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Why is geography looked down upon?

Despite being one of the most important subjects for the future it's all 'get your colouring pencils' and 'get the maps' etc. Why is this?

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its just academic banter, geo is not STEM but its in the next tier for me
Original post by ForestShadow
its just academic banter, geo is not STEM but its in the next tier for me


When you say tier, do you mean tiers of intelligence? Or tiers of prestige? Or something else
I would disagree with the title. Geography is a subject that overlaps with economics, maths and science so you it requires some level of skill to do well at it. It is also a recommended facilitating A level subject for Russel Group universities. Not sure why someone wouldn't take it seriously 😞
Reply 4
Most people don't really understand geography as it is today and they believe it's all about locating countries on a map. While this may have been truer decades ago, lots of people don't understand the depth that the subject now has, and they don't understand how it has evolved over the years.
Original post by lukerules1234
When you say tier, do you mean tiers of intelligence? Or tiers of prestige? Or something else


tiers of being looked up/looked down on I guess, geography is still definitely ranked very highly for me for being so synoptic
Literally because once you know the world map your done mate. Theres no depth in the subject
Original post by 111davey1
Literally because once you know the world map your done mate. Theres no depth in the subject

b.a.n.t.e.r
Original post by 111davey1
Literally because once you know the world map your done mate. Theres no depth in the subject


Technically there is. Look up human geography (which is studied alongside physical geography in the subject).
I dont think it is. Only ignorant people look down on it.
It's kind of a funny subject overlapping geology, world socio-politics, economics, map reading, even weather science I think. It's a good place to start if you're not sure where to branch off into and compliments other subjects well like earth sciences or politics.
Do you mean the A-level/GCSE subject, or as a degree?

For the former, it's a perfectly acceptable subject. It has the right balance of interdisciplinary and breadth to foster independent investigations into various aspects of it in further depth from the student. It can be a useful starting point for students interested in many areas - particularly for example, earth sciences, which doesn't have an associated A-level (at least, not commonly available/accepted - A-level Geology is pretty rare and not usually considered as a core science by universities, although it would also be suitable with other sciences in preparing for this route, certainly). Geography with e.g. Maths and Biology/Chemistry/Physics would be a reasonable background for pursuing this direction. It also complements subjects such as Economics, Politics, and History well.

In the case of it as a degree subject, this nature of the subject described above is the issue most have. As you progress through academia, in general the expectation is you need to continually narrow your focus into more specific areas of study and research. Geography at degree level suffers an identity crisis; is it a scientific subject analysing the natural world? Or is it a social science considering aspects of development and demography? Is it something else entirely, a technological vocation focusing on specific computational methods of storing and presenting information about the world we live in?

Therein lies the problem - it's trying to be all of those things, but there are other degrees which train students in much greater breadth and depth in those specific areas. Earth Sciences, Sociology, Economics, Computer Science, Environmental Engineering, etc, all consider these issues, but build up a incredibly strong foundation in the core skills of the discipline allowing their graduates to pursue their interests in this area and use skills from a number of perspectives within that discipline. Geography just...has a mishmash of bits and pieces of all of those mashed together in the most vaguely coherent way.

It's a "nothing" degree. It prepares you for no specific role, no particular area of academic research, no specific skills beyond generic transferable skills developed on any degree. It's the kind of degree people do when they're (upper) middle class and plan on going to work in media or similar afterwards, for whom a degree is just a tick box that they already know they're going to achieve and will have no financial or other considerations to make in pursuing one.
I don't rate subjects which just require u to remember everything e.g. psychology/biology ( not hating, just too much remembering for me). That being said, geography does require some understanding it's not all just crap u have to remember so I kinda rate it, just not as much as maths or physics.
Original post by artful_lounger
It's a "nothing" degree. It prepares you for no specific role, no particular area of academic research, no specific skills beyond generic transferable skills developed on any degree. It's the kind of degree people do when they're (upper) middle class and plan on going to work in media or similar afterwards, for whom a degree is just a tick box that they already know they're going to achieve and will have no financial or other considerations to make in pursuing one.


I disagree with all of this but I particularly resent the bit in bold. It's the kind of degree someone with an interest in the physical and social world around them does.

The vast majority of undergraduate degrees do not prepare you for a specific role/job, or indeed a particular area of academic research. I would argue that one of geography's strengths is the extraordinary range of possibilities it offers. I love the idea that one can in effect construct one's own degree and tailor it to your specific interests within the geography umbrella, so two graduates of geography from the same university could have completely different skill sets (e.g. one could specialise in glaciology and be primed for a PhD in Earth Sciences, and someone else could specialise in international development and economic geography and work for the World Bank).
Reply 15
Original post by lukerules1234
Despite being one of the most important subjects for the future it's all 'get your colouring pencils' and 'get the maps' etc. Why is this?


Most of it , as others have said, is banter and they don't really believe it as well. The many importance and functions of human geography and physical geography aren't known to many people, with a lot of people thinking just physical and not human at all when mentioning geography. Luckily, the smarter people and academc people who may judge you by it recognise it's relevance and importance, with only ignorant people not understanding it, in which case just amaze them all with it's many aspects and links to other subjects.

Side note: one person who used to mock geography was my form tutor who threw around the colouring maps joke often, and it turned out he hadn't done that well himself in A Level Geography 😂. Same with another student who used to say the same thing but hadn't done well in GCSE Geography.
it is a hard subject , sometimes i lose my colour pencils and must buy new ones :frown:
What is the practical application of a geography degree that is not covered by other degrees?

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It's not such a great subject for finding a good job.
Original post by carlafossil320
I would disagree with the title. Geography is a subject that overlaps with economics, maths and science so you it requires some level of skill to do well at it. It is also a recommended facilitating A level subject for Russel Group universities. Not sure why someone wouldn't take it seriously 😞


I agree

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