Bachelor in Geography : General [180.0] - GEOG1BA

The organisation of the space in which we live is the result of man's action on his natural environment. It is the fruit of a multitude of decisions, taken in the far or recent past, which have moulded our environment by adapting it to our needs, for better and for worse. These decisions have stimulated development just as they have created disequilibriums : inceasingly productive world-wide agriculture, exchanges on every level and improvement in general well-being, but also pollution, deforestation, the green-house effect and over-population. Geography is the study of the mechanisms which have led to such phenomena, so that they be better understood and controlled.
 
The objective of this programme is to provide initiation into the three fundamental aspects of geography : 

• to observe and describe the environment, for example thanks to the bases in computerised geographical data and sophisticated satellite earth observation techniques
• to understand and explain the processes observed, for example by constructing models which will enable the simulation thereof
• to intervene in the management of resources through territory reorganisation.

The student will develop knowledge and skills within the domain of geography and in particular in the study of the interactions between human activities, geographical space and the natural environment. These studies are approached as much from the point of view of human geography as of that of physical geography, in a significant effort to integrate these two perspectives. The programme likewise aims at the mastering of the geographical techniques essential for the study of these problems.