeavour and a historical, political, and institutional project.

Informed by recent developments in post-colonial scholarship, the book covers key concepts, seminal thinkers, and influential texts in the field. Although designed for the beginner student, Boyle does not shy away from ideas and debates often avoided in introductory texts, clearly communicating theory without condescension. In addition, he places human geography in its larger academic context, discussing the influences on the field from related subjects. Notable features in the Second Edition include:

  • Extensive revision and updating of coverage of key ideas, developments, debates and case studies
  • New chapter on uneven geographical development at different scales and development theory and practice
  • Dedicated coverage of Covid-19s geographies
  • New learning resources (figures, tables, plates, maps, Deep Dive boxes, etc.) throughout the text, plus learning objectives, essay questions, checklists summarizing key ideas, and guidance for further reading
  • Updated and expanded companion website with MP4 and MP3 chapter-by-chapter lectures and PowerPoint slides for each chapter, new multiple-choice exam paper and additional essay-style exam questions, and a wide range of student tutorial exercises

Human Geography: An Essential Introduction, Second Edition is an excellent foundational text for undergraduate courses in human geography, globalization, Western civilization, historiographies of intellectual thought, the grand public problems confronting humanity in the twenty first century, and other wider social science courses.

 

Table of Contents

List of Figures xv

List of Plates xvii

List of Maps xx

List of Tables xxii

Acknowledgments xxiii

List of Abbreviations xxvi

A Guide to Reading the Second Edition of Human Geography: An Essential Introduction xxix

1 Introducing Human Geography 1

Chapter Learning Objectives 1

Introduction 2

What Is Human Geography? 3

One Planet, Many Cultures, Unconscionable Inequality 9

The Origins of Our Unequal World: The Rise,Reign, and Faltering of the West 9

Four Theories Explaining the Rise, Reign,and Faltering of the West 15

Conclusion 20

Checklist of Key Ideas 21

Chapter Essay Questions 21

References and Guidance for Further Reading 22

Website Support Material 23

2 Human Geography: A Brief History 24

Chapter Learning Objectives 24

Introduction 25

Telling the Story of the History of Human Geography 26

Human Geography in the Premodern Era 34

Human Geography in the Modern Era 35

Early Modern Period 35

Modern Period 38

Late Modern Period 43

Human Geography in the Postmodern Era 47

Postmodern Human Geography: On Relativisers and Responsibility 47

Postfoundational and Anti‐Relativist Human Geographies 48

Human Geographies in Real Time: Geocomputation and Spatial Data Science 51

Conclusion 53

Checklist of Key Ideas 54

Chapter Essay Questions 55

References and Guidance for Further Reading 55

Website Support Material 57

3 Big History: Watersheds in Human History 58

Chapter Learning Objectives 58

Introduction 59

Introducing Big History: From the Big Bang to the Sixth Mass Extinction! 59

First Watershed: The Origins of the Human Species 60

Second Watershed: First Migrations and the Peopling of the Planet 64

Third Watershed: The Development of Human

Culture and Invention of Settled Agriculture 71

Fourth Watershed: The Rise and Fall of Civilizations 78

Fifth Watershed: The Rise of Western Civilization from the Tenth Century bce? 82

Conclusion 85

Checklist of Key Ideas 86

Chapter Essay Questions 87

References and Guidance for Further Reading 87

Website Support Material 89

4 The Commanding Heights: A Brief History of the European World Capitalist Economy from 1450 90

Chapter Learning Objectives 90

Introduction 91

Key Concepts: Global Commodity Chains, Value Chains, and Production Networks 91

The Rise of the European World Economy, 1450-1945: Wallerstein’s World‐Systems Analysis 93

The Fate of the European World Economy After the Age of Empire 97

Stabilizing Capitalism: Parisian Regulation Theory 98

The Thirty Glory Years of Capitalism in the Core: The Fordist‐Keynesian Compromise (1945-1975) 99

An Early Response: The New International Division of Labor (NIDL) 101

Boom and Carnage in the Core: The Neoliberal Juggernaut (1979-Present) 106

2050: Toward a Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4)? 112

Conclusion 118

Checklist of Key Ideas 119

Chapter Essay Questions 120

References and Guidance for Further Reading 120

Website Support Material 122

5 Power: The Governmental Machine of the West 123

Chapter Learning Objectives 123

Introduction 124

Power: The Governmental Machine of the West 124

The Rise (and Fall?) of the “European” Nation‐State 128

Beyond Medieval Polities: The Rise of the “European” Nation‐State from 1648 and 1848 128

