Opening the West to New Horizons - Essay Example

Opening the West to New Horizons The past several centuries have been a Golden Age for geographical exploration and development. There have been hundreds of explorations and hundreds of texts written on other cultures and geographical tendencies over this period of time. Even the nation of America was established during the new age of geography. But not every geographer agreed with one another, and many had differing ideologies and ways of accomplishing things. Often, geographers would disagree totally or having completely opposing views as to what to do about certain cultures. One of the best examples would be to compare Carl Sauer to David Livingstone, two geographers that although both respected throughout the geographical community, they had totally opposing views as to how it should be implemented into history. To receive a better understanding of the difference between Carl and David, it is essential to go through and compare the two geographers and their way of thinking. Carl was a more open minded sort who felt as if cultures should be respected and studied in depth to understand how various people used their surroundings to flesh themselves out. He believed that past societies developed their cultures according to what was available to them. Take for instance a culture built near an ocean. Carl would believe that most certainly the ocean and seafaring would certainly play roles in the development of the societies religion and moral codes. Water could be considered sacred to such a society. Then there is the other end of the spectrum, where David Livingstone comes in. Although he still respected many other cultures, he almost felt they were inferior to the modern ideals of Christianity. He believed that through Christ, many cultures across the world could open themselves to Western culture and commerce, and that it would benefit them more than their own cultures. He felt a need to spread the word of God to these various other societies without regarding their own cultures as nearly important as the will of God. He believed that no matter what conditions the society was in, by following God and Christ, they could reform and better themselves in every aspect of life, no matter what, and made it his lifes mission to accomplish this. The two men did a lot in the field of geography, and first we will start with the accomplishments and history of David Livingstone. David was born on March 19, 1813 in Scotland. Even in his young years, he felt a respect and love for nature. He was even making his own living at the age of 10 in a cotton mill, whilst attending school to learn more about geography and nature. Through various readings in his life, he managed to follow the path of God and devoted everything that he was doing to the will of Christ. In 1840, he became an ordained missionary at the Albion Street Chapel. From here he would start his monastic lifestyle and leave to spread the Gospel. He decided that he also wanted to continue his love for geography, so he set off for Africa, a land he new was untamed and still fairly unexplored. Plus, it was a land that was currently free of Christianity, and the perfect grounds to spread his ideals. He felt that by opening up new routes of trade to Europe and teaching the people about Christianity in Africa, he could improve their lifestyles and that his explorations would pave the way for future missions to Africa. In 1840, during the harsh month of December, David descended for Cape Town to begin his quest in Africa. When he finally arrived, he was appalled at the treatment of the natives by may of the white Europeans in the area. To show that he was different and to receive a more amiable response to his idealistic religion, he began a mission to help heal diseases and create peace between those living in Cape Town and the surrounding area. The natives welcomed Livingstone with open arms because of the help he provided them, and many listened to his ideas. He felt this was a start and decided to continue with his goal. It was here where he met his wife, Mary Moffat. Mary and David were married in 1844, and enjoyed a life together for a long period of time. Between the two of them they had six children, and although one of the happiest couples around, they had to disassociate themselves for the sake of Davids quest. A few years later, David set out once again to complete his mission. He traveled to the source of the Nile and throughout the rest of his years, provided valuable information about the cultures of Africa and much of the landscape. Future explorers would use Davids works as referenced whenever they went to do their own research or start their own missions. As to whether or not David made a large impact on the lifestyle of Africans as a whole, it is certainly true that he did much to contribute to the field of science. He provided maps and cultural information on a large section of Africa and this allowed future geographers to have a reference to work from whenever they would visit Africa. Carl Sauer had a much different walk of life than David did. On the date of December 24, 1889, Carl Sauer was born in Warrenton, Missouri. He was an incredibly intelligent child, and his parents sent him off to Calur, Württemberg, where he received his first graduate degree before the age of 19. This was only the beginning of his education however. In 1915, he received his doctorate for philosophy from the University of Chicago. Loving the field of geography, he decided to take many personal studies at eventually taught the subject. In 1923, Sauer decided to go work for the University of California in Berkeley. There he taught geography and wrote several publications and books. His first and one of his most valuable publications had to be his "outline for geographical fieldwork", completed and revised from 1915-1921. At this time, geographers already knew a lot about fieldwork, but didnt quite have an effective way to map it all out. So Sauer corrected this problem using his own method of land-use mapping, which had several points to it to help geographers out. Land-use mapping was a way to chart, in the simplest definition, how land is used by various people living in it. This way, you could track how certain societies grew around certain resources and land terrains. You could discover a lot of information this way, and it was quickly adopted as another tool for geographers to use in their toolbox. For instance, you could determine by the physical appearance of a certain group of people that they might live closer to the equator and in more tropical conditions if their skin and hair is darker. Or, you could find that a certain religion centered around the sun could show through land-use mapping that that particular society lived in an area where a lot of sun was experienced. For instance, the said society might live in a dessert or in an area with large amounts of open plains. Sauer also taught himself about anthropology and used this to develop many of his additions to the field of geography. In this way, he could research and understand how people lived and why they did what they did, and by using geography, could link the two to help predict possible future life styles of many modern societies. You could learn a lot from the way people lived, and with a deeper understanding of geography and philosophy, Sauer was able to make multiple publications about people and how they developed throughout history. Both men had made significant achievements, and Sauer is even considered most popular geographer at the University of the Philippines. Whereas one geographer discovered the untamed lands of Africa and opened it up to Western expansionism and modern geography, the other developed ways for Americans to discover their true