Syllabus GEA 3600
Section 09DD
Geography of Africa:
From the Perspective of Sustainable Development
Fall 2015
Professor: Dr. Brian Child
Class Time: Monday ● Wednesday ● Friday @ Period 5 (11:45-12:35pm)
Classroom: MAT 0018(Matherly Hall)
Dr. Child’s Office: Grinter 433
Email:
Office Hours: M/W/F: 12:35-13:25am (after class)
Additional Office Hours by Appointment.
Graduate Teaching Assistant:
Maíra Irigaray:Office hours: arrange by email
GEA 3600 Course Description
This course presents Geography of Africa from an environmental and economic development perspective. We start by understanding how Africa formed, its landscape, its climates and how people evolved to interact with the environment. There will be a particular focus on wildlife conservation. The course also discusses dynamic issues facing contemporary African societies and the challenges that people and nations of this vast Continent are working to resolve, introducing ideas about economic development, politics and governance. Issues of health, demography, gender and culture are also covered. Through lectures, guest speakers, readings, and interactive exercises we will study environmental and resource issues, the impact of historical events on development, education and culture, population distribution, social organization, rural and urban structures, industrialization, business and trade, and prospects for the future.
GEA 3600 provides 3 Credit Hours of General Education Requirements (GER):
S=Social Science N=International Gordon Rule: 6,000 words Communication
Required Textbooks ►Aryeetey-Attoh,S. Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa. 3rd Edition. Prentice-Hall Publisher. ISBN 0136056318.
Other Resources: Guest lectures, videos, assigned readings, internet, etc. scheduled during the semester.
GEA 3600 Sakai e-Learning System. ELS allows you to see your scores & grades on assignments, quizzes & exams; course calendar; announcements; class internal email; instructions; resources; course updates.
Accommodations for students with disabilities. Students must register with the Disability Research Center in Reid Hall and bring forms to Dr. Brian Child.
UF Honor Code:
Intended Learning Process
Reading and Listening / Writing, Comprehending, Evaluation / Group work- Lectures
- Readings
- Note taking / clarification
- Bi-weekly report
- Multiple choice exams
- Map quizzes
- Bi-weekly group discussion
Grade Legend
A90-100 points
B+85-89 points
B80-84 points
C+75-79 points
C70-74 points
You must earn a C or higher to receive any credit for this course
D+65-69 points
D60-64 points
E< 60 points
Basis for Grading
Basis for Grading / Points (100) / Due Dates- 1 Map Quiz
- 1 Multiple Choice Exam (in class)
- 5Bi-weekly 500-1,000 word summary (10 points each)
28 September
- 2,000-3,000 word essay
- Attendance
Gordon Rule: One goal of this class is to give you the opportunity to improve your writing. This obviously requires reading, but also that you do all you writing assignments in your own words and style. DO NOT cut and paste from the web; this is “plagiarism”.
- First time caught plagiarizing – 0 marks
- Second time caught plagiarizing – referred to UF
UF Honor Code
6. Plagiarism. A student shall not represent as the student's own work all or any portion of the work of another. Plagiarism includes (but is not limited to):
a. Quoting oral or written materials, whether published or unpublished, without proper attribution.
b. Submitting a document or assignment which in whole or in part is identical or substantially identical to a document or assignment not authored by the student.
Presentation of All Written Assignments
On all written assignments:
- Full name
- UFID
- Date submitted
- Title of Paper
- Standard layout
- Times New Roman, 12 font,
- 1.5 spacing
- 1” margins
- Single -sided
Bi-Weekly Report marking Rubric
2 point – correct grammar, spelling, layout0-6 points – how well the paper comprehends and summarizing the readings and course content for that two week period
2 point – for linking this understanding to another issue, or to recent events in the news
Bi-weekly Assignment 1:Provide a brief overview of the main features of physical environment of Africa. For one major vegetation type, explain how and why it derives from the physical environment, and the implications of this for human use
Due Date: 9 Sept (Wed)
Bi-weekly Assignment 2: Briefly describe how the emergence of human civilizations in Africa before 1800 was influenced by the environment and new technologies
Due Date 30 Sept (Wed)
Bi-weekly assignment 3:Describe the status and trends of development in Africa and how you would measure development. Comment on the main development challenges and opportunities.
Due Date
Bi-weekly assignment 4:Briefly describe health and health care challenges in Africa
Due Date
Bi-weekly assignment 5: Briefly describe human-environmental interactions in Africa, and comment on either agricultural development or wildlife conservation policy
Due Date
ESSAY TITLES: (these are preliminary/indicative titles)
Due Date
The purpose of these essays is for you to write a cogent 3,000 word piece that explains an issue in Africa but describes the inter-actions between different geographical concepts – physical features, climate, history, politics and geo-politics, policy, global issues and so on.
- How does the physical geography of Africa (landforms, climate, soil, ecosystems) help to explain current economic and political conditions in (a) Nigeria (b) the great Lakes region (c) southern Africa.
- Explain how the evolution of man’s occupation of Africa is related to (a) the settlement of southern Africa or (b) the complexity of different people and livelihood approaches in East Africa or (c) livelihoods and conflicts in West Africa.
- How did Islamic and European influences affect the way Africa is today?
- Africa is renowned for its wildlife. Describe the two major approaches to wildlife conservation in Africa, and explain what you would do if you were responsible for wildlife conservation?
- Describe how different agricultural farming systems are related to Africa’s ecology and climatic conditions. What are desertification and deforestation, and describe how they fit into this picture. Suggest how these problems might be addressed.
