“HUMAN AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHIES OF NEBRASKA AND THE BLACK HILLS”
GEOGRAPHY FIELD TOUR
Geography491/891, Section 001
Pre-Session (Summer) 2018
meeting times vary
Co-instructor: Dr. Rebecca A. Young
Email:
Office: 930Oldfather
Office Hours: by appointment
Co-instructor: Dr. Rebecca A. Buller
Email:
Office: 933 Oldfather
Office Hours: by appointment
COURSE OVERVIEW:
Students will spend a 10-day period camping and exploring different areas of Nebraska and thesouthern areasof South Dakota,including the Black Hills, for an immersive experience learning about the human and physical geographies of the region. There will also be a one-day trip around the Lincoln area. This course is designed to get students outside, learn methods, practice leadership,and thinking critically about the role of geography in Great Plains culture. Some highlights of the trip include spelunking Wind Cave; exploring Agate Fossil Beds, Scottsbluff National Monument, Ashfall Fossil Beds, and Toadstool Geological park; canoeing the Niobrara River; and hiking in a variety oflandscapes.Students will be expected to take part in all activities during these trips.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE:
- Tornado Warning: When sirens sound, move to the lowest interior area of building or designated shelter. Stay away from windows and stay near an inside wall when possible.
- UNL Alert: Notifications about serious incidents on campus are sent via text message, email, unl.edu website, and social media. For more information go to:
- Additional Emergency Procedures can be found here:
REQUIRED TEXTS:
guidebook
COURSE EXPECTATIONS/POLICIES:
Above all, the field classroom (all spaces during all times in which we are located) will be maintained as a respectful, mature, and courteous learning community in which all participants will conduct themselves in a way that is respectful to differing mannerisms, ideas, opinions, beliefs, cultures, etc.
Attending college is a privileged opportunity, not a right.
- Every day, thousands of people dream of going to college, but are unable to because of things like finances and family constraints.
- It is expected that students and their behavior will reflect acknowledgement of and respect for the privileged opportunities available to them.
Learning is NOTa spectator sport.
- You, as a student, are partially responsible for engaging yourself in your own active, experiential learning.
All students are expected to participate in all physical activities during both trips, which can include several miles of hiking in one day, canoeing, climbing rugged terrain, walking on unpaved and uneven surfaces, sleeping outdoors for several days at a time, etc.
Food and drink only at allowed, appropriate times. A student will clean up after him/herself.
personal electronics
- We need to come up with some specific policies here.
- If use of personal electronics becomes distracting and/or negatively affects the quality of instruction and others’ learning, it will be dealt with appropriately.
- To create a classroom environment in which everyone may feel comfortable participating in discussions, it is expected that no audio or video recordings of class will be made without the prior knowledge and consent of the instructors. Students with disabilities for which reasonable accommodation would include making such recordings should work with the Services for Students with Disabilities office and the instructor to make arrangements.
Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor for a confidential discussion of their individual needs for academic accommodation as determined by Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). This includes students with mental health disabilities like depression and anxiety. It is the policy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to provide individualized accommodations to students with documented disabilities that may affect their ability to fully participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. To receive accommodation services, students must be registered with SSD which is in 232 Canfield Administration (472-3787).
ATTENDANCE:
- A student’s presence and participationare essential to success in the course.
- Students will be expected to take part in all activities.
- For any missed activities or meeting, students are responsible for making up the work. See Makeup Work below.
GRADING:
- Remember that students earn grades.
- While the instructors will always record grades and keep a gradebook, students are also responsible for keeping track of their grades on each assignment and being aware, at any given time, of their current grade.
- for grade confirmation, communicate with an instructor
- Grades will not be curved.
GEOG 491
participation50%
field journal50%
GEOG 891
participation 50%
field journal50%
Field Journal
- Will be accepted early.
- Must be submittedby 12:00 pm CST on due date.
Makeup Work:
- Missed participation, activities, field journals etc. will not be allowed to be made up, apart from two exceptions.
1. The student informed the instructor prior to the class absence.
2. The student informed the instructor within 24 hours after missing the class.
- If the student will not be able to complete work at the designated time and has the instructor’s approval, the student must complete the missed work within 3 days.
- Only one make-up will be allowed per student.
