GS110

GEOG.151
Human Geography

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Bridgewater State College

Instructor: Prof. V. Domingo Office: Science Bldg 302A

No laptop use allowed in class

If the world were a village of 100 people.

Some fascinating cartograms: http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/

An interesting map of projected population:

<http://www.populationaction.org/resources/publications/mappingthefuture/index.htm>

Water Wars: http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/water

When viewed from space, our home, planet Earth appears relatively homogenous. But any visitor from another planet would be amazed by the great diversity of peoples, places and cultures that are found on this globe. The visitor would probably be astounded by the rich diversity n complexity of Earthlings - ranging from Bedouins living in the desert, to industrial workers in a Brazilian steel mill, to peasants in a Chinese rice paddy.
In every case, the basic aim of each population group is to live and prosper within that particular physical space. Each group relates to the earth in a particular way and it is this complexity human-land relationships that form the core of our course.
As geographers, we will be concerned with understanding the variety of patterns which different groups create on the surface of the earth - they may be field patterns, housing styles, streets, or mosques. What they do represent to us is humanity’s imprint on the surface of the earth, the cultural landscape.
Our approach in the course is geographical, in that it focuses on the interaction between the physical and cultural realms. The physical environment - mountains, rivers, deserts, etc, - constitute the framework within which people live, but as the course reveals, this living space is not merely an objective background. It is always a subjective culturally determined and culturally used environment. This dialectic between physical and cultural environments is at the heart of our course.
As cultural geographers, our aim will be to examine the nature of human/environmental relationships and to explain why and how cultural patterns vary across the surface of the earth.
The course will explore many different cultural settings, but it will be concept-oriented so that principles can be transferred and applied to significantly different parts of the globe.

Course topics

1) The geographical perspective
2) Mapping
3) Cultural landscapes
4) population patterns
5) migration
6) agricultural practices
7) Linguistic regions
8) the political map
9) Religion
10) Urban issues
11) Economic systems
13) Development and culture
14) Environmental issues

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Text:

Harm de Blij, Human geography, 8th edition, Wiley, 2007.

You have a choice between using the hard bound book or using an E.book.

You can buy the new hardbound book at the college bookstore for $120.75. You must get the Access Code that comes with the new book.

You will need the Access Code to complete the Quizzes. Do not buy a used book or a new book from elsewhere as those books do not have the Access Code.

The on-line E.book costs $47.95 and you have access to it for about 5 months.

To get your registration code for the E.book, go to WileyPlus: (click on Purchase Code which is on the left)

http://he-cda.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-103236.html

The book (under geography, de Blij, Human geography 8th edition).

Then register for your specific course section (be sure you’re in the right section):

Section 03 (MW12:20 ..) http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls51769/

Section 04 (TR 9:30 ..) http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls51770/

Section 05 (TR 11:00 ..) http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls51771/

Section 08 (M 7:30pm ..) http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls51772/

Reading assignments.

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Course requirements:

On-line quizzes