COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an exciting time to be studying global and regional geography!
In this course you will take a penetrating look into the geographical –
or spatial -- relationships between human societies and cultures, the natural
environment, and historical changes that have shaped the contemporary world.
More than answering the question “What is where,” this course adopts a
conceptual approach to understanding and explaining the dynamic human and
natural features of the earth’s surface. Particular geographical themes
will be emphasized and applied largely to the regions of South, East, and
Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia.
Important themes include notions of development and underdevelopment, sustainability,
impacts of modernization on developing countries, globalization of economy
and culture, political and international conflict, cultural diversity,
and global environmental concerns. To that end, a deeper understanding
of current events from a historical and geographical perspective is imperative.
Thus, timely issues and events in the news will be tied into the overall
framework of the course.
Because of the emphasis on relationships between the social, cultural,
political, and environmental components of human societies and regions,
World Geography II serves as a liberal studies course in the Social and
Political Worlds distribution block. Further, it addresses four essential
skills: critical and creative thinking, critical reading, spatial reasoning,
and effective writing. Such skills will be derived from a combination of
question sets for reading assignments, map interpretation exercises, discussions
in class, and an essay that synthesizes your understanding of concepts
and theories related to development and underdevelopment.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Following the successful completion of GGR 241, you will be able to:
To assess the objectives
listed above, you will:
REQUIRED MATERIALS
LEARNING PORTFOLIO
For those of you enrolled
in the new liberal studies program, the Reflective Essay is designed to
be incorporated into your Learning Portfolio. Your paper will provide
you with evidence of what you learned in GGR 241. More specifically,
it will allow you to revisit that paper well after the course has ended.
While this may surprise you now, you will most likely refer back to this
paper and many other undergraduate accomplishments well after you have
earned your degree.
GRADING SYSTEM
A total of 550 points
may be earned in this course. Grades are based on a straight scale
(i.e.. 90% is an A, 80% is a B, etc. There will be NO extra
credit assignments and NO grading curves, so all of you will have an equal
opportunity to earn the grade of your dreams. My suggestion: do it
right the first time, as there will be no second chance this semester.
I encourage you to seek out my help and/or guidance regarding course material,
study habits, etc. As a rule, students who make the effort to talk
to me about course materials or study habits end up with higher grades
on exams and for the course itself. Most importantly, more learning
takes place if you know HOW to learn (see Dr. Tom’s Study Tips on the course
web site for more info.)
Three Exams:
300 points (18% of grade for each exam)
20 Articles for discussion
100 points (18% of grade)
One Reflective Essay:
130 points (24% of grade)
One Oral Article Discussion
20 points (4% of grade)
LATE POLICY:
Any exam
or other assignment submitted after the due date (by the end of class)
will be penalized an automatic 25% regardless of the reason (unless a valid
university excuse).
ATTENDANCE AND CLASS POLICIES
This course is designed
with the expectation that all students will participate in all class meetings.
As your instructor, I do not have the time or the motivation to enforce
an attendance policy on a class of this size. Thus, it is your responsibility
to miss as few classes as possible. As another rule, there is a very
strong correlation between class attendance, learning achieved, and grade
achieved for the course. I know this not just from observation, but
from personal studies that I have conducted. Also, I design the exams
so that it penalizes those students who do not attend regularly. If you
HAVE to miss a class for ANY reason, you are responsible for obtaining
the notes and handouts from a fellow student. NOTE: I CANNOT
ALLOW STUDENTS TO VIEW MY LECTURE NOTES OUTSIDE OF CLASS. Please
do not ask for this favor.
SLEEPING IN CLASS: In short, don’t do it! It is rude
to myself and to others and, believe it or not, it is very distracting
to me while I teach. If students are bold enough to zonk out right
in front of me in class, I will be bold enough to embarrass anyone who
tries it.
ARRIVING ON TIME: Please do! The only reason students
might be late to class is when they have another class right before it
that is more than 20 minutes away. If this is the case, please let
me know.
** Parking hassles are NOT
excusable reasons for lateness, except in bizarre circumstances.
In a large room with big, heavy doors, it is very distracting to students
who arrived on time, and to myself, when students filter in after the class
has begun. Please do your best to be early rather than late.
STUDENT ETHICS
If you really want to irritate me beyond recovery (I am warning you in
advance for your own convenience ?), you can do so by blaming me for your
own poor performance (should it occur) in this course. I have no
time or sympathy for students who have poor attitudes about learning or
for those who are concerned
only about their grade (of course, your
grade in itself is quite important for future opportunities). Please
keep in mind that I am here to evaluate you, not the other way around.
You can be assured that you will be treated fairly and that your
grade will reflect your performance, based on the standards I have
set for this course. This syllabus should give you a good idea of
the standards that I expect you to meet. PLEASE have the courage
to take responsibility for your own actions. Do not attempt to negotiate
for higher grades, and do not ask for extra credit. If you have to
miss class because of whatever, you will have to simply deal with the consequences.
That’s college, folks. Fair warning. I encourage you to learn
as much as you can, while you have the chance. If you are not pleased
with your own performance, my first suggestion is to work harder – it works
nearly every time. If you are truly baffled, please come and chat
with me about it – I’ll try to help you the best I can.