The Changing Approaches to Geography and the Knowlege about Development in the Global South - Essay Example

How do changing approaches to geography affect the knowledge produced about development in the global south over time? Table of Contents Introduction3 Development in the Global South 3 Influencing Argument 4 Merits and Limitations 5 Approaches and Human Geography 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Introduction The word ‘change’ is the only constant word in the world of today. Since long, it has been those who could adapt themselves with the changing times, could survive the transforming phases. One of the most essential equipments in the hands of human to survive and develop has been the attainment of knowledge. It is the quest and development of knowledge that have differentiated humans from all other living beings. The power of analysis and the ability of logical forecast of future initiate the process of future developments for human beings. It can be observed that while some of the countries or the land areas have attained much higher degree of knowledge, many of the areas are still in the dark and just have commenced to get the light of the modern education system. Development in the Global South The area that is broadly classified as the ‘Global South’ had been under prolonged ‘darkness’ with regards to education and knowledge. The citizens of the area were never treated at par with their counterparts of the other parts of the world, till recently. The development of the global south has been basically characterized by the globalization and the modernization. It has been because of globalization, the citizens of those backward areas could get the ray of hope as it had all the attributes of being huge market. The way the Chinese firms entered into the Nigerian textile industry is a perfect example of such effects of globalization. Without much advantages of the modern knowledge, Nigeria turned out to be the dumping ground of the inferior quality Chinese goods which ultimately destroyed the indigenous industry of the land (Akinrinade & Ogen, 2008). Though such acts of globalization had certain de-merits for those nations but with time the light of knowledge could be accessed in those backward countries too. The various types of knowledge used in those economies of Global South include ontology and epistemology. Ontology is that branch of philosophy that studies the reality along with categories of being and their relations. Epistemology, on the other hand, is a much broader term and provides due emphasis on the different facets of acquired knowledge. The epistemology, as the experts suggest, is also a branch of philosophy that takes in to purview the various features, scopes and limitations of the knowledge. The four basic attributes of the epistemology include the definition of knowledge, the way of acquiring such knowledge, knowledge of the people and the certainty of knowing what people know (Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1967). Influencing Argument It can be said without much doubt that epistemology has been the prime approach followed in the Global South. As the areas could not get the benefit of the modern education and the knowledge, the colonial rulers exploited the natives in all possible methods. Almost all of the nations of the area were colonies of one imperial power or the other. As observed by Andre Gunder Frank at the Monthly Review regarding the development of under-development, way back in 1966 holds strong importance even today after so many years of his death. The noted social – scientist studied that it is not because of the lack of modern benefits in those areas, are they lagging behind in the questions of economic development but because of the imperialistic powers. Frank noted, though the land is producing no development for the natives but the imperialists are robbing them of all the valuable assets and rendering the nations bankrupt. According to him, it is the knowledge that is creating the ultimate difference as the imperialist powers knew how to use the knowledge for the own benefits but the natives and indigenous countrymen did not know how to do so. In such circumstances it is perceived that epistemology would be the best method of education as it has competitive analysis of the knowledge like what is learnt, the way of learning and how can one be so sure that it has been learnt (Frank, 1966). Merits and Limitations Every approach that has been involved with the changing geography and the knowledge produced has positives as well as negatives. The most common approach used has been the epistemology as already discussed. Epistemology justifies the every step of acquiring knowledge. At the very outset, it questions the knowledge itself and then the way of acquiring the knowledge. The approach of epistemology also seeks certainty of having the acquired knowledge. Such logical approach is very helpful for those people who were deprived of the modern methods of learning and education for long. But being skeptic also does not help as it again hinders the necessary function of attainment of knowledge. The researchers of the field often has been found to be indulged in to the debate as to why always it is said about developments ‘over there’ i.e. in the third world countries and not ‘over here’ in the first world nations even when all of the areas of the third world nations are not that poor. In this regard, Jones states, the standard that is classified in the wealth economies like that of United States and the United Kingdom as ‘poor’, is actually a sort of middle class luxury for such nations (Jones, 1999). Communism also has played significant role in the attainment of knowledge by the citizens of the deprived geographical locations. The communists from the very outset tried to create mass uprising against the imperialist powers and therefore in order to do so they tried to educate the mass of the colonies of these imperialist nations. Approaches and Human Geography The approaches that are to be initiated for the purpose of the knowledge sharing often depend upon the geography of the individuals. For example, the approach taken in a country where the population is widely scattered will essentially be different from the approach that would be initiated in Tanzania where the population is very concentrated in and around the big cities. In fact, it is calculated that the two – third of the Tanzania’s land is covered only one – twentieth of the population (Hirst, n.d.). As Lange observed that, the varying geography gave birth to different approaches as the different colonies of the British imperialism had differing ways of being ruled which ultimately led to their different approaches after the colonialism ended. Most of the common-wealth countries differed in majority of their independent policies (Lange, 2003). So, it can be assessed without much trouble that the changing geography calls for changing approaches in the social-economic realm of the present world and knowledge sharing with the extreme south follows the similar path. Conclusion Knowledge is the only differentiator of this world. The economy of the world is showing active trends to get shifted from the physical economy to the knowledge economy. It is the attainment of knowledge and having the information that can create all the major differences. Knowledge again depends upon the changing geography. Hence, there should be fine balance between knowledge and geography that would assist one in attainment of modern education. References Akinrinade, S. & Ogen, O., 2008. Globalization and De-Industrialization: South-South Neo-Liberalism and the Collapse of the Nigerian Textile Industry. The Global South. Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Volume 3, Macmillan, Inc, 1967. Frank, A., 1966. The development of under-development. Monthly Review. Hirst, M. A., No Date. Tanzania’s Population Distribution, 1948-67: Some Macroscopic Comments. Makerere University. Jones, P. S., 1999. Why is it alright to do development ‘over there’ but not ‘here’? University of Liverpool. [Online] Available at: http://www.jstor.org/pss/20004063 [Accessed 14 February, 2010]. Lange, M. W., 2004. British Colonial Legacies and Political Development. World Development. Bibliography Ashley D, Orenstein DM 2005. Sociological theory: Classical statements. Boston, MA, USA: Pearson Education. 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