World Regional Geography
GES 1980
Summer 2014
Course Instructor:
Professor Emily Skop, PhD
Email: eskop@uccs.edu
Phone: 255-3789
Office: COH 2021
Office Hours: By appointment
Course Meetings: 9:25am-3:35pm, COB 230, with breaks!
Required Course Readings: There is one required book, available in a hard-copy and/or e-text format:
A) Rowntree, Lewis, Price, and Wycoff, Globalization and Diversity (3rd Edition), Prentice Hall, 2011.
Website: There are two required websites for this course:
1) To access lectures and grades, see http://bb.uccs.edu. Use your UCCS username and password.
2) To access online book materials and course content for Globalization and Diversity, see
http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_rowntree_gad_3/. Use your Pearson username and password. Be sure to
“Join a Class” for the course using course ID: MGEOGSKOP85028 by Monday, May 19th. If you have
further questions, see the handout "Getting Started".
Email: E-mail is the official means for communication within the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Therefore, UCCS has the right to send communications to students via e-mail and the right to expect that those
communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. Email is the best way to reach me
(eskop@uccs.edu). I will also use email to contact you. Thus, you must check your UCCS email a minimum of
once per day during this summer intensive course.
Course Overview: In today’s economy, international experience and global awareness are central to job
selection and promotion. This course is a geographical survey of the major regions of the world with a focus on
the world’s physical and human landscapes. The regions of the world we will study include North America,
Latin America, Europe, Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia. Throughout the course we will
emphasize the interrelationships among people and their environments, the increasing interconnectedness of
the world through forces of globalization, and the persistence of geographic diversity and difference. Content
covered will include human/environment interactions, population patterns, cultural issues, geopolitical
frameworks, as well as economic and social geographies.
Course Objectives: By the end of this course students will:
●Have acquired a mental map of the world that will allow them to identify and describe the location of the
world’s regions, countries, major cities, and physical features.
Have a firm comprehension of geographic concepts and theories used to explain world patterns and
distributions of environments, populations, cultures, politics, economics and social development.
●Understand the interconnections between the world's regions, and identify and interpret contemporary
world issues from a geographical perspective.
Articulate the meaning and significance of place and the processes that shape places.
Be able to interpret maps that describe the state of the world.
The Student-Driven Approach: "World Regional Geography” is a lower division courses that asks students to think
and write critically, to develop their own ideas about the course material, and to learn to express those ideas in
a meaningful and insightful way. Creativity, enthusiasm, and diligence are REQUIRED TO SUCCEED. Each
student is expected to make the learning process an interesting and challenging experience. Education
should be reciprocal, with all members of the class (including the professor) learning from one another. Come
to class prepared to teach and learn.
Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities should turn in their disability verification letters within the first
two weeks of class. For further information, contact Disability Services, Main Hall 105, 255-3354.
Military students: If you are a military student with the potential of being called to military service and/or training
during the course of the semester, you are encouraged to contact your UCCS course instructor no later than
the first week of class to discuss the class attendance policy. Please see the Military Students website for more
information: http://www.uccs.edu/~military/.
Classroom Conduct: The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has established a code of conduct and
classroom behavior policy to maintain the general welfare of the University community. The University strives to
make the campus community a place of study, work, and residence where people are treated with civility,
respect, and courtesy. For more information, visit: http://web.uccs.edu/lasdean/student_policies.htm. In this
class, every student is expected to participate in class discussions. There will be many times when you will not
agree with either the professor or your classmates. That is good! At these times, you should interrupt, object,
and make a claim for what you think is right. But be prepared also to listen to the objections to your own
position. That is how we all learn. Disruptive classroom behavior will not be tolerated. Those who choose to test
this policy will be asked to leave the classroom. A second offense will result in the student being withdrawn
from the class.
Academic Dishonesty/Integrity: The maintenance of academic integrity and honesty is an integral part of the
university experience. Plagiarizing, using sources without documentation, cheating, fabrication and falsification,
multiple submission, and misuse of academic materials represent intellectual theft and violate UCCS’s
Academic Honor Code. These definitions will be strictly adhered t o in this course. Please discuss any questions
or concerns you have with the professor. The minimum penalty for academic dishonesty in this course is a failing
grade (F) on the assignment associated with the incident and the notification of the appropriate university
authorities. For more information, visit: http://web.uccs.edu/studentconduct/academicprinciples.html and
http://web.uccs.edu/studentconduct/academicdishonesty.html.
Attendance: Attendance is required for this class, given the nature of the “Summer School” format. Your
regular attendance and participation is important to this professor and is essential for your success. Class
attendance is very much linked with good performance in this course.
Lectures: Lecture outlines are posted on UCCS’s blackboard platform (http://bb.uccs.edu) immediately before
the corresponding class period. Students are encouraged to download the outlines and transfer any notes
taken during class onto them. These outlines present the major points covered in class lectures and greatly
facilitate learning. The vast majority of exam material also comes from these lectures.
Coursework: It is important to note that because this is a four-credit hour course being taught in a very short
time period. Thus there will be extra hours of outside work. A good rule of thumb is that two to three hours of
outside work is necessary each day. Budget accordingly!
Evaluation: Your final grade will be based on a combination of quizzes, online assignments, and a presentation.
