Final Project- MCGE Africa Title VI-A-March 2009
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1. Name: Jennifer A. Medeiros
2. College: St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley
3. Course Title and Number: Regional Geography: The Western World, GEG 101
4. Semesters Course will be offered: Fall 2009; Spring 2010; Fall 2010. Delivery method:
Lecture/Discussion. Anticipated enrollment: 20 per class.
5. Course Outcomes:
→Students will learn about the political, economic, cultural, and physical geographical
characteristics of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa- with a focus on Morocco- and
the Americas.
Course outcomes specific to the Morocco/North Africa Module:
→Students will be exposed to the historical significance of the region and of the introduction of
Islam to the region in the 7th century.
→Students will also consider and reflect on the impact of European colonialism as it affected the
political and cultural character of Morocco and North Africa, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries.
→Students will write and reflect on the benefits of experiencing literature, poetry and film of
Moroccan origin as a lens into the culture.
→Students will contrast the perspectives or portrayals of western filmmakers shooting film in
Morocco with the perspectives and portrayals of indigenous filmmakers.
→Students will consider the impact and meaning of language on Moroccan life and culture.
What place does French have today in Morocco? What are the ongoing associations made between
language and neo colonialism? Why is so much Moroccan poetry translated into English? Is Arabic able
to be translated into English without the poetry suffering?
6. Narrative Description of the Project:
My course Regional Geography of the West will be infused with the study of North Africa,
specifically Morocco, beginning in the Fall 2009 semester. Often geography courses on the Western
World do not cover the Middle East and North Africa, but I have included these regions because these
regions of the world are part of the Western Heritage. Students of the history of Western Civilization
always begin with a study of the origins of the West in Mesopotamia, the Levant, Egypt and Anatolia.
These areas are today part of the Muslim world. Furthermore there was a significant mingling of cultures
as the influence of Greece and later Rome impacted the whole of the Mediterranean World.
I feel it is imperative for American students to develop an awareness of the nations and cultures
of North Africa and the Modern Middle East. U.S. policymakers are highly focused today on the Middle
East and North Africa, and I believe American students should study United States foreign policy toward
these parts of the world and attempt to have a better understanding of the relationships between our nation
and nations such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It is important for American students to develop a
perspective other than that of outsiders looking in, judging cultures by western standards. Perhaps by
delving into Moroccan literature and visual arts, students may gain unique insight into Morocco and
North Africa, insight not generally gained from textbooks.
Before my participation in this grant, my focus on North Africa in this course was shaped by an
examination of the roots of Islam and the impact of the Arab Empire on North Africa in the 7th-9th
centuries. Students in my class have generally studied the physical geography of North Africa, current
political systems, definitions of citizenship, and cultural characteristics such as religion, language and
ethnicity. Several have prepared PowerPoint presentations and speeches on North African and Middle
Eastern nations for this Speaking Intensive course. Additional students will research these regions after
the course has been revised. As a result of my participation in this grant, I have decided to restructure my
entire approach to the study of North Africa in this course. Students will spend a portion of their time
studying the factors identified above, but they will also study the cultural geography of North Africa and
Morocco through literature and film. I will introduce them to films by Moroccan filmmakers as well as
films set in Morocco directed by westerners. We will analyze the contrast in these perspectives. Also,
students will read poetry and short stories of Moroccan origin and attempt to extract a sense of the
indigenous culture of Morocco and Muslim North Africa from the perspectives of the poets and authors.
7. Basic Outline of the Learning Unit:
This class meets once per week for 2 hours and 45 minutes. The Morocco/North Africa Module
will take place over 3 weeks beginning in Week 3 of the semester, thus constituting 18% of the class
content. Some of the class periods for both Week 15 and Week 16 will also cover North Africa.
Week 3:
The first hour of this class period will involve a lecture and PowerPoint on the origins of Islam
and the impact of the expansion of the Arab Empire into North Africa and the Maghreb- and with it- the
introduction of Islam to the region of North Africa. This is arguably the single most influential cultural
(and political) event in North African history. We will view maps of the Mediterranean World and
images which reveal the transition of North Africa into the Muslim World. We will discuss the blending
of cultures and ethnicities which resulted from the Arab conquest.