heritage and the heritage of the land they lived upon. They both had their differences and went about things in very different ways, and its almost impossible to not notice these differences. Whereas Livingstone preferred to be right on the spot and do the grunt work himself, Sauer preferred to develop theories and banded with others to fully experiment with all aspect of geography. Both ways work, and in no way is one method preferred over the other in any majority. It is essential to have both the thinkers and the actors. David preferred to create real world results and have hands on experience. Sauer preferred to observe these real world results and provide ways to think as to why the results are the way they are. Both help to contribute to any future predictions which could be made, and both help to explain the histories of societies everywhere. Livingstone also preferred to incorporate religion into his studies. He felt he was making a difference by approaching the African tribes and offering them a new way of life and a new way to think. Although many would consider this enforcing your religion on others, he never forced his ideals upon the tribes. If they accepted God, it was their own decision. He spent a lot of time trying to influence their decisions but never did he force them. Sauer, however, was rather adverse to the method of missionary exploration. He felt as if everyones cultural beliefs were important and rich with detail and history. He figured that every and all forms of religion and culture should be equally respected and equally used in the pursuit of geography and anthropology. Rather than try and wipe out the old ways of many people, Sauer strove to teach others about different cultures and different ways of life, to help expand peoples thinking. In such a way, he felt, old cultures could be preserved and forever portrayed in the history books, and further researched to see if bits and pieces from different societies couldnt be used in the future to help influence the world of today. There is also the difference in when the two geographers lived as well. Livingstone came from an older period of colonial expansionism, and this helped him gain support for his monastic ways. Sauer was on the other end of the spectrum where most Western societies were done expanding, and rather than trying to show their religious beliefs to others, they were beginning to learn and understand the cultural ways of other groups of people. Not to say that one way is better than the other, for both ways are important in truly understanding everyone. Part of anthropology is understanding how people will react to new thoughts. Livingstone accomplished this by showing how the tribes would react to the new idea of Christianity. Sauer accomplished this by showing how modern people would react to learning and adapting to the old ways of life from many cultures across the world. Also, both geographers contributed greatly to many arguments going on today across all of Western society. One is the theory of Darwin, which has become a huge and heated debate in nearly every Western society. Geography has always been about science, but during the colonial expansionist era, the time when Livingstone was alive, there was a separation. This separation has even lasted through today. Many scientists in every field are taking religion into their studies, and using what they were taught as a religion as a basis for fact. Although neither way is totally proven as correct, they are both very thought provoking. It may be narrow minded to say that maybe there really is only one true religion, but how do we know yet? Maybe there is only one central spiritual force for everyone, or maybe nothing at all. The debate rages on and both geographers have contributed their thoughts. Both geographers are still celebrated even today. Sauer didnt die too long ago, and his colleagues have maintained his personal college which he developed in California. The Association of American Geographers still holds many seminars and lectures about the teachings of Sauer. In particular they explain the benefits of using resource use mapping, teaching various techniques to implement this tool in all geographical studies. Livingstone is still highly celebrated in many universities across England. Various Christian study universities teach the geographical methods and accomplishments of Livingstone. But there is still a lot which can be learned from Sauer and Livingstone. Take for instance, which tribes did Livingstone actually get to convert if any? In what ways can we learn from Livingstones methods and apply them to todays modern missionaries? Will Sauers methods of use mapping truly and accurately help to predict the futures of many of todays cultures? These questions are all a part of the beauty that is modern day science. While it helps to explain various aspects in our lives, it leaves even more questions for us to answer. In this way it creates a perpetual wave of new discoveries and theories waiting to be developed. It gives us a sense of accomplishment while at the same time giving an aura of mystique and giving us even more to think about. In the end, geography will continue to be a science which will constantly be refined. It is a dangerous science out in the field as well, for you can never truly know everything about the nations and tribes without living in them for an entire lifetime. Who knows if a native tribe will accept you into their way of life to teach you what they know? And who can know if we will always be correct about how resources affect the way people develop. We can never disregard the science and must continue. It has helped us in ways we have never imagined. Many inventions and philosophies were taken from past societies. Even Livingstones precious Christianity first developed in the "Cradle of Life" and passed down to the Babylonians, then the Romans and finally much of modern day Western society. The more we can learn and understand about ourselves, the more accurate and sound judgments we can make about our futures. Works Cited Page AAG, Overview and Future Projects, December 3, 2005 http://www.aag.org/ Upcoming events and predictions about future geography made Biography of Geography, December 3, 2005 http://geography.biography.ms/ History of geography and some of its players mentioned and cited BookRags.com, Carl Ortwin Sauer Biography, December 3, 2005 http://www.bookrags.com/biography-carl-ortwin-sauer/index.html Much of article cited, a lot of information about Sauers history Carl. O Sauer, Foreword to Historical Geography, December 3, 2005 http://www.colorado.edu/geography/giw/sauer-co/1941_fhg/1941_fhg.html Possible uses of Sauers geographical studies mentioned Department of Anthropology, Bruce D Dickinson Publications, December 3, 2005 http://anthropology.tamu.edu/faculty/dickson/publications.htm Articles relating to Sauer referenced from here Encyclopedia Britannica, Carl Sauer, December 3, 2005 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9065884 Reference to Sauers work at Berekely cited Galen B. Royer, Short Biography of David Livingstone, December 3, 2005 http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/bliving2.html History and background of Livingstones work cited KSSP, Sauer Named Most Popular Geographer, December 3, 2005 http://web.kssp.upd.edu.ph/geography/main.html Fact that Sauer named most popular geographer garnered from here Nina Brown, Culture Area Research and Mapping, December 3, 2005 http://www.csiss.org/classics/content/15 Real examples of use mapping cited and predictions of its future also cited W. Pakenham Walsh, David Livingstone: Africa, December 3, 2005 http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/bliving11.html History of Davids work in Africa researched Read More