H2 Geography: One Year Later

Written and designed by: Rachael Chong (24-O1)

Introduction

Before Junior College first began, I’d frequently discuss prospective subject combinations with my friends. Whenever I told people that I intended to take up H2 Geography, I was often met with exclamations of “Oh my god, you’re crazy” or joking looks of disgust. In fact, I still do, now that I have officially embarked on this Herculean conquest. Of course, this is part and parcel of the friendly banter I have with my PCME and HELM friends. Even then, this reaction is not entirely unwonted or unwarranted.

Many people are under the impression that Geography as a subject entails an insane amount of content and memorisation – a primary reason why JC students are deterred from taking up the subject in the first place (instead, they tease their friends who do take the subject!). One year later, I can safely say that they could not be more right – the sheer amount of content for both human and physical geography is almost suffocating. Our JC2 year of Geography so far has felt nothing short of water, rocks, essay, and repeat. As an Arts student – and I admit this might be a me problem –  it is excruciatingly torturous to try and grasp the scientific concepts embedded in physical Geography,  i.e. they very things a GELM student like me tries to escape (I love the sciences as much as I love the long canteen lines in Eunoia – none at all – but that’s a discussion for another article).

Now, you must think that I despise this subject with every fibre of my being with the amount of slander I’m putting here for all to read. Well, the truth of the matter is quite the contrary. I don’t hate it at all – in fact, it's one of my favourite subjects right now.

Before you accuse me of being wildly inconsistent with this article, let me assure you that such a love-hate relationship with such a multifaceted subject is normal, at least to me and my classmates. After all, the fiercest fans do turn out to be the harshest critics!  To truly understand what I mean, here’s my retrospective on H2 Geography after one year of blood, sweat, and tears.  For aspiring Eunoia Geographers, I hope this article helps you better envisage the exciting journey you have waiting for you. For non-Geographers, I hope I manage to make my case that Geography is not the stale, boring, torturous discipline people misunderstand it to be.

Geography: Why on Earth?

My journey began with a very simple rationale: I wanted the HSP Scholarship, I didn’t do O-Level History, and I was a stickler for convention. Voilà! The GELM combination was decided upon (Geography, Economics, Literature in English, and Math). Evidently, my commitment to this subject started not out of passion, but rather out of necessity. However, as Ester Boserup famously said, “necessity is the mother of invention”, and in my case, it invented an unlikely love for the rocky subject.

Here’s why some of my other classmates decided to take up the same, grueling task:

“Long story short, I took H2 Geog because of my passion to study the discipline. However, my decision to take H2 Geography wasn't a straightforward one: my encounter with O- Level Geography wasn't the best as my hatred for the subject only grew stronger as time went on. At some point, I almost contemplated taking H2 History (which looking back I'm glad it was a crisis I avoided - hats off to my H2 History comrades). However, my appreciation for the subject and lingering desire to delve even further into Geography eventually directed me into deciding to take on H2 Geography. After all, how bad can the study and appreciation of the world around us be? (Spoiler: it really isn't that bad, I promise)”

Abigail Tng (24-O1)

Is this a Sustainable Interest?

Starting with the topic of sustainable development, the subject did appear stale to me at first; it truly was nothing special or mind blowing in the beginning. In fact, it raised concerns over whether or not I would enjoy this subject in the long-run. Yet, this first interaction with human geography did one very important thing: remind me that Geography is, at its core, a humanities subject. Beyond rocks and rivers, it was rooted in the problems of the contemporary world, particularly one striving towards sustainable development. While its real-world relevance was not immediately apparent to me as a fresh J1, it made me begin appreciating the subject outside of the confines of the Cambridge curriculum. There’s something rewarding about studying something so real, so present, and so integral to our society.

Bang for the Buck

I wish I could tell you that the topic on the global economy invigorated me, but there’s only so much you can find exciting about trade, transnational corporations (TNCs), and (shudder) tariffs – unless, of course, you are particularly fond of economics. By all means, go ahead. The world is your oyster, and I happen to be more of a crab person.

Taking this topic at face value, one would think the global economy is just bland content waiting to be memorised one day before promos. In hindsight, I’d argue that it's way more than that. The true value of this topic is in showing you how each part of the world is intimately interconnected with one another through different trade, capital, and labour flows. It really lays the foundation for a fundamental understanding of current geoeconomic happenings, and has truly helped me in comprehending the complexities of the current geopolitical landscape.

As an added bonus (read: HSP student side tangent): some of the content overlaps nicely with macroeconomics! This really just goes to show that the humanities are inherently inextricable from each other; being a humanities student really feels akin to piecing a puzzle together, with each discipline contributing to a more complete and beautiful picture of the world.

Human Geography on the whole became more and more interesting to me as time went on. It was only as I began noticing the relevance of my Geography content in the real world that I started to fall in love with the subject. 

Here’s what my classmate has to say about human Geography:

“I have always enjoyed learning human Geog and I still do today! While some may argue that the content is very fluffy for human Geog, I believe that a true understanding of the content we learn allows us to have a firmer grasp on the environment around us! I believe that learning about human Geog helps to shape the way we view the world, and the lenses we take in doing so — as compared to perhaps a history student or a non-arts taker, learning about human Geog gives us deeper insights and nuanced perspectives into issues that are real, relevant and ever prevalent in the world we live in, and can be observed in our everyday life. tldr: I love human Geog!”

