Cultural Interactions & Perspectives

Question 1

Two sides of human-environment interaction?

Answer 1

Humans impact nature (e.g., deforestation); nature impacts humans (e.g., hurricanes)

Question 2

Physical vs. cultural landscape?

Answer 2

Physical = natural features; Cultural = human alterations

Question 3

George Perkins Marsh

Answer 3

Author of Man and Nature; warned about human-caused ecological disasters. He is considered one of the first environmentalists and emphasized sustainable land use

Question 4

Carl Ritter

Answer 4

Co-founder of geography; promoted a holistic, regional approach to studying places and the interrelationship between people and their environment

Question 5

Torsten Hagerstrand

Answer 5

Developed diffusion theory and time-space geography; studied how innovations and cultural traits spread through space and time under constraints

Question 6

Thomas Malthus

Answer 6

Principle of population
In An Essay on the Principle of Population, he warned that population would grow faster than food supply, leading to famine and crisis unless checked

Question 7

Alexander von Humboldt

Answer 7

German explorer and scientist who laid the foundation for modern physical geography; emphasized empirical observation and cause-effect relationships in nature

Question 8

Ellen Churchill Semple

Answer 8

She promoted environmental determinism, arguing that the physical environment shapes human culture and development

Question 9

Tuan

Answer 9

Topophilia—the emotional bond between people and place; emphasized a humanistic, experiential approach to geography

Question 10

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 10

Nature controls human behavior

Question 11

What is possibilism?

Answer 11

Environment sets limits, culture adapts