World Geography, GEA 1000-01
Spring 1999 -- Bellamy 221 – Tuesdays/Thursdays 11-12:15

Dr. Phil Steinberg

“As a young man, my fondest dream was to become a geographer.  However while working
in the customs office I thought deeply about the matter and concluded that it was far too
difficult a subject.  With some reluctance, I then turned to physics as a substitute.”

Course Overview

This course presents an introduction to the field of geography by means of a survey of the regions of the world.

The first unit of the course (January 7 – January 26) will consist of a brief overview of some of the key subfields in physical and human geography – that is, in this unit we will discuss some of the major concepts used to explain the characteristics of places and regions.  An exam covering this unit will be given on Thursday, January 28.  It will be worth 20% of your final grade.

The second unit of the course (February 2 – February 9) will focus on three special skills and concepts that arise frequently when examining and comparing regions of the world: mapping, population, and development.  An exam covering this unit will be given on Thursday, February 11.  It will be worth 15% of your final grade.

The third unit of the course (February 16 – March 23) will cover the regions of the “developed” world: North America, Europe/Former Soviet Union, Japan, and Australia/New Zealand.  An exam covering this unit will be given on Thursday, March 25.  It will be worth 20% of your final grade.

The fourth unit of the course (March 30 – April 20) will cover the regions of the “less developed” world: Latin America, Africa/Middle East, and Asia.  An exam covering this unit will be given on Thursday, April 22.  It will be worth 20% of your final grade.

There will be a cumulative final exam, given on Thursday, April 29 at 7:30 A.M., which will be worth 25% of your final grade.
 

Texts and Readings

It is my experience that most textbooks for this class are too detailed, too glitzy, and, not surprisingly, too expensive.  To help make this class easier for everyone (except the publishing companies who hope to make money off of you!), we will be using a popular geography book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geography (Alpha Books, 1997) as our main text.  Don’t be fooled by the title or the cute headings; the content is actually not that different than a standard introductory textbook, but the quantity of reading will be less than in most other introductory geography courses.

However, because a few concepts are not covered in the Idiot’s Guide, I have photocopied selected pages from standard text books and these are in a coursepack (along with a few other readings) for sale at the bookstore along with the textbook.  While the other readings will be sold at both the University Bookstore and Bill’s, the coursepack will be sold only at the University Bookstore because the company that produces the coursepacks has an exclusive contract with the University Bookstore.

Finally, there is also an atlas assigned as required reading, The New Comparative World Atlas (Hammond, 1997).  Some of the exams will involve use of this atlas (you will be expected to bring your copy of the atlas to these exams and will be required to use it to complete some of the questions).  Therefore, even if you share with someone else on the other readings, you must purchase your own copy of this atlas so that you will have a copy when you take the exams  You will be disadvantaged for the exams if you do not have a copy of the required atlas with you, and I will not be able to supply copies to students who have forgotten or who have never purchased their atlases.

Because the classroom is large and wall maps may be difficult to see from a distance, you are also strongly encouraged to bring your atlas to every class section.  I will be referring to it often in lectures and will be expecting you to follow me on specific pages.

It is expected that you will have read the assigned readings and looked over the assigned atlas pages before the class when we go over the subject material covered therein.  I may make amendments in the readings if we find ourselves deviating from the class schedule.
 

Exams and Grading

Geography is not about memorizing capitals, mountains, and rivers.  Just to prove to you how little I care for this aspect of geography, I’m inviting (well, actually, requiring) you to bring your atlas to the exams.  The downside of this, though, is that the questions will make you think.  For instance, instead of asking you to identify Mongolia on an outline-map, I might ask you to use the various maps in the atlas and what you’ve learned about the relationship between climate, agriculture, and population density to tell me why Mongolia has the population density that it does.  Make the atlas your friend.  It will help you through this question and many others, and in the end you’ll have a better knowledge of where things are in the world than you would have had you just memorized (and then promptly forgotten) the world’s capitals.

Exams will be primarily multiple-choice questions, except for the final exam which will consist of essays.  For security reasons, atlases will be collected and randomly redistributed before a test is handed out, so any notes you make in your atlas will not help you.  Do not become emotionally attached to the specific atlas copy that you purchased at the beginning of the year; you will not be leaving an exam with the same atlas you brought to it.

If demand exists, review sessions will be held the evening before exams are given.

