Compositional regional geography
From Geography
Compositional regional geography, or traditional regional geography is constructed as an analyzing-method with three geographical levels (Thrift, N. 1983). The starting point of this geography is based on an orientation concentrating on physical rather than cultural or social aspects which are more the basis for Contextual regional geography (Werlen, 2009). It is compositional as in creating a composition of human and physical elements.
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The three geographical
1. At the first level an illustration is formed to construct geographical determinations. Aspects like - topography, geology, hydrology and climate - determine the physical concentrations. As said before this geographical method starts by focussing more on physical aspects instead of social or cultural aspects, and therefore it is sometimes being referred to as environmental determinism. This physical approach is not being put in a human perspective however, but it remains the foundation of everything else (Werlen, 2009, p. 3).
2. Within the second level economical aspects are studied. Organizational and production factors - within a region - are examined by taking a look at labor forces, the condition of laborers and relations throughout products. These forms of analysis can contribute to forming an image about a region and its aspects regarding race, ethnicity, gender, religion, working classes.
3. On the third level the region is analyzed from within its political construction. In most cases, the primary goal is to analyze the regionalized nation-state within the region.
Critique
According to Thrift "the problem of compositional regional geography emerges, though, if a region is characterized by a great variety of issues." This is because of the fact that compositional regional geography assumes homogeneity on different sociocultural themes in a region. When this homogeneity doesn't exist, a problem appears. One of the sociocultural themes that is hard to define as compositional, because of the variety, is 'work'. Thrift defines 'work' as the transforming of nature into social values (as seen through Marxist lenses). Because of the variety of the 'work processes' in regions, a new approach is needed: the contextual regional geography (Werlen, 2009, p.288).
References
- Thrift, N. (1983). On the determination of social action in space and time. Environment and Planning D. Society and Space 1, 23--56.
- Werlen, B. (2009). Regionalisations, Everyday. In: International Encyclopedia for Human Geography. Elsevier.
Contributors
- Published by Sander Linssen (4115597)
- Edited by Evelien Kuypers (s3000052) & Pauline van Heugten (s3044335)
- Edited by--HuubVanDerZwaluw 13:45, 21 September 2012 (CEST)
- Edited by Jordi de Leeuw (4042468) 23 october 2012
- Edited by --AnneStrien 08:44, 24 October 2012 (CEST)