The breakdown is as follows:
Map Quizzes…………………..…………........................20%
Online Activities………………………………………...…20%
Fieldtrip Postcards…………………………………………10%
Mid-Term Group Pyramid Exam………………..….…..25%
Final Group Pyramid Exam……….………………….....25%
I will use the UCCS blackboard gradebook function to post grades (http://bb.uccs.edu). I also encourage all
students to keep a running tally of their grades. You have the right to request from me an estimate of your
current grade at any time during the semester.
Map Quizzes: There will be 6 map quizzes based on place locations for each region. Each quiz is worth 4%
of your final grade. Quizzes will occur sometime during the class period. Students must be in class the
entire class period in order to receive credit for the quiz given that day. Quizzes cannot be made up due
to an absence on the day a quiz is given. NO exceptions! Obviously, it is to your benefit to come to class
every time. To prepare for quizzes, use the “MapMaster Explore” and “MapMaster Identify” functions
available on the textbook website to learn the region. Each region includes interactive maps that list 50-80
places (countries, major cities, and physical features) that students should be able to identify for each
region. Students may be required to print out copies of the completed maps created on the website for
grading purposes. The lowest quiz score will be dropped.
Online Activities: Due at the end of most classes beginning on May 19th. During the course, students will be
required to complete on-line activities for each of the regions studied. Details for the on-line activities
(worth 4% each) will follow. Late activities will each receive a 15 point deduction. The lowest activity score
will be dropped.
Fieldtrip Postcards: Due at the end of the final day of class, May 30th. Download the “Wish You were Here”
Powerpoint Template on the course content page on blackboard. “Send” me 5 postcards (powerpoint slides)
from each of our fieldtrips. Each “postcard” should include a photo, (inserted in the blank box in the upper
right hand corner), a message to me (type your message on the postcard after “Dear Professor Skop…;”),
and a bibliography (when necessary for outside research and sources on each place). Each message should
describe, from your own personal perspective, your experience of the fieldtrip. On the first postcard, write
about the buildings, sights, and sounds that describe this place. On the second postcard, write about the
meanings that the place holds for visitors. On the third postcard, write about the history of the place. On the
fourth postcard, write about how this place is unique. On the fifth postcard, describe if and how you plan to
return to this place. Be as creative as you like, but be sure that there is a geographically relevant focus to your
work. Each postcard project is worth 5% of your final grade.
Mid-Term and Final Group Pyramid Exams: Students work both individually and in a group to complete midterm and final exams using the pyramid format. The exams are based on in-class lectures and the outside
reading assignments. To prepare for each exam, use the “Chapter Quizzes” “MapMaster Place Name
Quizzes” “Thinking Spatially” and “Flashcards” provided on the textbook website, as well as in-class materials
such as class lectures. Each exam is worth 25% of your final grade. Exams cannot be made up. NO
exceptions! Please see separate handout.
Extra Credit: I reserve the right to provide or deny opportunities for extra credit.
Grading Scale: As per University standards, there are 5 grades of scholarship:
A
B
C
D
F
Excellent
Above Average
Average
Pass
Failure
Potential Class Schedule: (This schedule is subject to change)
May 19 (Day One): Foundations
Topic: “Ballplayer/Pelotero”
Topic: Key Geographic Concepts
Required Reading: Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Online Activity One Due
May 20 (Day Two): Latin America
Topic: Economic Concerns –Migration and the Remittances Landscape
Topic: Political Issues of Latin America
Required Reading: Chapter 4
Quiz 1 (Countries and Cities) and Chapter 4 Online Activity Two Due
May 21 (Day Three): Europe
Topic: The European Union
Topic: International Migration and the Politics of Belonging
Required Reading: Chapter 8
Quiz 2 (Countries and Cities) and Fieldtrip
May 22 (Day Four): The Russia Domain
Topic: Post-Soviet Economic, Political, and Environmental Legacies
Topic: The Demographic Crisis
Required Reading: Chapter 9
Quiz 3 (Countries and Cities) and Chapter 9 Online Activity Three Due
May 23 (Day Five): Sub-Saharan Africa
Topic: Colonialism: Past, Present and Future
Topic: Quality of Life in Cities and Villages
Required Reading: Chapter 6
Mid-Term Exam
NO CLASS MONDAY May 26: Chapter 6 Online Activity Four Due
May 27 (Day Six): South Asia
Topic: Conflicting Impressions of India: A Slideshow
Topic: Economic Trends and Social Problems
Required Reading: Chapter 12
Quiz 4 (Countries and Cities) and Chapter 12 Online Activity Five Due
May 28 (Day Seven): Southeast Asia
Topic: Eco-Tourism as an Alternative Development Strategy?
Topic: Miraculous Palm Oil
Required Reading: Chapter 13
Quiz 5 (Countries and Cities) and Chapter 13 Online Activity Six Due
May 29 (Day Eight): East Asia: Korea, China and Japan
Topic: Navigating the Urban and Rural
Topic: Communitarianism and Consumptionism
Required Reading: Chapter 11
Quiz 6 (Countries and Cities) and Fieldtrip
May 30 (Day Nine): Future World Regional Geographies
Final Group Pyramid Exam and Fieldtrip Postcards Due