Is the Sovereign Nation‐State Obsolete? Back to Medieval Polities? 132

Europe’s Nation‐States and Empires: Europe’s Scramble for the World 136

The Age of European Empires 136

Case Study: Europe’s Scramble for Africa 141

American Empire: The Eagle, the Bear, the Theocrat, and the Dragon 147

Conclusion 154

Checklist of Key Ideas 154

Chapter Essay Questions 155

References and Guidance for Further Reading 155

Website Support Material 158

6 Worlds of Meaning: Power, Landscape, and Place 159

Chapter Learning Objectives 159

Introduction 160

Enlightenment(s): The West’s Culture(s) 161

Cultural Geography and the Study of Western Culture 163

Sauerian Cultural Geography: Culture as a Superorganism 163

New Directions in Cultural Geography from the 1980s 165

Social Formations and Symbolic Landscapes 166

The West in the Cultural Landscape: On the Imperialism of the Straight Line 168

Haussmann’s Paris: The Capital City of Modernity 168

L’Enfant and McMillan’s Washington, DC, and National Mall 169

Worlds of Meaning: Landscapes of Power and Living Landscapes 172

The Ville and the Cite: Building and Dwelling in Western Spaces 172

Case Study 1: The Metropolis and the Mind: Early Conjectures 175

Case Study 2: Beyond the Pale - Clean Lines and Crooked Colonies 177

Case Study 3: Slums and Projects: The African‐American Search for a Sense of Place 183

Conclusion 186

Checklist of Key Ideas 186

Chapter Essay Questions 187

References and Guidance for Further Reading 187

Website Support Material 190

7 (Under)Development: Challenging Inequalities Globally 191

Chapter Learning Objectives 191

Introduction 192

Market Fundamentalism and the Promise of Convergence 194

Tracking and Mapping Development and Human Welfare from 1800 195

Geographies of Human Development and Poverty from 1800 197

Geographies of Income and Wealth Inequality from 1800 204

A Brief Annotated History of Development Theory and Practice 209

The Western Tradition of Development Theory and Practice 209

Challenging Inequalities Globally in the Twenty‐First Century 216

Development Alternatives and Alternatives to Development 220

Conclusion 222

Checklist of Key Ideas 223

Chapter Essay Questions 224

References and Guidance for Further Reading 224

Website Support Material 228

8 10 000 000 000: The Modern Rise in World Population from 1750 229

Chapter Learning Objectives 229

Introduction 230

Introduction to the Demographic Transition Model 231

Histories and Geographies of Demographic Transitions 234

The Demographic Transition Model and Mortality Decline 240

Explaining Mortality Decline 240

Policies for Improved Global Health 244

The Demographic Transition Model and Fertility Decline 247

Explaining Fertility Decline 247

Policies for Lowering and Increasing Fertility Levels 249

Demographic Transition: The Case of China from 1949 250

Conclusion 258

Checklist of Key Ideas 259

Chapter Essay Questions 259

References and Guidance for Further Reading 260

Website Support Material 262

9 A Planet in Distress: Humanity’s War on the Earth 263

Chapter Learning Objectives 263

Introduction 264

Perspectives on Humanity’s War on the Earth 264

The Pessimists: Rediscovering Malthus in the Age of the Anthropocene 264

The Optimists: Cornucopians and the Age of Green Technology and Clean Growth 269

The Political Ecologists: Marx in the Age of the Capitalocene 271

A Planet in Distress: The Global Climate and Ecology Crisis 273

Global Warming: Decarbonizing Our Overheating Planet 274

Biodiversity: Avoiding a Sixth Mass Extinction 278

Air Quality: Detoxing the Air We Breathe 282

Growing Waste: From “Cradle to Cradle” 282

Water Insecurity: Water, the New Gold? 284

Case Study: Tackling the Global Climate and Ecological Crisis in the Liverpool City Region 285

