World Studies Regions

Many students in middle-level social studies programs engage in the geographic study of world regions. Students explore patterns of change in continuity, the rise and fall of civilizations, patterns of geography, and development of political, economic, and societal systems... so why not get them to explore the world through the experiences of women and gender? Click the region below to learn more about the framework that shapes women's lives there. 
​Question: What is it like for women in _________?

THe five themes of geography:

When geographers study regions of the world, they think about the following questions:

• Where is it? Location can identify a precise spot or tell where one place is in relation to another. There are two ways to talk about location. Absolute location describes a place's exact position on Earth. You might call absolute location a geographic address. Geographers identify the absolute location by using two kinds of imaginary lines around the Earth: latitude and longitude. With these lines, they can pinpoint any spot on Earth. 
  
• What is it like? Place includes physical characteristics as well as human ones, like language, religion, and politics. Physical Characteristics: landforms(mountains, plains, etc) bodies of water (oceans, lakes, bays, etc) ecosystems (soil, plants, animals, and climate). Human Characteristics: bridges, roads, buildings, culture and language. 
  
• How are places similar or different? Region compares physical and human characteristics. What language(s) do people speak? What are the political divisions of the country (states, provinces, republics)? How is the country similar to any of its neighbors (traditions, language, climate)? How are genders treated differently in different locations?
  
• How do people, goods, and ideas move from one location to another? How will you travel to the place (route, drive, fly, walk)? Does the country export goods to other places? If so, what and where? Does the country import goods from other places? If so, what and from where? Why would people leave or move to the country (jobs, family, climate, war)? What role do women play in these economies? Are their labors paid or otherwise compensated?
  
• How do people relate to the physical world? People learn to use and change what the environment offers them. People depend on the environment. People adapt to the environment. People modify the environment. How do people use the land (farming, herding, mining, industry)? How have people changed the land? Where do most people live (near a river or coastline, in the mountains)? Why do you think people settled there (water, safety, food, natural beauty)? What role do women play in connecting the people to the environment?

Hemispheres

To study Earth, geographers divide the globe into equal halves. Each half is called a hemisphere. An imaginary line called the equator divides the globe into north and south halves. The half of Earth north of the equator is called the Northern Hemisphere. The half south of the equator is called the Southern Hemisphere.

​Geographers use another imaginary line to divide Earth east from west. This line is called the prime meridian. The half of Earth west of the prime meridian is called the Western Hemisphere. The half east of the prime meridian is called the Eastern Hemisphere. 

Geographic Grid

The diagram also shows two globes marked with lines of latitude and longitude. As you have already learned, latitude lines lie to the north and south of the equator. Longitude lines go around Earth over the poles. These lines run east and west of the prime meridian. Geographers use a grid system to find the point where a latitude line and a longitude line cross. This point identifies an absolute location—the exact place on Earth where a city or other geographic feature can be found. Remember that location is one of the themes geographers use to describe Earth.Absolute location is expressed using the coordinates, or set of numbers, of the latitude and longitude lines. These coordinates are measured in degrees. Every place on Earth has only one absolute location.