2 replies to this topic

[citizenoftheuniverse]

Is it just me, or are ESS and geography very similar? Many people say ESS is like a softer version of biology, and I do see why people would think that, but when I compare the syllabi of geography and ESS, I think they are very similar. For example in geography there is a topic: "Patterns in environmental quality and sustainability" and in ESS there are the topics "Environmental value systems" and "Global warming". I feel like they are approaching the same topic from different view points. It could be because geography is also in a way a interdisciplinary subject, since there are both human geography so social science and then physical geography is more science.

Also, topic three in environmental systems and societies is "Human population, carrying capacity and resource use" and geography has in its core topics: "Populations in transition" and "Patterns in resource consumption". So basically, many of their core topics are similar.

Or do you people think they are similar? If so, why is it then that ESS is thought of as a soft subject, and geography isn't? I don¨t think people have before mentioned that they are similar, when in my opinion they clearly are...

[spereira14]

I think they can be similar if your Geography class chooses the more environmental topics of the Geography syllabus. In my opinion, Geography can go either way, depending on the options chosen. I think ESS is considered a soft subject as it is a science subject, and it's probably way easier than Physics or Chemistry; if it were an independent subject it might not be considered "soft".

[flinquinnster]

Geography is only just about environments if your class ends up choosing the environments options. For example, if you choose options about coastal management and extreme environments, you're obviously going to end up doing something probably similar to ESS. But if you end up doing food and health and urban environments, you get a very different feeling. I personally don't like environment-based issues, and I prefer the more broad social issues that IB Geography encompasses.

I'm just starting geography, and so far it's not completely focused on environments. We've done populations in transition, and that's mainly about people. Also if you do do Geography HL, I think the additional content is about globalisation, which isn't really about environments. I don't do ESS, but as it's a science/group 3, it probably has very different demands in terms of your understanding, and the final exam.