Geography-Page

World Human Geography (GEOG 1101) (CRN 31932 & 31933) - Fall 2008 - Mon/Wed 11:00-12:15 or 2:00-3:15

Professor: W. Ernie Guyton Classroom: CE-2170 Phone: 678-891-3367 Fax: 678-891-3084

Atlas: Atlas of World Geography, Rand McNally (most other paperback atlases acceptable)
Supplement: Geopak (maps & readings packet given by instructor)

Section 1 – Topics (for Exam 1)

Content of Geography as a discipline - a multi-disciplinary approach to our world; Use of maps and the globe in today's world; map interpretation; Mental maps and spatial relationships; Developing new spatial awareness and fixing misperceptions. Chap 1 (1-13)

Map types; Map Projections; Longitude & Latitude, Latitude = changes in seasons & weather,

23 ½ degree tilt; the challenges of Cultural/Political/Economic Boundaries; Maritime boundaries.

Chap. 1 (20-23); Appendix 495,499-502 and Geopak (pp. 1-3); 12 (422-430; 440-443)

The Cultural Landscape; human cultures and the evolution, or divergence & convergence, of our cultural diversity; the ingredients and relativity of Culture; Diffusion & Syncretism; Nations & Nation-States. What is a "Society"; a Nation; an Ethnic Group; or a Subculture?

Chaps 2 (all); 12 (417-419) On Reserve Article: "Aspects of Culture" (study aide) (library #2318)

The struggles and pride of Ethnicity; Geography of “Race” and the reality behind human “races”

Culture & Language, globally speaking; the geographical divergence and convergence of languages around the world; major language families.
Chap 5 (136-154); Geopak (4)

Major Religions – brief on their locations & their geographic and cultural influence.

Chaps 5 (156-173); Geopak (5) Article: "Man at the Mercy of Language" (study aide) (#1047)

Traditional Economics & the rise of the state - The diversity of basic humans survival (economic) adaptations to (of) the earth; and the pitfalls of being “civilized” in state-level societies. Geopak (6)

International Economics – Modern high-tech countries and Post-Industrialism. Who has the potential to stay on top? United Nations’ Human Development
Index and Global Inequality

Chaps 8 (254-264; 277-284); 9 (310-313); 10 (all); Geopak (7); Article (#2338)

Political Strategies of different states; The future of the "New World Order"; An incredible shrinking world; Forces of change: Nationalism vs.
Supranationalism (NAFTA, AU, UN, EU, etc.); Devolution; strategies of Melting-Pot vs. Multiculturalism = the competing interests of Globalization.

Colonialism: carving up the world and the clashing of cultures; Colonialism’s political borders and economic relationships that we still contend with today; and, Neocolonialism (colonialism of the 20^th/21^st centuries) - a new twist of dependency.

Chap. 12 (418-421) Article: ‘Why Can’t People Feed Themselves” (#2253)

Population & Demographics: Issues relating to population growth and migrating humans. Statistics, charts, and graphs on population and its effects on culture,
public policy and the environment. Urbanization, Suburbs and Shantytowns. Humans trying to make the urban experience work.

Environmental Issues: Introduction and history of our relationship with the Environment. Issues: deforestation; soil erosion; upsetting the fragile balance of
eco-systems. Solutions for environmental conservation. Chaps. 4 (all); 11 (368-371;392-399; 403-410); 13 (all); Geopak (8)

Articles: “Population” (#2255); “Rural Populations and the Global Environment” (#2256)

People and Places of Middle and South America (lecture); Personal Slide Show of the highlands of Spanish/Native America (Mexico to Chile).
Reports from Latin America (late March); Geopak

Map Quiz from Latin America; Reports & Map Quiz from Africa (1^st week in April); read Geopak

