Geography 1992 - Fall 2007

Human Geography

A note on contacting the instructor:
Every soldier in the Marines knows his or her chain of command from himself or herself  up to the President of the United States. You also have a chain of command that begins with yourself, continues up through your recitation TA, then to the lead TA, and then to the instructor. You have a responsibility to know our expectations of you, dates of assignments, exams, etc. All other questions should be passed upward through this chain of command. If you have a problem, I will ask you if you first contacted your TA. Of course, if you want to talk about Geography (and not a problem), please come and chat with me during my office hours.

I check my email at least once a day, but often times only once, from Monday-Friday. It is unreasonable for you to expect a response from me on the same day as you send me an email. Also, I frequently do not check my email at all over the weekend, so try to schedule your problems before Friday afternoon if you can't wait until Monday for a response.

Course Materials:

Web page: Please check the class web page frequently for updates on assignments, lecture notes, exams, etc.

Textbook: Rubenstein, James. Human Geography. 9^th ed. Prentice-Hall. Available in the UMC Bookstore.

Atlas: An atlas is highly recommended for this course. Goode's World Atlas is bundled with the course text.

An iclicker

Additional Readings: Additional readings related to the recitation sections will appear via links to the recitation assignments.

Course Description:

What is Geography?
A common misconception is that Geography is the study of maps and where places are. These are important to Geographers, but only in the same same way that words and letters are important to an author. This is not what Geography is about. I define human geography as the study of the relationship between humans and their environment (or landscape). The environment is, however, much more complex than the natural environment you usually think about; other types of environments include the cultural, social, economic, political and built environments.

Geography 1992 as a MAPS course.
Why does this class meet the MAPS requirement? The purpose of the MAPS requirement in Geography is to ensure that CU undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences have a knowledge of the world beyond that provided by their own life experiences - a knowledge of its diversity and complexity.  In a very real sense, I consider this class to be background reading for the morning newspaper. One of my colleagues here calls her MAPS course "The World: A User's Guide".  The MAPS aim of this course is help undergraduates understand the complexity of the environments we find ourselves in, and to provide background information for the evaluation of local and foreign policy choices - in short, to become better citizens. We also, of course, want to impart our sense of wonder and intrigue about the changes that are happening in the world’s regions and why we became geographers in the first place. If we are successful, students will leave this course with an added interest in local and world affairs and with a deeper appreciation of the diversity in the world.

Facts and opinions:
This course will at times touch upon issues which are highly controversial (that is a fact), and upon other issues which should be highly controversial (that is an opinion). Even some "facts" are in dispute, such as who belongs to an ethnic group. The text provides many factual details and at times attempts to indicate where different opinions about the subject occur. At times, the lecturer and TAs will also provide their own opinions. We will try as carefully as possible to fully acknowledge that these are our personal opinions. Students are welcome to offer additional points in the lecture, by email or by discussion in recitation. It is in the discussion sections that the main debates will take place and students will be required to examine the issues we cover from a variety of ethical, ethnic, political and ideological perspectives. Hopefully, over the course of the semester, each student’s personal position will develop or evolve, or maybe change. It only matters that you confront the issues and, regardless of your own choices, that you have a position that can be defended in the face of critique and facts. Developing your ability to articulate this position, in verbal and written form, will be an important feature of the class and will be useful in further University coursework and life after college.

Course Organization:

Examinations:
There will be three Midterm examinations held during the term. Only your two highest midterm scores at the end of the term will be kept. As much as is possible, the Midterms are NOT cumulative, while the Final exam IS cumulative. Absolutely no make-up exams will be permitted. The format of the exams is True/False and Multiple Choice questions.
The final is scheduled for Thursday, December 20, 7:30-10:00 AM. Note: if you have three or more finals scheduled for Thursday, Dec 20 and wish to reschedule the exam for this class, you must notify your recitation TA no later October 6th.  School policy does not obligate us to allow rescheduled exams if requests are made after this date.

Clickers:
Each student is required to purchase an I-Clicker. An I-clicker rebate is provided with the textbook if purchased from the UMC bookstore. Students will answer multiple-choice questions in class by pressing the button corresponding to their answers. Approximately three to four questions will be asked during each lecture, with at least one at the start of class, at the end of class, and at a random interval in the middle of class.  Students will receive 3 points each lecture if they answer all of the questions. Students will receive 1 additional point for each clicker quetion that they anser correctly. Note that 10% of the grade is assigned by clicker questions in lecture.

Map Quizzes:
For a geographer to not know where all of the countries are is like an author not having a firm grasp of the language. There will be weekly map quizzes during the first five minutes of recitation. At the start of the semester, you will be tested only on small portions of the globe, and only on the location of countries. As the semester progresses, you will be tested on larger sections of the globe, and will also be expected to know the dominant religions, languages and ethnicities of the people in those countries.

Recitation Sections:
Recitation sections will meet weekly. Student are responsible for coming to recitation prepared to participate. All readings and other materials necessary for preparation for recitation will be posted on the course website one week prior to their recitation. The lowest assignment score at the end of the semester will be dropped for each student.

Grade Distribution:

Lecture Etiquette:

Please avoid disruptions such as arriving late, talking, eating, reading (esp. the newspaper), ringing cell phones or packing before I finish lecturing. Do not abuse your laptop privileges. I have the authority to not allow their use in class. Thanks!

Schedule:

This schedule is tentative and subject to change. All changes will be announced in class, and students are responsible for keeping up to date on such changes.

A note on the scheduling of recitations:The recitation week runs form Tuesday-Monday.

Statement on Disabilities- If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices.

Religious Obligations- Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. If the conflict is legitimate, I will provide the opportunity for an alternative time to write an exam or submit an assignment. See full details at www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html

Student Classroom and Course-Related Behavior- Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See polices at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/

In this class (including all exams and laboratory assignments), a violation of the CU Honor Code will result in an academic sanction of an assigned final grade of "F". If you are ever unclear as to what constitutes a potential violation of the Honor Code, please talk to the instructor or teaching assistant(s) before you submit your work.

Discrimination and Sexual Harassment- The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment (http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html, the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships applies to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh.