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Contemporary Human Geography, 4th edition

Published by Pearson (February 12, 2018) © 2019

  • James M. Rubenstein Miami University of Ohio

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For courses in human geography.

Your map to human geography

Contemporary Human Geography is a modular springboard into essential human and cultural geography concepts, designed for the modern geography student. This brief, innovative text explores contemporary human geography in a bold, visual style with topics organized into self-contained, 2-page spreads.

The 4th Edition provides the latest science, statistics, and associated imagery and presents new What's Your Geography activities. What's Your Geography encourages students to reflect on their own experiences and connect human geography concepts to their personal lives and global patterns to their local geographies.

Hallmark features of this title

  • The modular organization presents chapters in self-contained 2-page spreads that gives instructors flexibility when assigning material.
  • Review, Analyze, & Apply concludes each chapter with Main Points organized by Key Questions; Thinking Geographically critical-thinking questions; GeoVideo critical-thinking activities; Geospatial Analysis activities; and Explore activities.
  • International coverage goes beyond the western tradition to show connections at international and global levels.
  • Gender, nationality, and ethnicity themes are presented clearly with the most current and diverse coverage.
  • Folk and popular culture phenomena from professional sports, to music, to social networking are integrated to keep students engaged as they read.

New and updated features of this title

  • What's Your Geography activities ask students to reflect on their experiences and behavior, and environments and histories, to connect concepts to their personal lives and local geographies.
  • Research & Analyze activities examine data and respond to critical-thinking questions in each chapter by connecting students to online tools and original data sources.
  • UPDATED: Debate It presents 2 sides of a complex topic to engage students in active debate around the most critical topics of human geography today.
  • UPDATED: Cartography. All maps have been updated with the latest data from human geography.
  • UPDATED: A structured learning path guides students through content with Chapter Openers that use preview the chapter, and 4 Key Questions that open a chapter, providing structure for the chapter modules.
  • UPDATED: Political geography sections include information on Brexit, and US and European elections.

Features of Mastering Geography or the 4th Edition

  • NEW & UPDATED: MapMaster 2.0 Interactive Map Activities. inspired by GIS, allow students to layer various thematic maps to analyze spatial patterns and data at regional and global scales. This tool allows students to geolocate themselves in the data and upload their own data for map making.
  • UPDATED: Video Activities from sources such as the BBC, Financial Times, and Television for the Environment's Life and Earth Report series, provide applied real-world examples of human geography in action, a sense of place, and allow for a range of people and places to be explored.
  • UPDATED: GeoVideo activities integrate BBC videos at the end of chapters, encouraging students to log into Mastering Geography to view the videos and answer questions.
  • UPDATED: GeoTutor Activities help students master the most challenging geography concepts with highly visual, kinesthetic activities focused on critical thinking, data analysis and the application of concepts.
  • Google Earthâ„¢ Virtual Tour videos give students brief narrated spatial explorations of places and people around the world, covering critical themes such as globalization and sustainability.
  1. This is Geography
  2. Population & Health
  3. Migration
  4. Folk & Popular Culture
  5. Languages
  6. Religions
  7. Ethnicities
  8. Political Geography
  9. Food & Agriculture
  10. Development
  11. Industry
  12. Services & Settlements
  13. Urban Patterns
  14. Resource Issues

About our author

James M. Rubenstein received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1975. He was Professor of Geography at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he taught urban and human geography, and where he helped develop the new Sustainability co-major in the Institute for the Environment & Sustainability.

He is also the author of Pearson's The Cultural Landscape and Introduction to Contemporary Geography. He is often invited to give talks and presentations at colleges, high schools, and professional meetings.

Rubenstein works as a regional consultant for the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank and he conducts research in the automotive industry. He is often interviewed by the media on automotive and economic issues, and has published three books on the subject: The Changing US Auto Industry: A Geographical Analysis (Routledge); Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the US Auto Industry (The Johns Hopkins University Press); and Who Really Made Your Car? Restructuring and Geographic Change in the Auto Industry (W.E. Upjohn Institute, with Thomas Klier).

He is a semi-amateur, semi-professional painter, and displays his work at galleries in Maryland and Ohio.

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