You will not be graded on attendance.  On the other hand, it is your responsibility to get notes from a classmate for any class that you missed.  You will be tested on material that comes only from the lectures, so do not count on sliding through the class solely by doing the readings.  Similarly, you will have difficulty with the tests if you’ve only come to class and are not familiar with the readings and the atlas.  To aid you in interpreting others’ notes and studying for exams, I’ll be posting lecture outlines on the class website, http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~psteinbe/wgtop.html.  You are strongly encouraged to check the website now and then for other announcements as well.

Policy on missed exams and make-up exams:

Non-emergency alternate exam times: If you have a valid excuse for why you cannot make a scheduled exam time and you contact me at least three days in advance, we will schedule an alternate time.  You must contact me no later than three days before the exam if you have a non-emergency excuse and would like to reschedule.

Emergency alternate exam date: If you have a valid excuse for missing an exam that you cannot know of in advance (e.g. illness, car breakdown) and you notify me no later than the beginning of the exam, we will schedule an alternate time.  You must contact me no later than the beginning of the exam if you have an emergency excuse and would like to reschedule.

All other missed exams: If you miss an exam and you personally contact me no later than the end of the next class session, I will arrange for your grade on the final exam to automatically count also as your grade for the missed exam.  This is a risky road to take, as it makes a large portion of your grade dependent on the cumulative, final exam, so it is not advised, but all students may pursue this option for any one exam.  This option may be taken for any one exam only.  If you have non-excused absences for more than one exam, your final exam grade will count for one of the missed exams but for all other missed exams you will receive a “zero.”  Likewise, if you miss an exam and do not contact me by the end of the next class, you will receive a “zero” for that exam.

Once again, the exam schedule is:

 Exam I: Thursday, January 28 (20%)
 Exam II: Thursday, February 11 (15%)
 Exam III: Thursday, March 25 (20%)
 Exam IV: Thursday, April 22 (20%)
 Final Exam: Thursday, April 29, 7:30 A.M. (25%)

Class Schedule

Thurs. January 7, Introduction

Tues. January 12, Defining the region, Idiot's Guide, chpts. 1, 5; Coursepack, p. 1

Thurs. January 14, Physical Geography I: Climate/Atmosphere, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 2 (pp. 13-19); Atlas, pp. 16-19

Tues. January 19, Physical Geography II: Soils/Landforms, Vegetation/Wildlife, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 2 (pp. 19-24); Atlas, pp. 14-15, 20-21

Thurs. January 21, Human Geography I: Cultural & Political Geography, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 3; Atlas, pp. 26-27; Coursepack, pp. 2-9

Tues. January 26, Human Geography II: Economic Geography, Coursepack, pp. 10-20; Atlas, pp. 30-35

Thurs. January 28, EXAM I
 

UNIT II – Special Topics and Techniques for Comparing World Regions

Tues. February 2, Special Topic I: Mapping, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 4; Atlas, pp. 4-7

Thurs. February 4, Special Topic II: Population, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 26; Coursepack, pp. 21-23; Atlas, pp. 24-25

Tues. February 9, Special Topic III: Development, Coursepack, pp. 24-45; Atlas, pp. 28-29

Thurs. February 11, EXAM II
 

UNIT III – Regions of the “Developed” World

Tues. February 16, Thurs. February 18, & Tues. February 23, North America, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 6; Atlas, pp. 72-79

Thurs. February 25, Tues. March 2, & Thurs. March 4, Europe & Former Soviet Union, Idiot's Guide, chpts. 7-12; Atlas, pp. 38-47

Tues. March 9 & Thurs. March 11, SPRING BREAK

Tues. March 16, Japan, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 13; Atlas, pp. 48-51, 55

Thurs. March 18, Australia/New Zealand, Idiot's Guide, chpt. 14; Atlas, pp. 58-61

Tues. March 23, Catch-up class

Thurs. March 25, EXAM III
 

UNIT IV – Regions of the “Less Developed” World

Tues. March 30 & Thurs. April 1, Latin America, Idiot's Guide, chpts. 16-17; Atlas, pp. 72-75, 80-88

Tues. April 6, Thurs. April 8, & Tues. April 13, Africa/Middle East, Idiot's Guide, chpts. 18-20; Atlas, pp. 64-70

Thurs. April 15 & Tues. April 20, Asia, Idiot's Guide, chpts. 15, 21-23, Atlas, pp. 48-57

Thurs. April 22, EXAM IV
 

Thurs. April 29, FINAL EXAM (7:30 A.M.)

ADA Statement

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should: a) Register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC); b) Bring a letter to the instructor from the SDRC indicating you need academic accommodations. This should be done within the first week of class.
 

Links

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