The next portion of this class period will include lecture on the basic physical and political
geographical characteristics of modern North Africa, with a focus on Morocco as a case study. I will use
PowerPoint for this lesson, with maps, charts, images and photographs. The next portion of the class
period will be set aside for students to report to the group. Several of the students will be tracking current
political, cultural and environmental news for their Geo Journal from the countries of Tunisia, Algeria,
Morocco, Egypt and Libya. Each of these students will report at this time on the articles they read and
summarized for this assignment. This first class will conclude with excerpts from Moroccan films.
Students will be asked to reflect on the films for a class discussion next week. A Blackboard Discussion
Forum will keep students engaged as the week goes by, giving them a place to ask and answer questions
as well as reflect on the film, short stories and poetry we will be reading.
Week 4
The first half of this class period, we will continue to watch excerpts from films by Moroccan
filmmakers and films by western filmmakers shot in Morocco. We will contrast the perspectives offered
by these films in a post viewing discussion.
The second half of this class period will be devoted to small group discussion of the poetry and
short stores we have been reading as a class. Several of the poems will be read aloud. The discussion will
be guided by a number of questions on culture, roles of women in North Africa, and religion in North
African society which I will distribute to the various groups.
At the end of this class period, some assessment activities, such as letter writing, will take place.
Week 5
During the first hour of this class, students with North African countries as part of their Geo
Journal or Country Profile Project will give brief updates on news/current events for Morocco, Tunisia,
Algeria, Libya and Egypt.
The second portion of the class will be set aside for Exam #1.
Weeks 15-16 of the semester
Students will present their final Country Profile Project speeches during the last two class
periods of the semester. Some students will present on Morocco and other North African countries. All
students will benefit from the presentations of these geographical investigations.
8. Copies of the Assignment Sheets for Students:
Exam #1 (20% of final grade)
The students will be tested on Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East on the same exam. The exam is
divided into sections, with separate questions pertaining to each geographical region. This exam
constitutes 20% of the final grade. The exam is a short answer, multiple choice, true/false and matching
exam. Information regarding the exams is available on Blackboard for the students.
Geo Journal (20% of final grade)
The Geo Journal is a semester long writing and reflection project. 20% of the final grade is
assigned to the Geo Journal. Included in the Journal are several different types of assignments and
exercises. One of these is known as Reporting on the World. These journal entries require students to
collect newspaper and magazine articles on political or cultural geography, read these articles, summarize
them in their journals and report to the class. About 1/3 of the class will cover nations of North Africa or
the Middle East, but all students will benefit from the in-class reporting of this third.
Other Geo Journal entries include a 1 page film review, a 1 page literature review and a 1 page
poetry reflection in which they consider the themes and lessons of the Moroccan film segments we
watched and the Moroccan literature and poetry we read as a class.
The Geo Journal (20% of the final grade)
The Geo Journal is a semester long writing project due during finals week-Week 16. I will
periodically review the expectations of this assignment in class, and might also have you discuss
some of the entries with classmates. On __________, you are expected to bring your Geo
Journal to class for a progress review.
At the end of the semester, the Geo Journal must be submitted in hard copy. No e-mailed journals will be
accepted.
Keep your Geo Journal as a WORD (doc or docx) file and update it as needed during the semester. I
encourage you to embellish your journal with artwork, newspaper clippings, photos, drawings, maps etc.
Be creative. I will take this into consideration! ALSO- BACK UP YOUR WORK. Never save your file
in only one location. Always use a flash drive and save to the hard drive. Plus, try e-mailing yourself
copies of your work once or twice a month.
The following 16 entries must be included in your journal. Please e-mail with questions anytime:
jmedeiros@stlcc.edu.
I. Five times during the semester, you are required to listen to the PRI-Public Radio International
broadcast titled: The World. http://www.pri.org/the-world.html After each listening session, type a ½- 1
page entry. Reflect on the material covered by the broadcast- or look up terms and names mentioned in
the broadcast you had not heard about- and put notes into your entry. Try to take the Geo quiz and
comment here in your Geo Journal. [5 entries]
II. One time during the semester, choose either Samantha Brown’s Passport to Great Weekends or
Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations from the Travel Channel network and watch one of these programs.
