Population Geography – Migration Migration Exercise

Globalization Exercise # 1:
Population Geography – Migration
Migration Exercise
• In this exercise you will compose an essay and a
map based on your family’s history, describing the
background of both of your parents’ families.
• Regardless of your ethnic background or family
origin, all people living in the Americas (North,
Middle, or South America) are descendants of
migrants or recent migrants.
• Even the ancestors of Native American populations
came to the Americas crossing the Behring land
bridge (+14,000 years before present).
• In this essay you must include references of
your family’s [or your] migration to the United
States or to South Florida,
• …and the push and/or pull factors that may
have influenced or contributed to their/your
migration.
• If appropriate, describe your family’s
originating country and culture, and detail
how living in the United States has influenced
or changed various tenets within that culture.
Technical Aspects
• The essay should be at-least 800 words in length.
– The word count does not include your name, PID, title, date, map
portion, or the Bibliography/References section.
• You must also demonstrate knowledge of this topic (Population
Geography: Migration) using key definitions included here or in
any sections of course textbook.
• You must also include at least one additional reference (textbook
or a popular news forum – i.e., The New York Times,
Ancestry.com) that relates to your family history.
• Include this reference in a separate page
(Bibliography/Reference), making a full citation of this source,
and including it on your essay.
– This corresponds to 5% of your grade for this assignment.
Essay (Analysis): 65%
• Any geographically-based essay must answer three
broad questions: Where? Why? (and how?) and, So
what? (or, Why is this important?)
– Where did your father’s family (or his last name) originated?
Where did your mother’s family (or her last name)
originated?
– Why did your father’s/mother’s family migrated from their
homeland? [push – pull factors?]
– To answer “So what?”: use the information you have
included in the Where? and Why? sections:
• This is an overview of your family background.
– If you don’t know much about your family background, you
can include references to your ethnicity, and their path to
migrationtothiscountryweknowtodayastheU.S.A.
Key Definitions
• Since this exercise is based on the topic of migration
and our textbook puts special emphasis on this theme
in two chapter (# 3 and # 6), we would suggest you to
start your essay by introducing this topic and its key
definitions (i.e., what is migration, push and pull factors, how is this phenomenon connected to globalization,
etc).
• It is very important that your essay mentions all aspects
related to the “Africanization of the world”, as part of
what De Blij and Muller call “…the first great wave of
globalization.” (2010: 282) and other aspects related to
the major waves of human migration in the process of
world colonization mentioned here.
The Map [Elements] (30%)
• A) Title: Include a pertinent title (i.e., “The Gonzalez and
Whisenhunt Families Migration Routes”) (top center).
• B) Orientation arrow pointing to the North (upper right hand
side).
• C) Using labels, include the names of the countries were your
family originated, Africa (origin of our species), and, USA.
• D) Use flow lines to portray linear movement (migration):
– Out-of-Africa (if appropriate)
– Mother’s side of the family
– Father’s side of the family
• E) Legend: in a box at the lower left (or right) corner.
– This must include all symbols used in the map (flow lines using
different colors for each family, a symbol for Africa).
Line Symbols
• Isoline maps
– Lines of constant value
• Flow-line maps
– Portray linear movement between places
USA Migration
Patterns
in the a1950s.
Blank Map
The Gonzalez and Whisenhunt Families
Migration Routes
Argentina
Spain
Peru
Switzerland
Germany
USA
Origin of Homo sapiens
Possible Out-of-Africa route
Whisenhunt migration route (to USA).
Gonzalez migration route (to Peru).
N
Africa
Important Details
• You must upload your essay, including your map
and the Bibliography section, in one word
document to Turnitin.com. using the link provided
in the course webpage.
• Works that are submitted late will be accepted but
will incur in a 10-point discount for each week these are late.
• The weekly point-deduction will be applied
starting on the next day after the deadline.
• No later work will be accepted after two weeks of
the deadline.
Originality Issues?
• Your answer must be your own, original
thoughts. If you plagiarize your thoughts from a
website, journal, or any other source, not only you
will be sad because you cannot write the small
number of words of your own, but because you
will earn a failing grade in our class. See Course
Overview for other important details.
• Turnitin has been set up so you can upload your
work as many times as you wish until the deadline.
This will allow you to fix any originality issues.
Grading
• Essay: 65%
• Bibliography: 5%
• Map: 30%
• TOTAL: 100%
Migration Patterns: Definitions
Migration
Push factors: motivate people to move away from a place
Pull factors: attract these people to new destinations.
Africanization: The First Round of
Globalization
• “The first great wave of globalization
was the migration of our ancestor
hominids out of Africa in fateful
migrations that were to change the
world.” (de Blij and Muller 2010:
282)
The Africanization of the World
“Modern humans crossed the narrow strait at the
southern end of the Red Sea [out of Africa], skirted the
South Asian coast, traversed the Indonesian archipelago,
and reached Australia more than 40,000 years ago.
Others went north, invading Europe and confronting the
Neanderthals who had preceded them. The wide Pacific
Ocean delayed their arrival in the Americas, but
eventually, apparently less than 15,000 years ago, the
migration’s vanguard crossed the Bering Strait and started
southward along North America’s west coast, making
South America the last continent they reached.” (de Blij
and Muller 2010: 282)
Africanization
Theories of Human Population of the
Americas (c. 1970s)
Asian
Indigenous
Australian
Melanesian/Pacific
Immigration
Arrival of Humans to the Americas
It was not until an opening in the massive ice sheets of
North America was created that humans could move
forward and colonize the Americas.
The Atlantic slave trade
Peaked during 1700-1870
Overseas contract workers
In North America: Continental
Expansion
• Growth of immigration
– The 19th century was a century of huge territorial
growth.
– Vast movements from Europe causing territorial
pressure.
– The population grew from 31 millions in 1860 to 95
millions in 1914.
– About 300,000 immigrants per year.
– Linked to European crises and demographic pressures:
• The Irish famine (1845-1847).
• Russian pogroms against Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe
(from 1881).
Immigration to the United States,
1820-2002
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1820
1828
1836
1844
1852
1860
1868
1876
1884
1892
1900
1908
1916
1924
1932
1940
1948
1956
1964
1972
1980
1988
1996
British
Isles
Germany
Scandinavia
Southeast
Europe
Latin America
Asia
Ethnic Patterns
Why People Move to Urban Areas?
Factor Condition Issues
Instability /
Disasters / Wars /
Famines
Push Creation of refugees. Cities as safe
heavens.
Expectation of
jobs
Pull Higher wages but higher living costs.
Large labor markets. Informal sector
dominant.
Deterioration of
rural life
Push Demographic growth. Land tenure
(landless peasants). Mechanization
(surplus labor).
Transportation Intervening
opportunities
Increased mobility. Lower costs.
Construction of roads and rails. Access
to rural markets.
More and better
services
Pull Better schools and health services.
Access to water and electricity.
Overcrowding and pollution.
Any questions?
Send me a message
using the course
website ASAP.