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No one knows when the first person knelt down perhaps along a riverbank
and traced lines in the sand to map routes showing game migration or
village locations. We do know that over 2000 years ago people were studying
and writing about the world around them. Their involvement with geography—in
common ways such as observing the effects that weather had upon their
crops and the migration of animals they hunted for food—made geography
the earliest discipline to focus on both the natural and human phenomena
that makes up the world.
Geography has come a long way from just mapping and cataloging where
everything is in the world. Geography is now an integrative discipline
that helps us understand the nature of the world and the human place
within it by studying the interaction between people and natural environments,
the processes that shape that interaction, and the connections between
people and places, particularly the interaction needed for human survival.
Wars have been launched, and won or lost, because of geographic advantages
or disadvantages. Economies rise and fall because of geographic factors
such as protective land formations, valued mineral deposits, rain patterns,
the location and quality of ground water, endangered wildlife habitats,
seismic activity, storm patterns, pollution patterns, and many other
features of a planet that is constantly changing-sometimes because
of nature, sometimes because of human action or inaction.
The geography department at MU is small, yet its faculty is involved
in a wide range of research. That means students are, too. The program
is structured to give students the skills they will need if they want
to work as professional geographers—skills that apply to other
fields. They are the basic skills of observation, speculation, analysis,
interpretation, and communication.
When geographers talk about "reading the landscape," they
are referring to studying the most important document humankind has created,
the artificial and built environment. The purpose is to learn how to
make wiser decisions about land use and land modification-as evident
in the natural and humanized landscapes. It is a model for making careful
decisions as an informed citizen.
The size of the department ensures that faculty members know their
students. Although two introductory courses tend to be large, all
the remaining
courses average 25 to 60 students. These moderate class sizes encourage
questions and open discussions. In that kind of atmosphere teacher
and student quickly get to know each other by first names.
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