1) Textbook readings from the assigned chapters in the syllabus. Refer to the pages above in this syllabus for topics, terms, or pages to focus on within each chapter. 2) Optional - Read articles (library reserve or on-line). 3) Study the Geopak (supplemental lecture notes) as assigned by me in class. 4) Exams will come primarily from your lecture notes and secondly from the assigned readings. The questions will be a combination of both relatively easy and challenging multiple choice questions. No make-up exams except for serious illness with doctor’s excuse or documentation of other incidents of a serious nature (ex. personal accident with injury or death of close family member). Make-up exam will be given immediately following the student’s return to class. 5) Map Quizzes will be from your studies of the Atlas or online maps, and the maps in the Geopak. Map quizzes consist of locating physical and political locations on a map through matching or fill-in the blank questions. The lowest map quiz score out of 6 quizzes will be dropped at the end of the semester. No make-up map quizzes. A missed quiz will be your drop-grade. 6) Report: Role Playing as if you are a person from another country or culture (of course, one that is actually very different from your own). This will be delivered orally to the class. It will be in the first person (I, we) as you (fictionally) represent your culture or country. The choice of report topics are given to you on the professor’s homepage website. Topics outside of that list will be considered by the professor. A fair amount of flexibility will be given to the style and approach. Real research should come out in the report. Power Point, Websites or document camera materials are required to supplement your written report. It will be a 2 page double-spaced report (2 full pages - no more, no less - 12 pt. type, double-spaced; 2 ¼ pages accepted), a creative cover page, and a bibliography (that’s 4 sheets of paper minimum). Make a 2^nd Copy to turn in to me on the day of the report. No report covers, just a staple. Three (3) sources minimum (only one can be an encyclopedia). Possible references could include Articles on the Internet (only published articles; must have been published in a book, magazine, or journal); National Geographic; Time Magazine; Discover; The Economist; Newsweek; Christian Science Monitor, or any applicable books, etc. (you remember books don’t you?). Travel guides to countries will be seen as weak references, but they often pop-up on general web searches.

Good Report Tips: Have the report proofed by someone who writes well, if’in it ain’t you! - or use our writing lab (I.S.S.) in the library. Every semester half the students lose serious points for poor grammar/wording/organization; 2 or 3 students lose points for turning in the report late, or incomplete (ex. no bibliography). Have an attention grabbing opening paragraph and a summary/ conclusion paragraph at end. Stick with your specific topic from the very beginning to the very end – do not stray unless it ties in later to your story. Always stay in the "I" and "We" first-person; do what you have to do to make your character more believable (dress, accent, family/ country photos). The basic “high school” encyclopedia type information will not deserve an "A". Find a way to be creative and informative at the same time, weaving in meaningful and important information to your story. It's a short report so don't waste time on geographic trivia; instead, reveal something interesting/important about that country or culture, or deal with some important question, problem, or issue. Though some fiction may be necessary for role playing, most of the paper should reveal real factual information about your culture, issue, or country. I want your words, your synthesis or analysis, so don’t copy or plagiarize from your sources, I can tell when you do; we now have software that can track down copying; plagiarizing will result in a zero for the paper dropping you at least 2 letter grades for the course.

7) Absenteeism – poor attendance will almost always hurt your grade as this is a lecture-based class. Class attention and good notes are crucial to high grades in this class. Good attendance will be rewarded*. 8) ESL Students - only paperback dictionaries can be used during testing. 9) Cheating in any form is grounds for
expulsion from the class and possibly the college with the grade of an “F”. 10) Late for class or leaving early is disrespectful and disruptive to your fellow students
and me. If you are more than 10 minutes late for class do not enter the classroom.

Human Geography is the study of humans in our relationships with each other and our natural environment. The spatial relationship of these things is the unique focus of Geography. Many of the cultures or lifestyles of human groups around the world are examined as well as the physical or natural settings which surround them. Hence, the subject matter will draw much from areas of both the social and natural sciences. Understanding
the relationship between the two, in the breath of both time and place, will be the challenge of this course.

Statement of Non-Discrimination: Georgia Perimeter College supports the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order #11246, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, national origin or disability, be excluded from participation in, or be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of the college. Any individual with a grievance related to the enforcement of any of the above provisions should contact the Asst Director of Human Resources.

Section 1 – Topics (for Exam 1)