Transcript Big Geography - White Plains Public Schools

Big Geography
The Geography of
Global History: Using
Maps to provide point
of view
Point of View through Maps
Maps are a conceptual way to determine bias and point of view. Often
They provide a framework to determine the author’s (cartographer’s)
Perspective of the world they live in. There are broad political, economic, and
Cultural perspectives (thesis?) which guide their point of view (POV) and are
Skewed by their limited and/or narrow perspectives. An example would be the
Traditional Mercator projection map utilized in millions of classrooms which
Was developed in the 16th century by Gerhardus Mercator for European navigators
During the Age of exploration. Europe is clearly in the center and the shape and
Sized of the continents are distorted to reflect a Eurocentric bias.
Which map projection does the College Board use in their WHAP materials?
History-Culture-Location
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North America
Latin America
West Europe
East Europe
East Asia
Central Asia
South/South East Asia
Middle East
Sub-Saharan Africa
Political- Economic-Geographic
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East Asia- isolated by Gobi, Himalaya and Pacific
South Asia- sub-continent along Indian ocean( monsoon winds) centrally located
Latin America- because of European imperialism and culture diffused ( language and
religion)
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West and East Europe- divide politically and culturally after the fall of Rome ( later Communism
became important between East and West)
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Central Asia- the traditional area of the nomadic steppe peoples ( Turks, Huns, Mongols, etc.)
Sub-Saharan Africa- connected through trans- Sahara trade, isolated by desert for many years
Middle East- ethnocentric designation (U.S) also called South West Asia, noted by trade, civilization
and religion (90% Muslim)
North America- politically and culturally different than Latin America by Northern European
colonization and identified by Canada, the U..S and Mexico which is also part of Latin America
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Maps help historians conceptualize world history by identifying the
ethnocentric bias of regions based on political perspective (Middle East),
evaluation the economic resources of the region and their value (South Asia)
and by identifying the dominant cultural traits of language and religion of the
territory (Latin America)
Polycentric Regions
We need a mental picture of the whole world, not just certain
parts of it. This is “big geography.” What are some of the issues
concerning geography
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The perception
Of the world can be
Ethnocentirc?
Africa
South America
The Earth is a sphere.
Therefore, it cannot be
projected on a flat map
without distortion. The
question is,
which kind of distortion?
Medieval European T-O Map. In medieval Europe one of the
most common forms of rendering the earth was the mappae
mundi of which more than a thousand have survived. The T-O
map is one kind of mappae mundi. The T-O image reproduced
here comes from the encyclopedia of knowledge produced by
Isidore, Bishop of Seville, in 630 A.D., and was printed in
Augsburg in 1472.
An ancient map that strongly suggests Chinese sailors were first to round the world. It seems more likely
that the world and all its continents were discovered by a Chinese admiral named Zheng He, whose fleets
roamed the oceans between 1405 and 1435. His exploits, which are well documented in Chinese historical
records, were written about in a book which appeared in China around 1418 called "The Marvellous Visions
of the Star Raft". One of Zheng He's fleet's adventures, blown off course to the east to the New World,
provides a fascinating thread in Neil Stephenson's fabulous fiction, Cryptonomicon. It is a copy, made in
1763, of a map, dated 1418, which contains notes that substantially match the descriptions in the book .
Each fleet would have at least one "Treasure ship", used by the commander of the fleet and his deputies
(nine-masted, about 120 meters (400 ft) long and 50 m (160 ft) wide).
North America appears to be more involved in the Pacific
Basin than South America (its eastward location pulling it
toward the Atlantic). Finally, this map reveals a major
truth about the earth, and that is that the earth is mostly
water not land, the Pacific Ocean amounting to 64,000,000
square miles (over twice the size of the Atlantic Ocean).
Miller World Map Centered on 180 Meridian: The Pacific Perspective.
South is at top of map. After 1850, a Pacific perspective must be added. With
the United States acquiring Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii (and taking
possession of the Philippines), followed by Pearl Harbor and the Pacific theater
of World War II, the strategic importance of the Pacific for the United States
becomes obvious. With China emerging as a major power, the twenty-first
century may become the Pacific century.
The Maya Cosmos. Adopted with modifications from Linda Schele and
David Freidel, A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya
(N.Y.: William Morrow, 1990), p. 67, fig. 2:1. Drawing by Linda Schele,
courtesy Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.
(permissions Nov. 7, 2002).
Three World Map Projections
Mercator, Peters, and Robinson
On a Mercator projection, invented by Gerardus Mercator in
1569, any straight line is a line of constant compass bearing.
This enables a navigator to plot a straight-line course.
Comparing Projections
"Political" Map
Despite the values of the
Mercator Projection, it
distorts the size and shape
of land areas.
Fact: South America is
8 times as large as
Greenland.
Fact: Africa is 14 times
as large as Greenland.
The Peters Projection is an
“equal area” map. It
represents areas accurately,
but it seriously distorts shapes.
