ETS ADVANCED PLACEMENT OUTLINE
FOR HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

I.         Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives

A.     Geography as a field of inquiry

B.      Evolution of key geographical concepts and models associated with notable geographers

C.      Key concepts underlying the geographical perspective: space, place, and scale

D.      Key geographical skills

1.        How to use and think about maps and spatial data sets

2.        How to understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places

3.        How to recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes

4.        How to define regions and evaluate the regionalization process

5.        How to characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places

E.       Sources of geographical ideas and data:  the field, census data, etc.

II.       Population

A.     Geographical analysis of population

1.        Boundaries, area, units, and densities

2.        Scale and process

3.        Population and environment

B.      Population distribution and composition

1.        Factors affecting distribution

2.        Consequences of particular distributions

3.        Patterns of age, sex, race, and ethnicity

4.        Responses to natural hazards: past, present, and future

C.      Population growth and decline over time and space

1.        Historical trends and projections for the future

2.        Patterns of fertility, mortality, and health

3.        Regional variations of demographic transitions

4.        Effects of pro- and anti-natalist policies

D.      Population movement

1.        Major voluntary and involuntary migrations at different scales

2.        Short-term, local movements, and activity space

III.     Cultural Patterns and Processes

A.     Concepts of culture

1.        Traits and complexes

2.        Diffusion

3.        Acculturation

4.        Cultural regions and realms

B.      Cultural differences

1.        Language

2.        Religion

3.        Ethnicity

4.        Gender

5.        Popular and folk culture

C.      Environmental impact of cultural attitudes and practices

D.      Cultural landscapes and cultural identity

1.        Values and preferences

2.        Symbolic landscapes and sense of place

IV.     Political Organization of Space

A.     Territorial dimensions of politics

1.        The concept of territoriality

2.        The nature and meaning of boundaries

3.        Influences of boundaries on identity, interaction, and exchange

B.      Evolution of the contemporary political pattern

1.        Territorial assumptions underlying the nation-state ideal

2.        Colonialism and imperialism

3.        Internal political boundaries and arrangements

C.      Challenges to inherited political-territorial arrangements

1.        Changing nature of sovereignty

2.        Fragmentation, unification, alliance

3.        Spatial relationships between political patterns and patterns of ethnicity, economy, and environment

V.       Agricultural and Rural Land Use

A.     Development and diffusion of agriculture

1.        Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

2.        Evolution of energy sources and technology

3.        Regions of plant and animal domestication

B.      Major agricultural production regions

1.        Agricultural systems associated with major bio-climatic zones

2.        Production and food supply: linkages and flows

C.      Rural land use and change

1.        Land use and location models

2.        Settlement patterns and urban-rural connection

3.        Environmental and social impacts of intensification

D.      Impacts of modern agricultural change

1.        Green Revolution

2.        Consumption, nutrition, and hunger

3.        Industrial/commercial agriculture

4.        Environmental change: desertification, deforestation, etc.

VI.     Industrialization and Economic Development

A.     Character of industrialization

1.        Economic sectors: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary

2.        Specialization in places and the concept of comparative advantage

3.        Transport and communications

4.        Models of industrial location

B.      Spatial aspects of the rise of industrial economies

1.        Changing energy sources and technology

2.        Economic cores and peripheries

3.        Models of economic development and their geographic critiques

C.      C. Contemporary global patterns of industrialization

1.        Linkages and interdependencies

2.        Changing patterns of economic activity

3.        Deindustrialization

4.        Economic development initiatives: government policies

D.      Impacts of industrialization

1.        Time-space compression

2.        Social stratification

3.        Health and quality of life

4.        Environmental change and issues of sustainability

VII.   Cities and Urban Land Use

A.     Definitions of urbanism

B.      Origin and evolution of cities

1.        Historical patterns of urbanization

2.        Cultural context and urban form

3.        Urban growth and rural-urban migration

4.        Rise of megacities

5.        Models of urban systems

6.        Comparative models of internal city structure

C.      Functional character of contemporary cities

1.        Changing employment mix

2.        Changing demographic and social structures

D.      Built environment and social space

1.        Transportation and infrastructure

2.        Political organization of urban areas

3.        Locational decisions, conflicts, and hazards

4.        Uneven development, ghettoization,and gentrification

5.        Patterns of race, ethnicity, gender, and class

6.        Impacts of suburbanization and edge cities

E.       Responses to urban growth

1.        Urban planning and design

2.      Community action and initiative