Geography, as well as several other sciences, uses categories to base your studies. It is about the elaboration and use of basic concepts that guide the cut and the analysis of a certain phenomenon to be studied. For example, a geographic study of certain geopolitical disputes can be carried out with the based on the concept of territory, which would be a category to be used as a way to see the study.
Currently, in addition to geographic space – the main object of analysis of Geography – there are four main concepts that were consolidated as geographic categories: territory, region, landscape and place. Below is a brief conceptualization:
Landscape: refers to the outer space settings. It has often been defined as “what the vision achieves”. However, this definition disregards the so-called “hidden landscapes”, that is, those processes and dynamics that are visible, but that were somehow hidden by society. In addition, such definition also fails to consider the sense of sight as a preceptor of space, with the importance of the other senses, especially hearing and smell.
Thus, we can state, simply and directly, that the concept of landscape refers to the manifestations and spatial phenomena that can be apprehended by human beings through their senses.
Territory: is classically defined as a space delimited. Such delimitation takes place across borders, whether defined by man or nature. But these borders are not always visible or very well defined, as the conformation of a territory obeys a power relationship, which may occur both in high coverage (the territory of a country, for example) and in smaller spaces (the territory of drug dealers in a slum, for example).
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Region: it is an area or space that has been divided according to specific criteria. It is a rational human elaboration to better understand a certain area or an aspect of it. Thus, regions can be created to carry out studies on the general characteristics of a territory (Brazilian regions, for example) or to understand certain aspects of space (the geoeconomic regions of Brazil to understand the economy Brazilian). I can create my own region for dividing an area based on its cultural practices or its different natural landscapes, among other criteria.
Place: is a category widely used by those thinkers who prefer to build a comprehensive conception of Geography. Roughly speaking, place can be defined as the perceived space, that is, a certain area or point of space as understood by human reason. Its concept is also linked to the affective space, that place in which a certain person has a certain familiarity or intimacy, such as a street, a square or the house itself.
It must be remembered, however, that these categories and concepts are not exclusive to Geography, and may have other meanings when used in other sciences or by common sense. Furthermore, these are not necessarily the only categories of this science, but only the ones most commonly adopted by geographers in their studies.
Throughout the history of geographic thought, other categories have predominated, such as the notion of "position", an important concept in studies of Friedrich Ratzel, and "Genres of Life", a term used by Vidal de la Blache.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "Categories of Geography"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/categorias-geografia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