Academic Dishonesty:
All types of Academic Dishonesty including plagiarism and cheating will ABSOLUTELY NOT be tolerated. Students are expected to adhere to guidelines concerning academic dishonesty outlined in Section 4.2 of University’s Student Code of Conduct ( Students are encouraged to contact the instructor for clarification of these guidelines if they have questions or concerns.
Appealing Grades:
- The instructor and students will follow the “24/7 Rule.” The following are the stipulations of such said policy:
- The student must wait 24 hours after the assignment, quiz, etc. is handed back to him/her before he/she can discuss/appeal the related grade with the instructor.
- The student must create a written defense at least one-half page long documenting why he/she believes the assigned grade was misrepresentative, etc.
- The student must discuss the grade with the instructor in person during the instructor’s office hours or during a mutually agreed upon meeting time in the instructor’s office.
- The student must appeal the contested grade within 7 days of the assignment, quiz, etc. being handed back or made public to the student.
97-100%A+
93-96A
90-92A-
87-89B+
83-86B
80-82B-
77-79C+
73-76C
70-72C-
67-69D+
63-66D
60-62D-
<60F
TOPIC SCHEDULE: The following is a preliminary schedule and the instructors reserve the right to alter it according to class/student needs.
Monday May 14
●leave
●York and Hamilton counties Mennonite historical geography
●Hastings Naval Ammunitions Depot; superfund site
●Atlanta POW camp (stop?)
●loess, south of North Platte (stop)
●stay at Cedar Point Biological Station (CPBS)
Tuesday May 15
●explore CPBS
●leave
●Lake McConaughy
●Oregon Trail sites
●Scottsbluff (stop, lunch?) - sugar beets, Hispanic geodemographic history, monument
●Agate Fossil Beds (stop)
●stay at Fort Robinson
Wednesday May 16
●leave
●historical talks, stagecoach ride, Crazy Horse murder
●national forest (talk)
●Toadstool Park (stop), Hudson-Meng site (archeo. buffalo kill site)
●Ardmore! (ghost town)
●stay at Wind Cave area/southern Black Hills
Thursday May 17
●Wind Cave NP - cave tour
●Hot Springs - Mammoth fossil site, Evans Plunge swimming
●Custer State Park - hikes, historical talks, flora/fauna, Iron Mt. Road, Wildlife Loop
●stay at Wind Cave area/southern Black Hills
Friday May 18
●leave
●through Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations
●Wounded Knee (stop)
●wetlands, Sand Hills along Hwy 20
●Rails to Trails; bridge east of Valentine
●stay in Valentine area
Saturday May 19
●canoeing along Niobrara River
●Smith Falls
●National Wildlife Refuge
●stay in Valentine area
Sunday May 20
●leave
●Long Pine, Hidden Paradise, tubing, trout fishing, research talk/discussions
●Stuart ranches
●Fort Randall hydroelectric Dam
●Gross (eat?), Monowi
●Lewis and Clark Lake
●Hutterite colonies
●stay at Niobrara State Park area
Monday May 21
●Devil’s Nest (stop)
●landslide susceptibility (Cruz)
●Santee Sioux Reservation
●Ashfall Fossil Beds State Park (stop)
●Verdigre Bakery kolaches
●stay at Niobrara State Park area
Tuesday May 22
●leave
●Missouri River - flooding
●oldest oak tree, hiking
●Walter Savidge Amusement Park research talk/discussions
●stay at Ponca State Park
Wednesday May 23
●leave
●through Winnebago and Omaha reservations
●Pilger tornadoes
●Stanton dunes (Young research, stop)
●Schuyler monastery St. Benedict’s Center (lunch?)
●return to Lincoln afternoon
Thursday May 24
●no meet; work on assessments
Friday May 25
●no meet; work on assessments
Monday May 28
●holiday
Tuesday May 29
●meet to review day trip next day
Wednesday May 30
●day trip around Lincoln Area
●Schramm State Rec. Area
●Mahoney State Park
●Frank Shoemaker Marsh
●Parker Pit
Thursday May 31
●no meet; work on assessments
Friday June 1
●assessments due
●journals
○One physical one human geography component from each day; what they found most interesting about topic and what they learned (e.g. methods) (2-3 paragraphs per topic).
○notebook, photos with phones, compiled by this day