Compare the size of Europe to
Africa on the two maps.
Compare the size of the former
USSR to China on the two maps.
Most Populous Nations
• Population Map of the world
Gross Domestic Product
• Measure of a countries wealth
Infant Mortality
People Living with HIV/AIDS
Energy Consumption
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Thesis
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Mapping projections provide perspectives and biases in world
history through a political framework like the Mercator projection
map illustrating a Eurocentric perspective of the world (distorting
size), economically identifying that land mass is far more
important than maps about energy consumption or population
density and culturally illustrating the limitations of human
knowledge such as the Medieval European T-O map based upon
biblical interpretations of the Earth.
Mapping is a way to view point of view and perspective in world
history through the Miller world map providing a focus on the
Southern Hemisphere on top and a Pacific focus and the political
cartoon illustrating the ethnocentric American view illustrating a
much larger U.S an minimal other regions.
Visual perspectives of geography give world historians an opportunity
to view geography from the cartography where energy consumption
in the important comparative, Peter’s projection maps illustrating a
more equal area status ( South America being 8 times larger than
Greenland), and the WHAP regional breakdown where regions are
united by a common geography,history or cultural connection
Human beings inhabit
the biosphere.
The biosphere is made up of three layers.
•The lithosphere: The solid earth, or outer
crust of rock, sand, and soil.
•The hydrosphere: The watery realm. About
97 percent of it is the oceans.
•The atmosphere: The thin layer of gasses,
mainly nitrogen and oxygen.
How can this be illustrated on a map?
The lithosphere is in constant,
though slow motion.
The surface of the
earth and the
location of its land
masses have
therefore
had a continuously
changing history.
The scene of history is continuously moving land masses.
Notice in the left column the names of distinct land
masses that no longer exist.
The red dot represents the location of the Grand Canyon. 
India
550 Million Years Ago
220 Million Years Ago
130 Million Years Ago
65 Million Years Ago
Laurasia
Gondwanaland
190 Million Years Ago
Today
The largest context of
human history is the
entire planet.
70.9 % of the surface of
the earth is water.
Human beings, however,
are a land-dwelling
species.
We call the biggest land
areas continents.
How many continents
are there?
Nine?
One?
Seven?
Five?
Four?
But what IS a
continent?
The conventional map of seven continents
Conventional definition of a continent
A large mass of land surrounded, or nearly
surrounded, by water.
If that is the conventional definition, why are
Europe and Asia separate continents?
Since the nineteenth century, most scholars have
accepted the Ural Mountains as part of the dividing
Line between “Europe” and “Asia” as continents.
The Urals as a border between continents?
They are not that impressive.
ASIA
Another part of the
dividing line:
Bosporus and
Dardanelles
(Straits)
Istanbul
Dardanelles
Bosporus
What significance have the Bosporus and Dardanelles had as
a line dividing peoples from one another in history?
Almost
none!
The Ottoman Turkish Empire about 1550.
Its territory cut straight across the
Bosporus and Dardanelles.
So is geography about
What divides us or
Unifies us?
Here’s a highway bridge across the Bosporus.
Today, you can drive from “Asia” to “Europe” in a
few minutes.
Wow, its like across to continents…
Or just one!!!!
So, why is Europe a continent?
European scholars of
the nineteenth century
decided that it should
be one.
One of the benefits of
having power in the
world is that you get to
name things!
The dividing line between
“Europe” and “Asia” is not
something that is “natural.” That
is, it does not exist as a fact of the
natural world.
Many geographers have therefore
been willing to unite the two
regions as a single continent
called “Eurasia.”
Asia + Europe = Eurasia
But is Africa
separated from
Eurasia by a wide
ocean?
No!
Why not think of
Eurasia and Africa
together as a single
“supercontinent?”
Let’s call it
“Afroeurasia.”
Africa + Asia + Europe = Afroeurasia
So what’s an Ocean and How many
are there?
Some say 4, others say 5… why? Perceptions are constantly changing
The major winds and currents of the oceans
Until the coming of steamships in the 19th century, sailors had to know
winds and currents to have confidence that they could sail from one
place to another in an approximate amount of time. These winds
and currents follow large global patterns. It was a matter of
discovering what those patterns were.
Indian Ocean
Monsoon Winds
A Might wind, is it important to illustrate winds and currents? Why?
The wind cycle in the North Atlantic helped
Christopher Columbus sail both ways
across the ocean.
WIND
WIND
So, how many continents?
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Afroeurasia
Australia
North America
South America
Antarctica
But is it possible to
think of North and
South America as ONE
continent?
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Afroeurasia
Australia
Americas
Antarctica
Gulf of
Mexico
Caribbean
Sea
Are the
Americas
one
continent
Try
think of
ortotwo?
the Gulf of
Mexico and
the
Caribbean
Sea as bodies
of water
“inside”
the Americas.
What’s with Australia?
Continent, Country, both?