Social geography

Geography glossary

Topic: Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Human Geography: Nature and Scope"

Meaning

Social geography is a field of human geography. Its sister discipline is sociology. It studies society, how it spreads and changes across space, and the cultural features it creates. These include beliefs, customs, languages and ways of life. Its sub-fields are:

  • behavioural geography
  • geography of social well-being
  • geography of leisure
  • cultural geography
  • gender geography
  • historical geography
  • medical geography

Example

The Abujh Maria people live in Abujhmarh, a forested hill area in Narayanpur district of southern Chhattisgarh. Their beliefs, such as thanking the forest spirit Loi-Lugi, and their tribal fairs called madhai are tied to the forest. Social geography studies how this way of life fits its place.

Don't confuse with

  • Cultural geography: it is only one sub-field inside social geography. It focuses on culture, such as language and religion regions. Social geography is the wider umbrella.

Related concepts

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