Geography 120
Geography and World Affairs
Instructor: Greg Platt
Class Time: MWF 10:00-11:50
Department Phone: 801-422-3851
My Phone: 801-810-4734
Office: 171 SWKT
Office Hours: MWF 12-2 and by appointment
Email: geography120@gmail.com
Required Resources:
1. Globalization and Diversity, Second Edition by Rowntree, Lewis, Price and
Wyckoff
2. iClicker
3. Access to Blackboard
Recommended Resources:
4. Goode’s World Atlas, 20th Edition
5. Google Earth
Objective:
The purpose of this course is to provide you with a greater understanding of the role of
geography in world affairs. We will be studying the world both spatially (by regions) and
thematically (by topic). By examining the world in the context of a geographic
framework, I hope to increase your understanding of the world, its peoples and its
problems. I also hope that with increased understanding your respect will also increase
for other religions, cultures, societies, as well as political and economic ideas. My
endgame is to help you to be a positive contributor to your local, national, and worldwide communities.
Requirements:
Daily Participation: I am a big believer in the idea that you learn when you show up,
and better yet, show up prepared. So 16% of the credit for this class will come from
showing up and participating in class. In class I will post multiple-choice questions,
sometimes with correct answers and sometimes poll-type, which you will be required to
answer by using an iClicker. We have 20 class periods together. Each day will be worth
10 points. That means I’ll be dropping the lowest 4 scores. Questions with correct
answers will count towards the daily points if answered correctly. Poll-type questions
will count if answered.
Essays: Because this is a GE course, there is a writing requirement associated with it.
This being a summer term I’m limiting the number of assignments being given
throughout the course. The 2 required essays will be the total extent of assignments for
this class. Each essay should be 3 to 5 double-spaced pages in length and will be worth
100 points. Essays will be submitted electronically.
Essay 1: Global Issues. You will choose one topic from the Essay Topics section
on which to write. Though no specific research requirement will be imposed for
this essay, cited facts should be documented (back up your claims). This essay
should demonstrate thought and effort on your part. There are rarely simple
answers to geographic problems, and your analysis should demonstrate an
understanding of complex issues.
Essay 2: Go and Do. Geography is, at its heart, an exploration of the world
around us. So often students get caught up in campus life and never leave! This
essay will require you to go somewhere and learn about it. The best part is that
you can choose virtually any place. There are some restrictions: the place you
choose cannot be in Provo; the place cannot be your home town; the place must
be some place you travel to over the course of this term (no citing mission
experiences here); the place must be a real place, not cyber-space; the place
cannot be Temple Square or any other LDS Temple grounds unless you are not
LDS (the idea here is not to discriminate against LDS people or to convert nonLDS students, but rather to have everyone investigate a place that is NEW to
you). You must submit with this essay at least 10 photos of the place which you
will be required to take yourself. These photos should not be “touristy” photos of
you, your friends, or your family standing in front of landmarks. Instead, focus
on details of the place that make it interesting to you. Your essay should focus on
what makes that place unique; that is, what distinguishes that place from other
places. The types of places you can consider are broad in scope. It can be a
single building. It can be an entire city. It can be a river or a canyon. Your essay
can focus on the uniqueness of the people, the landscape, the history, the
morphology…anything that interests you and can be demonstrated to be different
than other places in the world.
Quizzes: A large percent of the points for this course (440 of 1000) will come from
quizzes.
Map Quizzes: There will be 5 map quizzes throughout the term, broken down in
the schedule below. You will be required to label on a paper map, from memory,
the countries, cities, and other features listed at the end of this syllabus. Each quiz
will have 40 locations, each worth 1 point for a total of 40 points per quiz. These
quizzes will be administered in class.
Blackboard Reading Quizzes: On the first day we cover a specific chapter there
will be a reading quiz covering the chapter. These quizzes will be for each of the
regions. Chapters 1 & 2 will have no associated quiz (but I still expect you to
read them). These quizzes will be posted online on Blackboard at least 24 hours
before class begins, and each quiz is due before class begins. Each quiz will be
worth 20 points. These quizzes will be open-book, but will be 10 to 20 questions
long with a time limit (depending on the quiz length), so I recommend you read
the material and be ready to answer the questions before you take the quiz rather
than trying to look up the answers after you see the questions. The intent of these
quizzes is to have you familiar with the materials for class before class begins, so
as to promote better class discussions.
Final Exam: Because we have map and reading quizzes, the only exam from the class
will be the final. It will be comprehensive, and will have questions similar to the
Blackboard Reading Quizzes (BRQs) and Map Quizzes. It is worth 200 points, or 20%
of your overall score.
Late Work: I do not accept late work. I have specifically designed the course to give a
maximum amount of time to complete each essay with choices for topics taken from each
chapter of the section. Because you’ll have enough information to complete an essay so
far in advance of the due date, I can see no reason why you cannot complete an
assignment at your own discretion and turn it in on time, even if you have some reason to
miss class on a due date. So if you think there’s a chance you’ll have a problem with the
timing of an assignment, do it early. For quizzes, if you need to miss class for some
legitimate reason, I’ll allow you to take a quiz early, but not late. Of course, in the case
of an unforeseen emergency, I can be flexible if you talk to me. My purpose in being so
strict about deadlines is not to punish you, but rather to help. Summer classes move
quickly, and if you get behind, chances are you won’t have time to catch up. Also, if
you’re missing assignments and quizzes, it will be very difficult for either of us to
evaluate how well you are doing (grade-wise) in the class. Finally, from experience, it is
much more difficult and time consuming to grade assignments fairly when they are
delayed.