- How do women in Africa play a major role in managing natural resources? Include day-to-day tasks that make women daily managers of the environment and also their participation in commercial sectors, and use of raw materials in your discussion. In examining the relationships between women and their natural surroundings, how do women deal with the
environmental crises they face? What is women's role in restoring the environment?
- Propose a development project that tackles a real environmental problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Provide a historical context describing how this issue has evolved in the region over time. You may use a timeline as a figure in your essay, but must also include a description
of these events in the essay itself. Describe the issue and account for the environmental, social, and cultural circumstances of the issue and region you are addressing. How are governmental and international agencies responding to this problem?
- Pick a major disease prevalent in Africa. Describe how it is transmitted and which regions are most affected. What environmental, social, cultural factors affect the spread of this disease? How is the health care system (international, regional, governmental) addressing
the problem? How does technology relate to heath care for this particular disease? Are there traditional medicine options? What are the strengths and weaknesses of traditional medicine in this context?
- What determines urban population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa? What are the linkages between urban and rural areas? Describe some of the housing issues in urban environments and how these areas are managed, including infrastructure, water, and solid waste disposal. What are some solutions to problems in African cities (include micro level and macro level strategies)?
- Create your own essay topic: If there is a topic you are extremely interested in that does not appear above, you may create your own essay topic. Your essay topic must have a clear thesis. This topic and thesis must be approved by Jessica or Tim (either may approve your topic no matter who grades your assignments) by Wednesday, March 13. Feel free to talk to us if you need help developing or refining your thesis topic.
Due Date:
Essay Marking Rubric
Date:
Name of reviewer:
Basics: (20%)
Proper referencing
Spelling and Grammar
Use of subtitles to organize text
Paper Structure and Content:(60%)
Beginning: The subject was introduced well:
Middle: The paper showed a good general understanding of the topic:
End: The topic was drawn to a conclusion with clarity:
For Excellent:(20%) Knowledge was well applied beyond what was taught in
class and linkages to other issues were made:
Overall impression of the paper:
Horrible 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfect
Lesson Plan (this may change)
Section 1: The Physical Environment
24 Aug (Mon)Introduction to course
26Aug (Wed)Tectonics, Landforms, Geology, Rivers (p31-41)
28Aug (Fri) Tectonics, Landforms, Geology, Rivers (p31-41)
31 Aug(Mon)Climate and climate change (41-49)
2 Sept(Wed)Soils and vegetation (57-60, 50-57)
4 Sept(Friday) Group discussion/exercise
7 Sept (Mon)LABOR DAY
9 Sept (Wed)Hand in Bi-Weekly Assignment 1
Section 2: Historical Geography of Africa
9 Sept (Wed) Pre-history and early humans
11 Sept (Fri)Pre-history and early humans
14 Sept (Mon)Emergence of Livestock and Agricultural Practices (p 94-95)
16 Sept (Wed)Emergence of Livestock and Agricultural Practices (p 94-95
18 Sept (Fri)Early African civilizations (p 95-99)Bantu migrations and modern kingdoms (p 99-102)
21 Sept (Mon)External influences – Islam and Western Influence (p102-105)
23 Sept (Wed)Slave Trade and Colonialism (108-117)
25 Sept (Fri)Independence and the “winds of change”
28 Sept (Mon)
Section 3: Development, population and health(p 220-239)
30 Sept (Wed)Group work.
2 Oct (Fri)Population Geography and migration (p 179-203)
2 Oct (Fri)Hand in Bi-weekly Essay, Assignment 2
5 Oct (Mon) Geography and Linguistics in Africa
7 Oct (Wed) African Languages at UF
9 Oct (Fri)MAP QUIZ (Physical Geography of Africa) (see notes in Canvas)
12 Oct (Mon) Measuring Development and distributional equity (p 207-220)
14 Oct (Wed)Measuring development
16 Oct (Fri)Theories of Development
19 Oct (Mon)Theories of Development (continued)
21 Oct (Wed)Class exercises
23 Oct (Fri)MAP QUIZ: COUNTRIES AND CITIES
26 Oct (Mon)Hand in Bi-weekly Essay, Assignment 3
Still to be decided
Health (p 333-365)
Health (continued)
Section 4: Humans Environment and Wildlife Interactions
19 Oct (Mon)Human Environmental interactions in forests
21 Oct (Wed)Human Environmental interactions in drylands
23 Oct (Fri)Agriculture in Africa
26 Oct (Mon)Wildlife conservation
28 Oct (Wed) Private conservation film
30 Oct (Fri)Community conservation film
2 Nov (Mon)Community conservation
4 Nov (Wed)Sustainable use approach to wildlife conservation
6 Nov (Fri)UF HOMECOMING
9 Nov (Mon)Hand in Bi-weekly Essay, Assignment 4
9 Nov (Mon)
11 Nov (Wed) VETERANS DAY
Todd Leedy. Opportunities for study abroad in Africa, and African Studies at UF
13 Nov (Fri) Andy Noss, Bushmeat and wildlife conservation in Africa
16 Nov (Mon) JaneSouthworth. Using remote sensing in Africa
16 Nov (Mon)Hand in Bi-weekly Essay, Assignment 5
18 Nov (Wed)
20 Nov (Fri)
Hand in FINAL ESSAY
23 Nov (Mon)Political landscapes (p121-150)
25 Nov (Wed)
27 Nov (Fri)THANKSGIVING
30 Nov (Mon)Make up tests
Clarification of any marketing, re-writes, etc.
2 Dec (Wed)Final Exam
4 Dec (Fri)
7 Dec (Mon)