A New Model of Political Economy for a Cleaner and Greener Planet Earth? 289

Conclusion 291

Checklist of Key Ideas 291

Chapter Essay Questions 292

References and Guidance for Further Reading 292

Website Support Material 295

10 Homo urbanus: Urbanization and Urban Form from 1800 296

Chapter Learning Objectives 296

Introduction 297

The Modern Rise of the City from 1800 298

Europe, Capitalism, Industrialization, Urbanization, and the Industrial City 298

The Form of the Industrial City: The Chicago School of Urban Sociology and Beyond 302

The Creative Destruction of the Industrial City: Insights from Glasgow 306

Mapping the Urban Age 312

Urban Form After the Age of the Industrial City: The Shape of Things to Come? 315

Megalopolis: From Cities to Networks and Urban Galaxies? 316

Los Angeles: The 100‐Mile City and Our Postmetropolis Future? 316

Slums in the Global South: Urbanization Without Industrialization? 318

China’s Instant Megacities: State‐Orchestrated Urbanization? 321

Planetary Urbanization: Urban Studies After the Age of the City? 323

Conclusion 325

Checklist of Key Ideas 325

Chapter Essay Questions 326

References and Guidance for Further Reading 326

Website Support Material 329

11 The Walling of the West: Migration, Hospitality, and Settling 330

Chapter Learning Objectives 330

Introduction 331

The Great Human Diasporas 332

Diaspora (Διασποράς) 332

Case Study: The Atlantic Slave Trade and African Diaspora in the Americas 333

Global Migration Stocks and Flows: Definitions, Patterns, and Trends 341

Rethinking Integration: On the Politics of Hospitality 347

Host Country Integration: Policies and Outcomes 347

Thinking Integration: Assimilation, Multiculturalism, Diaspora Space, and Securitization 350

Rethinking Integration: Migrant Settling and Settling Services 354

Case Study: The Syrian Refugee and IDP Crisis 355

Conclusion 361

Checklist of Key Ideas 361

Chapter Essay Questions 362

References and Guidance for Further Reading 362

Website Support Material 365

12 At Risk: Hazards, Society, and Resilience 366

Chapter Learning Objectives 366

Introduction 367

Global Risks: Hazards by Likelihood and Impact 367

Understanding Risk: What Causes Hazards to Become Disasters and Disasters to Become Catastrophes? 370

Gilbert White: Pioneering Human Geographical Interest in Natural Hazards 370

When Hazards Become Disasters: Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability (R = H × V) 372

Mapping the World at Risk 375

Disaster Risk Reduction: What Stops Hazards from Becoming Disasters and Disasters from Becoming Catastrophes? 382

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 382

Resilience Politics: Robustness, Recovery, Reform, or Redesign? 388

Conclusion 394

Checklist of Key Ideas 395

Chapter Essay Questions 396

References and Guidance for Further Reading 396

Website Support Material 398

13 Remaking the West, Remaking Human Geography 399

Chapter Learning Objectives 399

Introduction 400

Summary: Making the West, Making Human Geography 401

Remaking the West 405

Remaking Human Geography 409

Remaking the West, Remaking Human Geography 413

Conclusion 422

Checklist of Key Ideas 422

Chapter Essay Questions 423

References and Guidance for Further Reading 423

Website Support Material 426

Coda on Covid-19 428

Coda Learning Objectives 428

Covid‐19: The West’s Barium Meal? 429

Covid‐19’s Unexpected Geographies 432

Explaining Covid‐19’s Geographies: Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability 433

Exposure to Covid‐19: Uneven Geographies of Viral Load 434

Vulnerability to Covid‐19: Susceptibility, Adaptation, and Coping 436

Vulnerability Wrought by Socio‐structural Disadvantages and Heightened Susceptibility 437

Vulnerability Wrought by Weak Institutional Capacity for Advanced Adaptation and Preparation 439

Vulnerability Wrought by Poor Coping and the Speed, Quality, and Efficacy of Government Responses 441

Commentary: Disentangling Covid-19’s Complex Causality 442

Covid-19: A Portal to Another World? 447

Checklist of Key Ideas 450

Chapter Essay Questions 450

References and Guidance for Further Reading 450

Website Support Material 451

Glossary 452

Index 463

Authors

Mark Boyle National University of Ireland, Maynooth.