Time Schedule:
Douglas Mercer
GEOG 100
Seattle Campus
Introduction to the study of human geography and the major themes of the discipline. Topics include: human-environment interactions, migration and human mobility, patterns of health and nutrition, industrialization and urbanization, and the geography of culture and politics. Offered: AWSpS.
Class description
This is a survey course in human geography - the study of places and the people that inhabit them. Human geography is a diverse discipline drawing from and contributing to many other fields. Human geographers study politics, the environment, markets, culture, demography, and more. What sets geography apart from other disciplines is its focus on place, and integrating process that demands that we draw from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Human geographers seek to understand above all the experience of people in their myriad places, and how those places interact and transform each other.
The transformation and integration of places is central theme of this course. Through international trade, cultural exchange political and environmental change places change. To that end we will investigate a variety of debates such as those over agricultural subsidies in rich nations, global inequality, and environmental sustainability. Study of some issues requires a global scale context, but the global context is not equally important across all issues. In some ways the issues that concern us remain dominantly local. Decisions about the way we elect our city council members or how a city park should be developed are examples. We will explore both local and global issues and the ways in which they interact in this course.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
The course is organized around four themes. The first half of the course is generally focused on local to national scales and the second turns to a more global outlook. Preceding the themes, in the first week we will develop an understanding of what geographers mean by place and scale, as well as assuring a basic cartographic literacy.
After covering the basic concepts we embark on the first of the four course themes, “Representing Space, Place and Nature.” Through an examination of the development of environmentalism we trace how people construct their perceptions of the environment around them. It has a cultural focus. The second section, “Political Geographies,” describes and details the implications of the geographical attributes of American democracy.
Moving to the global scale, the third thematic examines the political, economic and environmental process that produce the unequal world we see today. As the title suggests, “The Historical Development of the World System” is an historical geography. “Survival in the New World System” examines current challenges that require a global response. I’ve chosen the interlocking themes of climate change, terrorism, the debt crisis, and international trade for this quarter.
The format of the course is lecture and discussion. Three days out of the week will be mostly lecture, with some discussion opportunities. The remaining days will involve smaller group and one-on-one sessions. You will see in the Course Calendar that a portion of (usually) Fridays are set aside for one-one-one discussions with those that will be presenting on a subsequent day.
Recommended preparation
none
Class assignments and grading
Research Essays: Your principle task in this course is to write three analytical essays in the range of 800-1000 words. The essays have you demonstrate your mastery of the materials in three of the four themes I outlined above. For more on the Research Essays follow this link. You will chose which in the first week of class.
Presentation: You will make a presentation to your section on ONE of your three essays. You will choose which in the first week of class.
Tests: There is a midterm and a non-cumulative final. They demand sentence to paragraph length answers.
Homework: Something is due most days as noted on the Course Calendar. They vary but include stepping stone research assignments working toward writing the Research Essays, answering reading questions, and so on.
Research essays: 39% (13% for each of three essays)
Presentation: 10%
Midterm: 15%
Final: 15%
Section activities: 21%
