HUMAN HOME	COURSE DESCRIPTION	READINGS	SYLLABUS	ASSIGNMENTS	FIELD WORK	GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT HOME

Course Description:

This course in Human Geography is designed to provide you with an understanding of the primary questions of the discipline, the spatial analysis of the human population on the earth, a comprehensive view of the circulation systems that structure settlement patterns and land use issues around the world. It also provides a chance to practice reading landscapes. Geography has been defined as the discipline that uses the spatial approach to the understanding and analysis of the earth as the home of humans. It is concerned with the location and distribution of physical and cultural phenomena and with the spatial interaction of phenomena in places and the interaction between and among places. The class stresses the importance of geography in our everyday life and its connections to other disciplines.

This course is divided into several sections. The first will introduce you to fundamental concepts of geography and a few research themes in human geography. The second part presents a rather detailed view of population geography. It deals with where people are, why they are in those places, and where they are going next. The third part is focused on the spatial patterns of power. This sub-field is called either political geography or geopolitics. The fourth section is cultural geography. The fifth section is an integrated analysis of settlement and land use patterns and problems. This section is based on the concept of circulation systems. The last section is devoted to the analysis of several regional case studies of economic change and related environmental impacts.

Communication about geography and places around the world takes many forms. In addition to using the discipline based communication techniques of the geographer, I ask you to dip into the rich literature of travel writings. The armchair travel experiences we gain from reading are an important part of our understanding of the world around us and are a source of great delight. Therefore your first major assignment is to read and write a review of a travel book (see specific assignment sheet). The second writing assignment will be a critical essay/review on a topic covered in the class.

To achieve our goals we will use a combination of field experiences, lectures, small group sessions and a writing program. Please keep up to date on the reading! Lectures will not be held three days every week so please watch the class schedule.

 

3 Tests	300 Points
1 Field Report & Discusssion	50 Points
1 Review of Travel Book and Discussion	100 Points
1 Class Research Project	75 Points
Final Exam	100 Points
TOTAL	625 Points

Note: (Grades are based on percentages 95%=A; 90%=A-; 85% =B; 80%=B-;75%=C; 70%=C-;65%=D)

The class will meet three times per week. Attendance is expected. Lectures do not normally duplicate readings. If you have questions, be sure to bring them up in class, or see me or the T.A.'s during office hours. There are three students who work as T.A.'s and research assistants and about 30 people in the class, so you should be able to find someone to help you whenever you have a question or problem. On most days you should bring your atlas to class.