Instructor: Dr. James C. Saku

Office Phone: 301-687-4724, Secretary: 301-687-4369

Office Location: GU 229

Office Hours: 9:00-10:00 MWF, 9:00-11:00 T, or by appointment

Lecture Hours: 8:00-8:50 (MWF: section .001)

10:00-10:50 (MWF: section .002

Email: jsaku@frostburg.edu

Course Description

The distribution of human relation to population dynamics, economic development, and cultural diversity.

Course Objectives

1. By the end of the course students should be able to:
2. Familiarize themselves with basic theories and methods of human geography.
3. Develop an understanding of contemporary global human activities.
4. Explain the evolution of culture and its impact on political, economic and social systems.
5. Examine other factors that promote different economic, social and political systems.
6. Analyse the causes and problems of urbanization in developed and developing countries.
7. Discuss world population geography within the framework of growth and distribution.
8. Explore the role of natural resource in economic development.

Academic dishonesty:  Note that academic dishonesty including plagiarism and cheating during examinations is a serious offence and carries severe penalty. Please refer to the Pathfinder for details.

Disruptive student behavior in the classroom:  The University will not tolerate disorderly or disruptive conduct which substantially threatens, harms, or interferes with university personnel or orderly university processes and functions. A faculty member may require a student to leave the classroom when his/her behavior disrupts the learning environment of the class. A student found responsible for disruptive behavior in the classroom may be administratively withdrawn from the course.

Policy:  Students are expected to attend classes regularly and participate actively during class discussions. Attendance will be recorded and failure to attend classes will result in loss of marks. Students are responsible for informing the instructor about their presence when they arrive in class after attendance has been taken. Assignments are to be handed in promptly on the due date. Late assignments carry a penalty of 20 points per day for a maximum of 5 days. No assignments will be accepted after the 5th day without a reasonable cause. A reasonable cause is defined as illness or tragedy within the family.

Internet assignment

Two Internet assignments are required from each student. The assignments are based on chapters 1 and 8 of your text. Students are expected to use the following Internet site http://www.prenhall.com/rubenstein to locate the critical questions on the two chapters. After locating the questions, print a copy of the question and write up a response of not more than 2 pages (typed and double space). You need to attach your printed copy of the question to your answer. You will be referred to other useful sites on the question page that you need to read to answer the question. There will be a class discussion on the question and all students will be expected to participate in the discussion. Failure to participate in the class discussion will lead to loss of points.

The purpose of this assignment is to promote critical thinking and introduce students to the use of Internet for assignments. Also, it is designed to help students to improve their writing skills.

Grading:  All in-class and final examinations will consist of multiple choice, short questions and answers and a map work. Prior approval is required for missing an examination. No make-up examinations will be granted if you fail to seek prior approval.

Points

Class attendance = 25 points

Map quiz (February 4) = 25 points

Internet assignments (2) = 30 points

First assignment (February 25^th)

Second assignment (April 24^th)

Class exercise (March 15) = 120 points

In class examination 1 (To be announced) = 100 points

In class examination 2 (To be announced) = 100 points

Final examination = 100 points

(Section .001, Tuesday May 23, 8:00 A.M.-10:30 P.M.)

(Section .002, Monday, May 22, 11:15 A.M.-1:45 P.M.)

The final grade is based on the total points accumulated over a maximum of 500 points. The scale and grades are as follows:

A = 450-500

B = 400-449

C = 350-399 No NC grade will be awarded

D = 300-349

F< 300

1: Basic concepts (reading assignment: chapter 1)

What is geography? What is a map? Types of maps and their uses. Types of scales and projections. The evolution of geography as a science, environmental determinism, concept of location, regional concept, concept of diffusion

2: Population geography (reading assignment: chapter 2)

Why study population geography, world population distribution (sparse and dense population regions. Historical growth of world population (agricultural, industrial and medical revolutions). Measures of population change (fertility, mortality and migration).

Demographic transition theory, population pyramids, Malthusian theory

3: Migration (reading assignment: chapter 3)

Mobility and migration defined. Why do people migrate (negative and positive perceptions, intervening obstacles and opportunity, European immigration into the United States, The U.S immigration policy - the quota system, undocumented immigrants, Internal migration (inter and intra-regional migration)

4: Social customs on the landscape (reading assignment: chapter 4)

Why study social customs? The differences between habit, custom and culture. The characteristics of popular and folk customs, origin and diffusion of popular and folk customs, factors that create folk and popular customs, the role of television in popular customs

5: Language (reading assignment: chapter 5)

Definition of language, literary tradition, language family, language branch and language group 

Language development and diffusion - English as a case example. Germanic languages - west, East and north, Romance languages, Asian languages - Sino-Tibetan, Japanese, Korean and Afro-Asiatic. African languages - Niger Congo and Nilo-Saharan families

Why study religion? Types of religion - universalizing and ethnic religions. Origin and diffusion of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Types of ethnic religions - Hinduism, Animism, Confucianism, Daoism and Shintoism. Administration of religions, Religious holy places

7: Ethnicity (reading assignment: chapter 7)

What is an ethnic group? Identifying ethnic groups, their functions. Processes by which ethnic groups change - acculturation and assimilation. Ethnic groups in the United States - African Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, American Indians. Differences between race and ethnicity. Migration patterns of African Americans. The concept of nationality, nation states and ethnic cleansing

8: Political geography (reading assignment: chapter 8)

The concept of a state, colonies and colonialism, types of boundaries, shapes of states, state co-operations (economic, military, political). The European Union and NAFTA.

9: Economic development (reading assignment: chapter 9)

What is development? Approaches to measuring development - economic social and demographic indicators. How to achieve economic development - development through international trade, development through self-help, development through infrastructure improvement. Rostows stages of economic development

10: Agriculture (reading assignment: chapter 10)

What is agriculture? Types of cultivation - vegetative and seed. The origin and diffusion of agriculture. Types of agriculture in developing countries - shifting cultivation, pastoral nomadism, intensive subsistence. Types of agriculture in developing countries - mixed crop and livestock farming, dairy farming, grain farming, livestock ranching, mediterranean agriculture, commercial gardening and fruit farming, plantation agriculture. Agricultural revolution, the green revolution

Where did industry begin ( the origin and diffusion of the industrial revolution). Regional distribution of industries (North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and East Asia. Factors that affect the location of industries - raw materials, market, labor, capital. Global industrial problems - developed and developing countries.

12: Services (reading assignment: chapter 12)

Why study settlements and services. Why are settlements created? Types of settlements - rural and urban. Types of services - transportation, producer, retail, personal and social, public. Market area of a service - range and threshold. Economic base of a settlement - basic and non-basic. Types of services in the central business district.

13: Urban Patterns (reading assignment: chapter 13)

Definition of urbanization. Development of urban centers - the concentric model, sector model, multiple nuclei. Inner city problems and urban renewal.

14: Resource problems (reading assignment: chapter 13)

What is a resource? Why study resources? Classification of resources. Energy resources, how much fossils are left? Problems of fossil fuels. Alternative sources of energy -- nuclear, solar, hydroelectricity, geothermal. World environmental problems - pollution (water, land and air)

15: Class Review

Map Quiz

One of the requirements of this course is to test your knowledge of the location of countries, cities and physical sites. The following list will form the basis of an in-class map quiz. In preparing for the quiz, use the attached map to locate the following land forms and settlements.