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows If you do not have cable, I have some of these on DVD you
can borrow. Type a one page minimum summary of what you learned from the program. Where did the
host travel? What did he or she experience in terms of the physical and cultural geography of the
destination? Provide Details!! You may include your own opinion or critique of the program. [1 entry]
III. Film Review: Choose one of the Moroccan films we watched together and type a 1.5-2 page review of
the film. What was the main point or intention of the filmmaker? What did you learn about Physical,
Political, and/ or Cultural Geography of North Africa/Morocco by watching this film? Also, provide your
personal reaction to the film. Would you recommend it to others? Why or why not? [1 entry]
IV. Literature Review: Choose one Moroccan poem and one of the short stories from Abouzeid, Leila.
The Director and Other Stories of Morocco. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2005. Read these
and type two entries reflecting on the themes and lessons of each. What are you able to glean about the
human geography of North Africa and Morocco from these literary samples? [2 entries]
V. Reporting on the World: During the course of the semester, you will collect five newspaper articles on
an assigned country. These articles should concern environmental, political or cultural aspects of or
developments in that country. Cut these articles out or print them out and tape them into your Geo
Journal. Type a ½ page summary of each of the articles. Highlight only the main points of the articles. Be
prepared to present these summaries in class. [5 entries]
VI. The last two entries in your Geo Journal will help me assess the course and your learning. First,
create a list of as many things as possible you have learned this semester. You do not have to go into
great detail, but give me highlights. Secondly, write me a letter describing your Country Profile Project.
How did you break the workload of the project into parts. Were you able to find enough information?
What were your three most useful sources? What did enjoy about the project and what did you dislike?
In what ways might I have helped you? [2 entries]
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Country Profile Project (20% of final grade)
Finally, several students will profile Morocco or other nations of North Africa and the Middle
East as part of the final Country Profile Assignment. This final research assignment requires each
student to prepare a 20 minute speech and PowerPoint presentation profiling one nation and its physical,
political and cultural geography. All students will benefit from the lessons as they are presented in class;
attendance is mandatory. The Country Profile Project is worth 20% of the final grade.
The following Assignment Sheet is distributed to the students on the first day of class:
Regional Geography of the West
2009
Country Profile Project
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Description of Project
Each student will be assigned ONE (1) country and will develop a geographic profile of this country over
the semester. The profile must be completed in PowerPoint and contain a minimum of 15 slides of text
and 15 slides of images for your country. The PowerPoint presentations will be enhanced by visual
elements such as graphs, images, photographs or maps.
Each must address the following considerations.
1. Describe the location and relationship relative to other countries in the region.
2. Identify the characteristics/circumstances that influence or determine economic status.
[Be sure to identify major trading partners and other economic relationships]
3. Note any distinguishing physical geographical features, and explain the role of these features in the
nation’s history and economy.
4. Catalog the ethnic/social/language/religious composition of the residents.
5. Prepare a short political/diplomatic history with the focus largely on the 20th century. (At least 4 slides
of history for the country assigned)
In this history be sure to reveal the nation’s governmental system, major political parties or
factions, any important political issues that define or reflect the political culture, alliances, participation in
any international body, nature of citizenship. Consider adding data on voting turnout or the legitimacy of
elections, if any.
6. Provide demographic statistics such as public health data, population data, life expectancy, birth and
death rates, etc…
Each student must consult a MINIMUM of FOUR secondary sources in addition to the photocopied
chapters from class as they conduct their research. Use some sources other than the Internet. But
certainly the Internet is a good place to get started. A trip to a college/university library will be necessary.
Because you may need to request books, make sure you schedule a trip to the library within the week or
plan to spend time searching Mobius online from home. There will be a number of reference sources in
the FV library that will be quite useful―but the reference materials do not check out. Please ask a
reference librarian for assistance. They are happy to help. Bring this assignment sheet with you.
Schedule
Be prepared to offer an update of your progress in class on ________.
Presentations (17-20 minutes) will take place during Weeks 15-16 of the semester.
Final profiles are due by e-mail as ppt or pptx files to jmedeiros@stlcc.edu by _________.
Recommendations:
Define all your terms.
Begin brainstorming by composing a list of questions, questions that will eventually be answered by your
research.
Organize appropriate visual aids, such as graphs, maps, charts, or images.
Contents:
The Final Project Must Contain the Following:
30 slides minimum, text typed in a size 12 font. Minimum of 15 slides of text and another 15 slides for
graphs, images and/or maps. Endnotes or footnotes in MLA, Turabian, or Chicago style. A bibliography
in MLA, Turabian, or Chicago style.
______________________________________________________________________________
Grading Guidelines:
This project will be graded according to the following guidelines
Length-The presentation must be at least 30 slides with at least 15 image slides and 15 text slides, not
including the bibliography. Maximum number of total slides-50.
