Role of Geography and Literature in Understanding Individuals and Societies - Essay Example

Topic:  To what extent do Geography and Literature in IB help me develop understanding about individuals and societies? Geography and literature havebeen rich sources of knowledge for humans for a long time. They contain examples that reflect the state of the world in the particular era. And the information that is available through these subjects provides a clear indication of the customs and norms of a society (Wood, 2005). Geography and literature are like every other subject in IB course. The focus is on the concepts rather than the facts and the diversity of concepts make them a good tool of knowledge. Geography is not merely a study of spatial features but how the earth has evolved and it is evident throughout history that land is what shapes the traditions and people. In true sense, Geography is the study of Earth as the world of man. With the passage of time, the scope of Geography is merging well with that of social sciences. It is no more a pure physical science rather it is now a mixture of political and social sciences and the physical aspects of Geography. It is a vast subject and thus has a huge impact on developing personal knowledge. After physical geography, Human and social Geography is the second most important branch of Geography. As this subject deals with the world of man and sociological and demographic traits it has the capacity of imparting a huge amount of knowledge (Swirski, 2001). Literature is a subject that depicts the inner thoughts and emotions of individuals. Literature has the capacity of teaching a lot to all those who read it. Literature not only guides the readers towards improved vocabulary, it also provides a lot of information through background information development and a lot more (Wood, 2005). Therefore, geography and literature along with ways of knowing do help in developing understanding about individuals and societies (Swirski, 2007). And in this essay, I will use examples to explain the above assertion. A society is made up of a lot of elements. The major elements I will consider in this essay are: Human Beings Cultural traditions Norms Emotions Values Not only does society include individuals but also traditions, culture norms and emotions. The beauty of a society cannot be explained entirely by learning the facts but a comprehensive knowledge is required. And through the ways of knowing like language, reason and perception we can deepen our thought process. Geography and literature though seem very different subjects can be very similar when it comes to understand individuals and societies (Swirski, 2001). Where literature vividly describes an era and behavior of people, geography describes the reason behind human behavior and actions. It has always been observed that a writer is one of the most sensitive of people and with his work he pulls at the emotions. Therefore, literature is a very good tool to gauge the society’s moods and behavior (Wood, 2005). Many however, disagree that literature is mostly fiction and a product of writer’s imagination not a depiction of the culture and society. However, I disagree, after all the inspiration of all the work of major writers has come from his surroundings. An excellent example is the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel is set in the 1922 New York, after the First World War. It depicts the economic prosperity enjoyed by American people after the war. It is a story of how one American gets rich after the war and tries to win back the love of this girl who is now married. It is a story of how some people quickly became rich and are unable to handle what their wealth entails as they do not have social stature or connections (Swirski, 2007). Most of these people also lack the manners and education that was signature of the wealthy at that time. So if you ignore the plot itself, you will see that the characters are very real. Fitzgerald has done a splendid job in capturing the essence of the era both in terms of the characters and the scenery itself. Of course it also contains all the elements of human nature like struggles, suspicion and insecurities in the relationships. One of the main subjects is also how money can change the way people think and behave. And there is universality in this. Therefore, this shows that literature is a good tool to study people and societies (Swirski, 2001). Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare is another example. It is so rich and powerful with emotions that you can recreate the era every time you read it. It is a traditional romantic tragedy with rich characters that explains the human psychology so well that even today people give reference of it. It is a timeless piece of literature laced with death and drama. Many heavily criticize the morality of the characters in the play and claim that it has no significance in the field of knowledge. I disagree because this play pulls at the heart of human nature. Deceit, jealousy, love and revenge are emotions that play important role in human behavior. And understanding of the individuals can be developed if we understand these emotions. These are the same feelings that make us what we are even today. Therefore, literature may it be prose or poetry are area of knowledge worth exploring (Wood, 2005). Geography on the other hand may seem as a bunch of facts, human and cultural geography are areas of knowledge that particularly address the human behaviors with respect to different regions. Many argue that reading about a culture is not enough to gain a strong perception. And it is necessary to meet people to actually understand their norms. The one on one experience has no comparison to what you get by reading. But I believe that is not true (Swirski, 2001). There are many issues that you cannot discuss when it comes to people from other cultures. There are taboos and issues that may cause rifts and if you start discussing them openly you may offend them. It is therefore best to seek knowledge from what the others have already written before you begin to pursue people for personal experience (Swirski, 2007). With human geography we can understand what drives people in this world. We can judge the perceptions of people and spin a clear and accurate picture of a society that exists thousands of miles away. Globalization has played its role in this regard significantly. Globalization is a phenomenon which has changed our world very significantly. It has changed our lives by bringing the areas of knowledge within our reach through media and other resources like internet (Swirski, 2001). Of course with the unification of economy in the world, people have come closer as they were never before. Money drives the people today and always has. In addition other features of globalization like the sharing of language and cultures have extended our knowledge of people and societies that are far away from us. And all this has been possible due to geography, the subject many claim to be useless. Many however, blame that globalization has created international conflicts instead of better understanding. But it must be noted here that conflicts are more a product of our own misunderstandings rather than globalization. On the other hand, globalization has resolved issues like cold war by bringing knowledge to common people (Wood, 2005). The biggest impact of globalization in our personal lives however remains to be the fact that the cultural boundaries which were very strong only a century back are melting into each other. This is the kind of knowledge which Literature and Geography and other subjects from social sciences impart on IB students. The perceptions have changed. We now understand why people behave the way they do because of geography. Why there is hatred towards the British in the specific areas of South Asia? Why are we under attack from forces that do not want to surrender? These are the questions that can only be answered if we are ready to accept the facts and then go deeper to fix the issues that this world is facing today. The world peace is possible if we are ready to use the ways of knowing to explore the areas of knowledge to find solutions (Wood, 2005). I will conclude this essay with another example, this time from my personal experience. I have friends who are Asians but the cultural or religious differences have never come in the way of our friendship. The reason has been that I read and have developed great understanding about their lives through literature and geography. The perceptions that I have developed through studying are accurate and raveled to harmony between us. Therefore, studying these subjects is primary to enhance world peace. And if we start understanding each other’s culture than I am sure many problems can be resolved. And contrary to popular belief, we can understand to a great extent about the societies and individuals if we are willing to give the knowledge a chance. It can of course be used to harm, but if we harness the power of knowledge, we can definitely build a better world. References: Swirski, Peter, Between Literature and Science, McGill-Queens University Press. 2001. Print. Swirski, Peter, Of Literature and Knowledge: Explorations in Narrative Thought Experiments, Evolution and Game Theory. London: Routledge. 2007. Print. Wood, Michael, Literature and the taste of Knowledge, Cambridge University Press. 2005. Print. Read More