HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
Course No: ANTH-201-01 Instructor: Roland Blanchette
Spring Semester 2005 Office no: LA 450–Brockton; C104–Canton
Classroom: LA 448 Office hrs: MF 11:00-11:50 am–Canton
Class hrs: TTh 9:30-10:45 am TTh 11:00-12:00 am–Brockton
Email: rblanchette@massasoit.mass.edu Office phone: 508-588-9100 ext 1706
Texts: Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography 8th ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1999. ISBN: 0131692232.
Rand McNally. Atlas of World Geography. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, 2005.
Students are strongly encouraged to purchase this textbook through an online bookseller such as www.amazon.com or vig.prenhall.com. Prentice-Hall lists the book with free Study Guide and Atlas at $99.00 new. You can purchase new and used editions much cheaper on the web and they will be sent to you fairly quickly. The ISBN number for the entire package has been provided for you.
Catalogue description: An investigation of the relationship between human beings and their environment on a global scale. The course will consider how geographic patterns are influenced by distributions of population, ethnicity, economic systems, religious systems, political forms, and landscape development.
Prerequisite: Preparing for College Reading II (ENGL-092), Introductory Writing (ENGL-099), and Fundamentals of Math (MATH-010), or waiver by placement testing results, or departmental approval.
Course Information: This is a Social Science course. It will fulfill a Social Science elective, a
Liberal Arts elective, or a General Elective. It will also satisfy the Core Curriculum requirement of a Social Science/Humanities course.
Course Objectives: Students need an awareness of "place." As a result of taking this course, a student should have a better understanding of the location of things such as nations and biomes, and the forces that have influenced current patterns of place. The objective of this course, then, is to investigate the relationship between human beings and their environment on a global scale. In addition, through the reading, writing, and critical thinking that are part of the course, students should be better able to: 1) evaluate and interpret the meaning of textual material, 2) organize and connect ideas, 3) view situations from different perspectives, and 4) differentiate between fact and fiction, concrete and abstract, theory and practice
Disability Statement: Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in the classroom are encouraged to contact the Disability Counselor, Stan Oliver, x1464, or Learning Disability Services Counselor, Andrea Henry, x1805, as soon as possible in order to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
Assignments: All students are required to complete a series of writing and map assignments. The exact nature of these assignments will be explained during the first week of class. Students are also required to read the text assignments by the dates specified on the course outline.
You will also need a set of colored marking pens or colored pencils; crayons will not be acceptable.
Exams: There will be three in-class exams. The tests will be based on readings and the material presented in class. Everyone is required to take all the exams on the scheduled dates.
Teaching Procedures and Attendance: This is primarily a lecture course, but there will be opportunity for questions and discussion. Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled classes. Do not come to class late; interrupting class by walking into class late or getting up to leave early is rude and will not be tolerated. Students caught cheating will receive an F for the course. Please read the Attendance and Academic Integrity policies printed in the College catalogue. Students are also strongly encouraged to actively participate in class discussions; part of the work of this course is to show up ready, eager, and prepared for the class.
Grades: Evaluation and grading is based on the following distribution:
Exam I = 20% 94 - 100 = A 73 - 76 = C
Exam II = 20% 90 - 93 = A- 70 - 72 = C-
Exam III = 20% 87 - 89 = B+ 67 - 69 = D+
Assign. = 10% 83 - 86 = B 60 - 66 = D
Project = 30% 80 - 82 = B- -59 = F
77 - 79 = C+
COURSE OUTLINE
Note: This is a tentative outline of the material that will be covered in this course. Dates may be adjusted as the course progresses. Detailed schedules will be distributed each week. You will be given ample time and notice to complete the assignments and prepare for the exams.
Week 1 Jan 24-28 Week 9 Mar 21-25
Basic Concepts. Religion.
Rubenstein, Ch 1. Rubenstein, Ch 6.
Week 2 Jan 31-Feb 4 Week 10 Mar 28-Apr 1
Cultural ecology. Regions. Race and Ethnicity.
Rubenstein, Ch 1. Rubenstein, Ch 7.
Week 3 Feb 7-11 Week 11 Apr 4-8
Population. Political Geography.
Rubenstein, Ch 2. Rubenstein, Ch 8.
Week 4 Feb 14-18 Week 12 Apr 11-15
Migration. Development.
Rubenstein, Ch 3. Rubenstein, Ch 9.
Exam II.
Week 5 Feb 21-25 Week 13 Apr 18-22
No classes Monday: Presidents Day. No classes Monday: Patriot’s Day.
Folk and Popular Culture. Agriculture.
Rubenstein, Ch 4. Rubenstein, Ch 10.
Week 6 Feb 28-Mar 4 Week 14 Apr 25-29
Folk and Popular Culture. No classes Tuesday: Scheduling Day.
Rubenstein, Ch 4. Industry.
Exam I. Rubenstein, Ch 11.
Semester project due.
Week 7 Mar 7-11 Week 15 May 2-6
Language. Urban Patterns.
Rubenstein, Ch 5. Rubenstein, Ch 13.
Week 8 Mar 14-18 Week 16 May 9-11
Spring Recess; No classes Resource Problems.
Rubenstein, Ch 14.
Week 17 May 13-18
Final Exam week: Exam III.
PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
The assignment is to produce a comprehensive report of your assigned country. The report should be in encyclopedia or almanac style. It should contain information on all of the topics we covered in class. Include all pertinent maps that you produced throughout the course.
At a minimum, the following topics should be covered:
1. Physical geography. What are the landforms and major ecological niches? Rainfall and temperature patterns? Natural resources?
2. Beginnings of human occupation. How did humans come to your country? From where did they migrate? When?
3. Population variables. What is the population density? Where are the people distributed? Birth rates? Mortality rates?
4. Methods of subsistence and social organization. How do people make a living? What are the dominant forms of social organization?
5. Rural-urban distribution. Where are the important cities? Urbanization? Industrial development?
6. Racial and ethnic variation. What are the major racial and ethnic groups and where are they located? Which are the dominant groups? Discrimination?
7. Language. What languages are spoken? Which are official? Bilingual and multilingualism? Language policies?
8. Religion. What religions are practiced? Which have official approval? State support?
9. Politics. What is the form of government? Civil rights? Elections?
10. Economics. What kind of economic system? What forms of wealth? Who controls it?
11. Cultural region. What characteristics define this cultural region?
12. Implications for change. What is the relationship to environmental pollution? Resource depletion? Armed conflict?
Hint: Your paper should begin with an introduction telling what the paper is about and end with some concluding remarks that summarize the paper.
Note: As with any academic paper, you must cite your sources. That means any quotes, statistics, ideas, etc. not your own must be referenced with footnotes and a bibliography. Consult an English handbook to insure you are doing this properly.
Paper due: Thursday, April 28.