Geography 109 essay

Rashad Gray


Dr. McKim


Geography 102


April 23, 2009




The World of Geography: A Thematic Intrepretation




There are many different ways to interpret the multi-faceted world of geography. Geography gives the opportunity to accumulate a valuable range of skills, and I particularly enjoy the variety of analytical, numerical, bibliographical and research skills which I am called upon to use. The study of geography also involves considering the complex interactions between the human and physical environments. Since its conception, the academic science of geography has been involved in the development of races and genders, mapping the boundaries that separate and exclude the world of privilege from the other. For example, geography separates the national governments that have a food surplus and a adequate healthcare system from the thousands of children dying from starvation and disease in Africa and elsewhere around the world.


Geography is more than just a trivial subject, it can help analysts understand why we import or export certain products, predict climate change, control infectious disease outbreaks, and even where to place fire and police stations. Geography gives researchers the tools to interpret the Earth’s grid, read and analyze maps, and to appreciate the importance and implications of geographical features such as volcanoes and fault lines.

A greek names Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C.) is sometimes called the “Father of Geography” because he coined the word geography. The Greeks themselves called Homer the “Father of Geography” because his epic poem, The Odyssey, written about a thousand years before Eratosthenes was born, is the oldest account of the fringe of the Greek world. That the story goes back to the days of the Greeks tells you that geography is a very old subject. People of every age and culture have sought to know and understand their immediate surroundings and the world beyond. They stood at the edges of seas and imagined distant shores. They wondered what lies at the other side of a mountain or beyond the horizon. Ultimately, they acted upon those speculations. They explored. They left old lands and occupied new lands. As a result, millennia later, explorers like Columbus and Magellan found humans almost everywhere they went.


Clearly, the modern discipline of geography has blossomed and diversified. Old

approaches that focused on location and description have been complemented by new approaches that emphasize analysis, explanation, and significance. Additionally, satellites, computers, and other technologies now allow geographers to record and analyze information about the Earth to an extent and degree of sophistication that were unimaginable just a few centuries ago.


Although I am a geography student, I do not consider it to be part of my future career plans. I would like my future career to be in the field of public policy. I am interested in a career in the federal government because I have always been fascinated by public policy and public affairs in high school. Political Science is an excellent combination of the two subjects. My career goals are to attend and graduate from Towson University with a B.A. in Political Science. Secondly, I will transfer to the University of Baltimore and receive an M.P.A. in Public Administration. Thirdly, I want to obtain a Ph.D. in political science so that I can further my career in the political arena at the national and international levels. I am confident that I could then become a state legislator or civil service officer. I view political science as an art. As a student, I am captivated by the field concerning theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior in order to gain a greater political understanding of society as a whole. It is my greatest desire to learn those skills.


As a political scientist I will be involved in a variety of assignments. Political scientists study the allocation and transfer of power decision making, the roles and systems of governance including governments and international organizations, political behavior and public policies. They measure the success of governance and specific policies by examining many factors, including stability, justice material wealth, and peace. Furthermore, political scientists provide the frameworks from which journalists, special interest groups, politicians, and the electorate analyze issues.