Grammar- The presentation should be free of grammatical errors.
MLA, Turabian or Chicago Style- Endnotes or Footnotes and Bibliography―All information borrowed
from a source, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized must be documented within the slides.
Research―I must be able to determine by reviewing your presentation that sufficient time was spent
researching the topic. At least FOUR sources must be used. Each student should come away from this
project having gained considerable knowledge on the subject he/she pursued. You must not rely on the
CIA profile of the country.
Essay Structure― Each profile should have an orderly, logical, and coherent structure. These should
serve as teaching tools. Consider your classmates, many of them future teachers, as your audience.
Important Note: If you are not present for all of the PowerPoints/Speeches, the highest grade you may
earn on your own PowerPoint/Speech is an 85%.
YOU MAY NOT USE DIRECT QUOTES; YOU MAY NOT COPY DRIECTLY FROM A SOURCE;
YOU MAY NOT CUT AND PASTE FROM THE WEB INTO YOUR SLIDES.
Topics:
Choose from the following pairs of countries.
You will study one in your Reporting on the World entries in your Geo Journal, and you will use the other
for your Country Profile PowerPoint presentation.
United States (the Northeast) and Egypt
United States (the South) and Lebanon
United States (the West) and Serbia
United States (the Midwest) and Russia
Canada and Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden)
Mexico and the United Kingdom
Cuba and Algeria
Brazil and Italy
Colombia and the Netherlands
Morocco and Spain
Germany and Israel
Iraq and Denmark
Greece and Nicaragua
Saudi Arabia and Switzerland
Argentina and United Arab Emirates
Nicaragua and Jordan
Venezuela and Syria
Ecuador and Ireland
Bosnia and Libya
Portugal and Iran
Guatemala and Tunisia
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9. Student evaluations/rubrics for these assignments:
Grading Guidelines for the assignments are provided in the assignment sheets and discussed in class. I
also hand out a rubric for evaluating writing. Beginning in the Fall 2009 semester, this class is designated
Writing and Speaking Intensive. I discuss the expectations at length during the first evening.
10. Overall assessments of the module and/or the course:
I will use the MCCA/MCGE Title VI-A Entry/Exit Classroom Assessment.
Also, I generally assess the course by asking the students to write me letters, updating me on their
progress and asking questions. I also regularly ask the students to fill out index cards letting me know
how they felt about the film excerpts we have watched or the articles and text chapters we have read. Did
they find the material informative? Were they able to see the connections between the course material
and the desired learning outcomes of the course? Was any of the material too simple or too difficult?
11. Use of technology necessary for the implementation of the module:
I will use film, the Internet, Blackboard, and PowerPoint to teach the module.
12. Bibliography of sources used by the students for the module:
Students will read excerpts from the following volumes:
Abouzeid, Leila. The Director and Other Stories of Morocco. Austin, TX: University of Texas
Press, 2005.
---------. Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman’s Journey Toward Independence and Other
Stories. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1989.
Bowles, Paul. The Sheltering Sky. New York: Ecco Press, 2000.
Mernissi, Fatema. Scheherazade Goes West. Washington Square Press, 2002.
Students will view excerpts from the following films:
Adieu Mere. Directed by Mohammad Ismail. 2008.
Amours Voiles. Directed by Aziz Salmy,
Babel. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. 2006
Soif (Thirst), Directed by Saad Chraibi. 2000.
Threads. Directed by Hakim Belabbes. 2003.
The Sheltering Sky. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. 1990.
13. Bibliography of sources use by instructor in development of the module:
Abouzeid, Leila. The Director and Other Stories of Morocco. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press,
2005.
Boele, Vincent ed. Morocco: 5000 Years of Culture. Burlington, VT: Lund Humphries, 2005.
Bowles, Paul. The Sheltering Sky. New York: Ecco Press, 2000.
DiPiazza, Francesca. Morocco in Pictures. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2007.
Edwards, Brian T. Morocco Bound: Disorienting America's Maghreb, From Casablanca to the
Marrakech Express. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005.
Hal, Fatema. Authentic recipes from Morocco. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2007.
Hardy, Paula. Morocco. London: Lonely Planet, 2005.
Howe, Marvine. Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2005.
Njoku, Raphael. Culture and Customs of Morocco. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2006.
Pennel, C.R. Morocco: From Empire to Independence. Oneworld Publications, 2009.