Denise Wan (24-O1)

Climate-Change(d) my Mind 

Oh the beauty of such an intricately connected world! The satisfaction of seeing the content you learn in lectures play out in the real world! Whoever said Geography was difficult? How could I ever hate it?

Needless to say, physical geography hit us like a category 5 tropical cyclone. I’ll spare you my curses and complaints, so let’s just say that most of us Arts students did not take kindly to the idea of studying any semblance of science, especially in the topic of tropical climates. Despite my unadulterated hatred for climate, it was also the topic that helped me to see geography as this disciplinary bridge between the humanities and the sciences. Whether I liked it or not, the world around me was a complex mess that we can only begin to understand by weaving disciplines together, much like a tapestry of knowledge. Though a lot of us struggled through this topic, I’m certain we all managed to emerge triumphant in the end. 

The topic of climate change reinforced the idea of geography being a synthesis of the humanities and sciences, being a blend of both the science behind climate change and the human implications of global warming. It tied the whole idea of Geography being a multifaceted, highly relevant subject together, making it a good way for us to end our J1 year of H2 Geography.

Back to the Stone Age: Just Shear Stress and a Test of my Shear Strength (note: pun intended, not spelling error)

Bounded to H2 Geography by contract, my classmates and I had no choice but to head into our second year of Geography with certain uncertainty. Having braved the storms of tropical climates, I went into JC2 wondering how bad hydrological basins and geomorphic processes could possibly be. By then, I clearly should have stopped underestimating the pain that is physical Geography because it was arguably the most difficult part of the syllabus yet (to me, at least). 

Even then, the Geography department managed to prove to me that the content in our notes was so much more than something to memorise. During the March holidays, the H2 Geography cohort was sent into the Kallang River (yes, into) for fieldwork. It sounded like an abhorrent idea at first, but it ended up being genuinely fun and enriching, especially when done with your fellow classmates. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to see the natural features around me in the same, superficial way. Geography is unique that way – it reconfigures your worldview into one that appreciates even the smallest things, and that is a lovely way to live.

Do you know what isn’t a lovely way to live? Living on less than 4 hours of sleep trying to cram content about mass movements and erosional processes the day before the test, only for none of it to come out! Take it from me, future geographers. Pace your revision, especially for physical Geography. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. 

Here’s what a classmate of mine has to say about physical Geography:

“I love physical geography! I think that geography is so unique as it's the only subject that teaches you about the natural processes within our environment such as the formation of deltas or even the movement of the ITCZ. It's so cool when you can go up to someone and just explain why we see a meander with the knowledge we learn from geog. It's so applicable and relevant to the world around us, allowing us to truly connect with the world around us!”

Ong Singyue (24-O1)

Final Evaluations: Across Space and Time

All in all, this journey has not been a bed of roses, but if it’s taught me anything, it is to separate the discipline from the curated syllabus. In other words, just because you struggle with a subject’s academic rigour, doesn’t mean that you can’t appreciate the field of study and how it applies to real-world contexts. This is especially true for a content-dense subject like Geography that we may not always find easy but will always end up finding incredibly rewarding when making links to the real world. 

To this end, I’d like to thank the Eunoia Geography department for making learning the subject as fun as it can be, and for engendering us to develop such a mature understanding of the discipline. I think I speak for a lot of us (or some of us at least) when I say that we’re proud rock lovers.

Don’t just take my word for it, though. Here’s a few more sentiments from my classmates:

“Can I just say—I love Geography. To be very honest, I’m not the biggest fan of physical geography, but my love for the subject as a whole keeps me going. Human Geography, though? That’s the real deal. I just love how it relates to the real world that I see everyday and the best part? There’s often more freedom for expression and much more connections possible to be made with the content.

Yeah, there’s a lot of content to go through, but I genuinely enjoy learning it all. So even if, at the end of the day, I end up with a U for H2 Geography (which I really hope doesn’t happen—I’m putting in a lot of effort here 🥲), it’ll still be a U for Ultimate Geography Lover.”

Clarice Chen (24-O1)

“Geography is my life; Geography is my wife; Without geography, I cannot survive. The reason why Geography as a discipline stands out among all the others is because of how deeply it examines our way of living. Geography isn’t just “science for stupid people”, or a “budget arts subject” , it is both of these realms taken from the theoretical to the physical: applied into places where real people work, live, and play. So the study of Geography is not just the study of rocks, the study of weather, or the study of cities, but it is the pursuit of an understanding of how to make humanity’s existence on earth the best that it can be, and that is why I love Geography.”

Kelvin Cahya Yap (24-O1)

Finally, I’d like to say that this article is not propaganda for H2 Geography. As much as I have sung lovely praises about its educational value, it is certainly not a subject for everyone – but this mentally tiring yet weirdly rewarding subject definitely is for me. To quote the Geography department, “without Geography you are nowhere” and “Geography is everywhere”, whether you appreciate it or not.