This first edition of Contemporary Human Geography is a result of the evolution of the human geography field as a whole. As we worked on the most recent revision of The Human Mosaic, it became clear that over the past few editions, the book had become something new and distinct. The textbook’s evolution in no small measure reflects wider changes in human geography and, more specifically, in cultural geography over the past two decades. Most significantly, the metaphor of culture that provided the textbook’s title—humanity as a mosaic of discrete, homogeneous cultures—is no longer salient. Cultural geography and the cultural theory that informs it are guided by new ideas of heterogeneity, contingency, fluidity, encounter, and hybridity. Areas of inquiry that were widely pursued in cultural geography 20 or 30 years ago are no longer prominent. Human geography has moved forward and we believe this textbook should reflect the field’s vibrancy and dynamism.

We are therefore launching the 1st edition of Contemporary Human Geography. Two goals guide our vision for the new textbook. First, we want to present the latest, cutting-edge work in human geography in language that is accessible to undergraduates. Each of the authors is actively engaged in conducting new research, publishing in geography journals, and serving on editorial boards. We believe our active scholarship provides Contemporary Human Geography with a distinct identity and best positions us to ensure that the textbook keeps pace with advances in the field. Moreover, we place great emphasis on writing that is clear, lively, and peppered with fresh examples to help students relate to abstract concepts. Our choice of the word “contemporary” for the book title reflects the importance we place on this goal. Second, we want the textbook to actively facilitate student learning. Collectively, we have six decades of experience teaching and mentoring students from lower-division undergraduate studies through the doctoral level. This experience informs our understanding of what is important for our students of human geography to learn and how to best ensure that they learn it.

Adopters of The Human Mosaic will still see much of what drew them to use the book in the past. Extending the evolution metaphor, Contemporary Human Geography shares much of The Human Mosaic’s DNA. For example, the five themes, which we had revised for the 11th edition of The Human Mosaic to reflect advances in the discipline, will provide the new textbook’s underlying organizational structure. Above all, Contemporary Human Geography retains our enduring view of human geography as seen through the lens of culture. We identify as cultural geographers and have endeavored to produce a textbook suitable for both introductory human geography and cultural geography courses.

We hope that you enjoy teaching with Contemporary Human Geography as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Contemporary Human Geography is organized around five themes. These themes are introduced and explained in the first chapter and serve as the framework for the 10 topical chapters that follow. Each theme is applied to a variety of human geographical topics, such as language, ethnicity, politics, religion, and agriculture. This thematic organization allows students to relate to the most important aspects of human geography at every point in the text. As instructors, we have found that beginning students learn best when provided with a precise and useful framework, and the five-themes approach provides such a framework for understanding human geography. The themes are identified by colored banners that serve as a visual reminder to students when they appear throughout the book. The five themes are:

Our region theme appeals to students’ curiosity about the differences among places. Mobility conveys the dynamic aspect of human geographical phenomena, a theme particularly relevant in a world of incessant and rapid change. Students acquire an appreciation of how people, things, and ideas move (or do not move). The topics employed to illustrate the concepts of mobility include many popular cultural references familiar in students’ daily lives. Globalization permits students to understand the complex processes that link the various economies, cultures, and societies around the world. An understanding of globalizing processes is necessary for explaining how those linkages can create economic and cultural similarities as well as disparities. Nature-culture addresses the complicated relationship between culture and the physical environment. With today’s complex and often controversial relationship between the natural environment and our globalizing world, both the tensions and the alliances that arise with regard to this relationship are now at the forefront of this theme. Finally, the theme of cultural landscape heightens students’ awareness of the visible character of places and regions.

xvi

As we made the transition to Contemporary Human Geography, we paid close attention to the instructor, student, and reviewer feedback on The Human Mosaic that we have received over the years. Past adopters of The Human Mosaic will find in Contemporary Human Geography content that has been significantly revised as well as entirely new material.

Changes in geographic thought and teaching on culture are reflected in a thoroughly rewritten Chapter 2.

We removed the “Geography of Economies” chapter, added a totally new chapter on development (Chapter 9), and consolidated the previous two urban geography chapters into one (Chapter 10). We thus reduced the total number of chapters from 12 to 11 while adding new material.

