Global Regions Regionalizing the World Mr Stepek Regionalization
Global Regions: Regionalizing the World Mr. Stepek
“Regionalization” • Historians break down human experience into eras • This is called ‘periodization” • Examples of periodization include eras like • Middle Ages • Antebellum Period (pre-Civil War America) • The Gilded Age • By doing this, scholars are able to compare and contrast the characteristics of these time periods to further understand their impact on history. • Geographers, on the other hand, break the world up into spatial regions through a process we call regionalization. • allows the analysis of items across space. • Statistics can be compared and patterns and trends can be analyzed • the following slides take you through the regionalization process • You should print out a blank map from my website and label it as we go through this powerpoint. • See the study guide posted on the website for what you will be responsible for on a FUTURE map exam (possibly not until next semester).
North or “Anglo-” America • We separate the Western Hemisphere into two regions along the southern border of the U. S. This is different than a physical geography description of “North America”, but this is HUMAN geography!
North or “Anglo-” America
North or “Anglo-” America • U. S. & Canada • Part of the global economic core • Corporate headquarters • Post-industrial/Services • Finance • Technology • Much higher development (“wealth”) than rest of the hemisphere • Predominantly British cultural and social legacy • English language • majority protestant (70%) • system of law and government • Property rights, limited government
Latin America • Stretches from the southern border of the U. S. to the tip of South America
Latin America • Predominantly Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) legacy • Some exceptions but • Mostly Catholic • Latin-based languages • Lower development than North America but home to several “emerging” economies • Brazil. Argentina, Mexico and Chile
Latin America • Noteworthy subregions • You should understand these because they will be referred to in readings and discussions etc. • South America • Includes “Southern Cone” • Latin American countries that have achieved a higher level of development than the rest of the region. • Central America • Mexico • Central America and Mexico are together sometimes referred to as “Meso-America” • Caribbean islands
Africa • Generally (for APHG) Africa is split between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa • “Sub” = south of • vast area south of Sahara Desert • Mostly Niger-Congo/Bantu languages • Least developed global region • exception: South Africa • Subregions incl: • West, Central, East & Southern • You can just label these general areas, precision is not necessary. • Sahel is a semi-arid grassland forming a transition zone between the Sahara desert and the rainforests to the South. • least developed area of the world and is often used as an example for contrast to other regions in this class. • Nigeria = West Africa, Sahel • “toolbox” example of demographic, cultural and political issues
North Africa • North of Sahara Desert • part of ancient Mediterranean world • Egypt, Carthage etc. • Later conquered by Arab armies • Therefore very close cultural ties with SW Asia, both… • Arabic-speaking • Muslim
Southwest Asia
Southwest Asia • Also known as “West Asia” in some reports • Most commonly referred to as the “Middle East”
The Middle East • Location of the Fertile crescent • 1 st agricultural revolution, first settlements, first civilizations • Hearth of monotheistic religions • Hearth = “where something started” • Judaism, Christianity, Islam • In the 600 s, Arabic armies out of Mecca brought Islam and the Arabic language across North Africa and Middle East • Also home to non-Arabic Islamic countries = Iran and Turkey • State of Israel • Arab/Palestinian-Israeli conflict • Higher development • Persian Gulf • Huge petroleum (oil) reserves • Higher wealth and development • Saudi Arabia, UAE (Dubai) etc.
The Middle East and North Africa • Culturally linked • Islam • Arabic language • • M E N A iddle ast orth frica • Sometimes referred to as the MENA region
South Asia
South Asia • Historically dominated by India • Pre-WWII region called “British India” • British give up control • partitioned between “Hindu” India and Muslim Pakistan (East and West) in 1947 • Still tensions over Kashmir region • East Pakistan becomes independent Bangladesh in 1971. • Afghanistan = buffer state • Sometimes classified in Central Asia • India (now) = 1. 4 b pop. (#2 → #1) • Pakistan (#5), Bangladesh (#8) • Overall, 2 nd lowest development after Sub-Saharan Africa but region is very dynamic • “toolbox” example
Central Asia
Central Asia • Historic buffer zone between Russia and British India • Controlled by • • Russia empire Soviet Union • Largely isolated, landlocked • Mostly Muslim
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia • Subregions • Mainland SE Asia • Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Singapore • Island SE Asia • Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia • Fast growing economies • Rapid development • Falling birthrate • “Pacific century”
East Asia
East Asia • Expected to be the center of global power in the 21 st century • China (#2 economy → #1) • Japan #3 • Four Asian Tigers • South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore (SE Asia) • use international trade model to move from low development to HIGHLY developed. • example is being emulated in other Less Developed Countries • “Toolbox example” of the effects of econ. development on: • demographics • culture
Oceania
Oceania • Statistics for this region are largely dominated by highly developed Australia and New Zealand • However, the region also includes areas of low development but with smaller populations: • Papua New Guinea • Pacific island groups • Micronesia • Macronesia • Polynesia • These areas are at times shown in College Board materials but we are going to combine them into “Oceania”
Europe • Regionalization of Europe is tricky because it changes based on different topics
Europe • We start the year regionalizing Europe as it existed during the Cold War which spanned much of the second half of the 20 th century after WWII • Eastern Europe was dominated by the Soviet Union either as satellite states or actual Soviet republics. • command/communist economies • dictatorships. • Western Europe was mostly aligned with the United States or officially “neutral”. • market-based economic systems • mostly democracies.
Western Europe • Western Europe is one of the global economy’s core areas. • rivals the U. S. and China in economic influence • very high development/wealth • huge decision-making power • corporate headquarters etc. • largely the legacy of imperialism • Britain, France, the Netherlands = colonial powers • Considered the hearth of “Western” civilization = The West • Ancient Greece and Rome • Christianity, Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment • Industrialization • Imperialism
Eastern Europe • Historically lagged behind Western Europe in development through the mid-1900 s. • Experienced rapid industrialization and modernization under communism • But communist system could not keep up with market economies of the West. • Tightly controlled by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. • Russia is largest country in region • Fall of Communism in 1990 s • difficult transition to market economies leads to: • Low birth rates/population decline • Conflict (ethnic/political) • Russia v. Ukraine • The former Yugoslavia • “Toolbox” examples
Eastern Europe/Russia/Siberia • The vast area in Northern Asia is known as Siberia. It is part of Russia. Most of the Russian population lives in European Russia. Therefore we analyze Siberia as part of “Eastern Europe”.
- Slides: 30