Its fundamental subject matter is people and their environments--it serves, therefore, as a bridge between the physical and social worlds. It is an integrative discipline in which scholars endeavor to understand the role of humans in producing the social and biophysical worlds in which they live.

Geographers study interactions between: people and places, society and natural environments, and local and global processes. They also investigate the influence of space (e.g. distance, locale or setting, boundaries, etc.) on social and physical processes. Therefore, most geographers begin answering questions about Earth?s phenomena by endeavoring to understand locations of particular things, why they are there, and how they got there. Geographers address some of the world?s most urgent questions, including:

• How to create sustainable cities and regions?

• What are the causes and impacts of climate change?

• How and why are ecologies, economies, and cultures changing through globalization?

• How is economic inequality in cities and towns connected to global processes?

• Why and how is mapping so important to so many activities, from classrooms to corporate boardrooms?

• What are the geographical effects of the growing use of social media?

• How are geographic information systems (GIS) used to address environmental and social challenges?

The Geography program is offered by the University of West Georgia.