Grade Breakdown:
2 Essays @ 100 pts.
5 Map Quizzes @ 40 pts.
12 Reading Quizzes @ 20 pts.
16 Daily Participation “quizzes” @ 10 pts.
1 Final @ 200 pts.
Total
=
=
=
=
=
200
200
240
160
200
1000
20%
20%
24%
16%
20%
pts.
Essay 1: Global Issues: Choose 1 Topic
1. Given the dominance of cities in South America, describe the particular urban
environmental problems facing cities in the developing world. How might Latin
America’s megacities use their size and density to reduce the environmental problems
associated with urbanization?
2. Tourism is probably the most important economic activity in the Caribbean region.
However, capital leakage to international corporations significantly reduces the monies
which flow into the region. Is the presence of such corporations of benefit to the region
or do they represent another form of resource depletion? Is there a viable option for
individual states to decrease capital leakage from their economy?
3. Compare and contrast the role of tribalism in Sub-Saharan Africa with that of
nationalism in Europe.
4. Are relations between the Middle-East’s Muslim societies and the United States likely
to improve or worsen? What factors would you cite to defend your answer?
5. Critically examine the geographic aspects of the Dayton Peace Accords, and explain
whether you think the boundaries were drawn wisely.
6. Is Chinese control over Tibet a legitimate concern of U.S. foreign policy? Should the
U.S. use trade sanctions to attempt to influence Chinese policy in the area? Explain.
7. Do you think that East Asia will emerge as the center of the world economy in the 21st
century? What evidences do you use to justify your position?
Schedule:
Date
June 21 M
23 W
25 F
28 M
30 W
July 2 F
5M
Lecture and Readings
Ch. 1 Diversity Amid
Globalization
Ch.1 Diversity Amid
Globalization
Ch. 2 The Changing Global
Environment
Ch. 3 North America
Ch. 3 North America
Ch. 4 Latin America
Ch. 4 Latin America
No Class (Independence
Day)
Quizzes & Assignments
BRQ Ch. 3
BRQ Ch. 4
7W
Ch. 5 The Caribbean
9F
12 M
16 F
Ch. 6 Sub-Saharan Africa
Ch. 7 Southwest Asia &
North Africa
Ch. 7 Southwest Asia &
North Africa
Ch. 8 Europe
Ch. 8 Europe
19 M
Ch. 9 The Russian Domain
21 W
23 F
Ch. 10 Central Asia
No Class (Pioneer Day)
BRQ Ch. 10
26 M
Ch. 11 East Asia
28 W
30 F
Ch. 11 East Asia
Ch. 12 South Asia
Ch. 12 South Asia
BRQ Ch. 11
Map Quiz: Europe and
Russia
BRQ Ch. 12
August 2 M
Ch. 13 Southeast Asia
4W
9M
Ch. 13 Southeast Asia
Ch. 14 Australia and
Oceania
Ch. 14 Australia and
Oceania
Review
11 W
Final Exam 1:00-2:50
14 W
6F
BRQ Ch. 5
Map Quiz: The Americas
BRQ Ch. 6
BRQ Ch. 7
BRQ Ch. 8
Map Quiz: Africa &
Southwest Asia
Essay 1: Global Issues Due
BRQ Ch. 9
Essay 2: Go and Do Due
BRQ Ch. 13
Map Quiz: Central, South,
East Asia
BRQ Ch. 14
Map Quiz: Southeast Asia,
Australia and Oceania
Final Exam 1:00-2:50
Map Quizzes Locations:
North America
50 U.S. States
14 Canadian Provinces/Territories
Greenland
Washington D.C.
Ottawa
St. Lawrence River
Hudson Bay
Great Lakes
Mississippi River
Ogallala Aquifer
Rocky Mountains
Great Plains
Coast Mountains
Appalachian Highlands
Rio Grande
Missouri River
Platte River
Colorado River
South America
All countries
All country capitals
Amazon River
Falkland Islands
Andes Mountains
Brazilian Sheild
Orinoco River
Rio De La Playa
Caribbean
All countries (Except lesser Antilles)
All capitals (Except lesser Antilles)
Gulf of Mexico
Caribbean Sea
Sub-Saharan Africa
All countries
All capitals
Nile Rivers (white and blue)
Lake Victoria
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Nyasa
Great Rift Valley
Congo Basin
SW Asia & N. Africa
All countries
All capitals
Arabian Peninsula
Atlas Mountains
Red Sea
Persian Gulf
Nile River
Gulf of Aden
Rub-al-Khali
Zagros Mountains
Straits of Hormuz
(cont. next page)
Europe
All countries
All capitals
Adriatic Sea
Aegean Sea
The Hague
Baltic Sea
North Sea
Sinai Peninsula
Dead Sea
Jordan River
Levant
Dardanelles
Bosporus Straits
Istanbul
Russian Domain
All countries
All capitals
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
Siberia
St. Petersburg
Chernobyl
Ural Mountains
Kuril Islands
Central Asia
All countries
All capitals
Aral Sea
Lake Balkhash
Altai Mountains
Gobi Desert
Tien Shan
East Asia
All countries
All capitals
Tibet
Manchuria
Huang He (Yellow River)
Yellow Sea
Gulf of Tonkin
East China Sea
South China Sea
Hainan
South Asia
All countries
All capitals
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Kashmir
Himalayas
Indus River
Calcutta
Mumbai (Bombay)
Southeast Asia
All countries
All capitals
Gulf of Thailand
Philippine Sea
Australia and Oceania
All countries (know “esia” Island groupings)
All capitals (don’t worry about “esias”)
Indian Ocean
6 Australian States
Perth
Adelaide
Melbourne
Sydney
Brisbane
Alice Springs
Auckland