A new UNESCO World Heritage Site feature has been included in each chapter. Given the enormous cultural significance of these places to humankind, this feature will enhance student appreciation of the importance of place and landscape. Each one illustrates a particular constellation of themes relevant to the chapter in which it is situated.

The Video Connection is a new video-based learning feature added to each chapter. It is focused around brief, timely videos housed on the New York Times web site. Each video speaks to an important issue in the chapter through lived, human experiences. This feature provides opportunities to apply human geographic concepts and engage in critical thinking.

Each chapter now features Learning Objectives to aid in student learning and assessment. Learning objectives are presented at the beginning of each chapter, and then revisited at the chapter’s end, with specific questions and prompts that student can use to reinforce and demonstrate learning.

The new feature Geography at Work helps answer the question “How can a degree in geography lead to a satisfying career?” It highlights the career paths of recent geography graduates who in their own words describe the work they do and how they found meaningful employment in a wide variety of occupations.

Every map and photo in the textbook has been individually assessed to ensure that it is up to date with the latest data and visually appealing. Many new maps and illustrations have also been added throughout.

A new appendix on how to read maps offers students guidance and strategies for reading maps and thinking critically about them.

We have retained those features of The Human Mosaic that now make Contemporary Human Geography relevant and accessible to today’s student of human geography:

Students begin their exploration of geographical concepts at the start of each chapter with a critical thinking question based on the chapter-opening photo. Students then contemplate this question throughout the chapter and explore it in greater depth at the end of the chapter with the Seeing Geography feature. Most Seeing Geography features have been enhanced with updated photographs; many now include new exploration and analysis by the authors.

Subject to Debate boxes present key chapter concepts as questions with an examination of different sides of the surrounding debate. These boxes conclude with a set of critical thinking questions that ask students to explore the debated topic in greater depth.

The Author’s Notebook features explore the personal travels and experiences of the authors as they discover and analyze various concepts related to human geography.

The Doing Geography boxes give students the opportunity to apply the concepts presented in a chapter.

Contemporary Human Geography is accompanied by a media and supplements package that facilitates student learning and enhances the teaching experience.

www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/DomoshCHG1e

Our new coursespace, LaunchPad, combines an interactive e-Book with high-quality multimedia content and ready-made assessment options, including LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. Pre-built, curated units are easy to assign or adapt with your own material, such as readings, videos, quizzes, discussion groups, and more. LaunchPad also provides access to a gradebook that provides a clear window on performance for your whole class, for individual students, and for individual assignments. The following resources are available on LaunchPad.

LearningCurve is an adaptive quizzing engine that automatically adjusts questions to the student’s mastery level. With LearningCurve activities, each student follows a unique path to understanding the material. The more questions a student answers correctly, the more difficult the questions become. Each question is written specifically for the text and is linked to the relevant e-Book section. LearningCurve also provides a personal study plan for students as well as complete metrics for instructors. Proven to raise student performance, LearningCurve serves as an ideal formative assessment and learning tool. For detailed information, visit http://learningcurveworks.com

xvii

Chapter Quizzes provide students with a multiple-choice review to help them assess their mastery of each chapter.

Map Activities, using Map Builder, allow students to create layered thematic maps on their own and complete related activities specific to the chapter.

Videos and Video Activities. More than 200 videos and video activities are available, relating to primarily human and cultural geography with a selection of physical geography clips as well.

Focus on Geography Articles and Quizzes. Selected articles from Focus on Geography magazine and accompanying quizzes bring contemporary geographical issues to students’ attention.

Test Bank

The Test Bank, written by Keith Harrington, provides a wide range of questions appropriate for assessing your students’ comprehension, interpretation, analysis, and synthesis skills. The Test Bank offers approximately 200 multiple-choice and true/false questions per chapter designed for comprehensive coverage of the text concepts. Each question is tagged for difficulty; level on Bloom’s Taxonomy; book sections and page number; as well as learning objectives. The computerized Test Bank, available on CD or as a download, also allows for exporting into a variety of formats compatible with many Internet-based products.

Presentation Slides

Illustration slides feature all of the text art and illustrations in PowerPoint format.

Lecture slides focus on key concepts and themes from the text, and feature tables, graphs, and figures from the text.

Chapter photos, figures, and tables give you access to all of the images from the text, organized by chapter.

Clicker Questions, by Keith Harrington, allow instructors to jump-start discussions, illuminate important points, and promote better conceptual understanding during lectures.