Geography202 HumanGeography MondayWednesday 3:00-3:50
Tydings Hall Room 0130
SyllabusSpring 2016
InstructorTeaching Assistant
Instructor:Dr.Martha Geores Nayoung Jo
1157 Lefrak Hall 1113 Lefrak Hall
Course DescriptionandObjectives
GEOG202 is the Introduction to Human Geography and it takes a holistic approach in terms of the interrelationships among social processes, the spatial nature of life, and the sustainability of human activity. We live in a complex world where questions about the environment are as much human questions as they are physical questions, and understanding climate change is as much social as it is physical. This course is designed to give students a geographic perspective on current events. Thecourseemphasizestherolethatgeographyandspatialthinkingplayindetermining the nature and dynamics ofthe world’s social, political,cultural,economic,demographic, and environmentalsystemsandphenomena.We willexplorethesetopics from multiple perspectives with referenceto-and examplesfrom-conditionsincountries,societies,andpopulationintheUnitedStatesand acrosstheworld. Particular attention is paid to the human role in environmental sustainability.
ThestudyofHumanGeographyhavemanysubfields and sustainability is at the core of each field. In this class we will focus on:
Global ClimateChange:ChoicesandConsequences
Political Geography:WhoControlstheWorld?
PopulationGeography:Whoweareandwherewe live.
Urban andEconomicspaces.
Agriculture:Howwecreateda naturalhazard
Consumption: What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is mine too.
We will also explore sometoolsandtechniquesusedbyhuman geographerssuchascartography,visualization, censusdata,statistics, andmodels.
LearningOutcomes
Bytheendofthiscourseyoushouldexpect to havegainedproficiencyinhuman geography andtheability to usegeographyandspatialthinkingto thinkcreativelyandcriticallyaboutthehumansystemsthat governtheworldaroundyou, and about the human role in environmental sustainability. Thisisa foundationthat can beused ina varietyofcourseworkinthegeographicalsciences,aswell asthesocio-behavioral sciences,planningandpublic policy,law,humanities,sustainabilityandenvironmental science,andthelifesciences.Thecourseshouldalso prepareyouforhigher-level
courseworkinthegeographicalsciences.
Course Expectations
Studentsareexpectedtoobtainandreadrelevantandassignedcoursematerialsandto
takeindependentinitiativeto readthatmaterialoutsideitemsassignedthroughthecourse. Studentsarealsoexpectedto attendclass meetingsandparticipateclassdiscussion,in a collegial andconstructivemanner.
Course Structure
*Textbook:
The text book in this class is Human Geography: Where we live and What we do there. The course is structured around the text, which is an e-textbook. In the book is an interactive text, so in addition to the explanations of the principles, it includes prompts for websites and YouTube videos which are an integral part of the course.
*Lecture
Theclass isdesignedtousea combinationofteachingtechniqueswhichincludein-class andonlinelectures(throughCANVAS).Thesyllabusoutlinesthedatesandtopicsofthein- class-andonlinelectures. OnlinelecturesareaccessibleviaCanvaswebsite.
Themajorityofthecoursematerials(lectures),quizzes,paperassignmentswill centeron
The e-textbook,andadditionalreadingsavailablevia CANVAS.All exams will takeplace in thelecturetimeandplace.
NO LAPTOPS are allowed in class.
Discussion
Twelve discussionswilltakeplaceduringthesemester .Attendanceisamandatory. StudentsshouldcomePREPAREDto discusstheirblogsand COMPLETEtheassignedactivityasa group. IfthestudentisLATEto discussion,points will be deducted from their‘discussion grade’. Ifthe student does not attend discussion,they will receivean automatic zeroandtherewill benomake-up orextra credit,unless they haveamedicalexcuse.
Coursework
**Therewill noextra creditopportunitiesandnomake-up exams, quizzes,blogs, discussion,orpaperassignmentwithoutmedicalexcuses(officialdocumentsmust bepresentedto theTA).**
Yourperformanceinthecoursewill be evaluatedinthecontext of theassignedwork which will test yourknowledgeof keyaspectsofthematerialreviewedinclassandinreadings. Sevenquizzeswill be givenatthebeginningeachmodule.
Exams
Therewill be 2midtermexamsandthefinal(100pointseach).Exam formatisa combinationofmultiplechoicequestionsandshortanswers.All exams will takeplace in lecturehall.
Quizzes
At theendofeachmodule,studentswilltakeatimedquizzedon CANVASbasedon thee-textbook,lecture,andassignedcoursereadings.Thedateandtimewill beannounced inclass.Therewill betotal of7quizzes-therewill beNOMAKEUPquizzesunlessthereisa medicalexcuse.
Blogs
At theendofeachmodule,studentsarerequiredto postablogrelatedto thelecturetopic. Allblogsshouldbe 2completeparagraphsandpostedonCANVAS(timeanddatewill beannouncedinclass).Thepurposeoftheblogistoconnectthehumangeographywiththeworldtoday.Youcan useacurrentnewsarticle,scholarlyarticle,orvideo.Forexample,if thetopicrelatesto populationgeography,you arerequiredto finda newspaperarticleorvideorelatedtothattopic.You will bepairedup with a classmatewho will both readand commentonyourblog.
RequiredText
1. E-TextbookHumanGeography:Where weliveandwhatwedothere.
Hereisthelink:
2. Otherrequiredreadingswill beavailableontheCANVAScoursewebsite.
Course Website
All students should activelyuseCANVASbecause we will use it to makeannouncements,postgrades,readings,and otherdocuments.Studentswill also posttheirblogs(a total of7throughoutthesemester) andtaketheirquizzesbeforeeachmodule in CANVAS.Pleasemakesurethat youhaveaccesstothis coursethroughELMS (myelms.umd.edu)andthat theemaillisting youhaveattachedto thisaccountisactiveandroutinelymonitored.It will be yourresponsibilityto downloadall coursematerialspromptly.
COURSE SYLLABUS
Module1:Introductionto HumanGeography
Module2:Global ClimateChange:ChoicesandConsequences
Module3:Political Geography:WhoControlstheWorld?
Module4:PopulationGeography:Whoweareandwherewe live
Module5:Urban andEconomicspaces
Module6:Agriculture:Howwecreateda naturalhazard
Module 7: Consumption: What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is mine too
Grading Procedures Exam#1-100points Exam#2-100points
Exam #3-100points (final)
CANVASblogs(7x 10pts) -70points
Quizzes(7x10pts)-70points
DiscussionAttendance(12x10pts)– 120
Totalpoints=560
If you fail to complete an assignment, you will and points for the assignment will be deducted in that assessment. Example: Missing Blog – 0 for exercise and -10 for not completing the assignment.
Let’s go explore the world!