Mount Kenya University Dept of Education
EGE Code (112) Development of Geography Thought
By Lecturer Mr Kiviri William
Course outline
Chinese
Greek and Latin
Middle Ages
Muslim Geography
Christian Geography
Early Modern Times
Astronomy and Universal Geography
The Contribution of Kant to Geography
Founders of Modern Geography
Humboldt
Ritter
New directions
Darwin’s Impact
Physical Geography and Physiography
Environmental Determinism and Possibilism
The Regional Approach
Quantitative and technical tools
The role of geography in national development with special reference to Rwanda
The philosophical and historical development of geography as a discipline of study Geography in the structure of knowledge, goals, aims and objectives and innovation in the 21st Century.
Aim of the course
This course will provide a background to the current geography taught in schools and tertiary institutions which will provide a basis for development sounding geography curriculum study.
Outcomes
ü The learners will develop critical skill in analyzing the development of geography as a discipline of study.
ü The learners will acquire knowledge and skills of constructing a geography curriculum relevant to their home region.
Methods of presentation
ü Lecture, demonstrations, peer teaching, research,
1. Introduction
The history of geography is closely connected with the history of human society and its development. It is part of human interests, and precedents can be found in all ancient cultures. But as a science, geography is relatively young and many of its fundamentals appear during the nineteenth century.
For Kish Geography is as old as man's search for soil to dig for plantings, for a path that leads to water, for a trail to a place where hard rock for arrowheads may be found. But Geography is also as new as man's current search for ways to relieve urban congestion, to establish well-marked international boundaries, to describe and analyze vegetation patterns in remote parts of the earth.
While the first geographical references are from travelers describing the landscapes and the people living in them, the first scientific studies are from mathematicians and physicists interested in the environment. It can thus be said that the foundations of geography are in the natural sciences, from the need to explain the physical environment and also on the idea of the influence of this environment on humans and society.
