“What exactly is geography?”
I get asked that question a lot by prospective students and their parents. It is a fair question, as there are a lot of misconceptions about geography.
Geography is not only about rocks and mountains, as a student of mine once told me, on realizing that it is much more than that.
The study of geography is about the complex interactions that humans have with themselves and the environment. We can divide geography into physical geography and human geography.
As a self proclaimed academic, I know I should not be referring to Wikipedia, but their post on Geography sums it up well:
“Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the two fields of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the domain of human geography.” (Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_geography)
What calls out to me most is human geography. And the way in which IBDP Geography treats human geography has me convinced that it is a course that every young person should take.
The course is broken into core units that all students complete, and a set of optional units, that they choose from.
The core units are:
Unit 1 - Changing population
Unit 2 - Global climate (vulnerability and resilience)
Unit 3 - Global resource consumption and security
These units look at the challenges and opportunities that humanity faces when it comes to our interactions with the environment.
The options are:
Option A - Freshwater
Option B - Oceans and coastal margins
Option C - Extreme environments
Option D - Geophysical hazards
Option E - Leisure, tourism and sport
Option F - Food and health
Option G - Urban environments
Students at the higher level have to complete 3 options, and students at the standard level have to complete 2 options.
If you are interested, you can check out the IBDP Geography Subject Brief here:
As the core of IB Geography focuses heavily on topics of grand importance, such as population, climate change and resource consumption, the attempt is to create informed global citizens who understand that humans have an impact on the environment. Of course, a conversation must be had on the same, and IB Geography provides the perfect platform.
If you are a prospective IBDP student, consider taking up the IB Geography course! And if you are an IBDP Geography teacher, I’d love to connect with you to share ideas on teaching and learning!