Columbia College
Course Outline, Winter 2013
GEOG100
Course:
Instructor:
Email:
Format
Office Hours:
Credits:
Introduction to Human Geography
Genevieve Depelteau
gdepelteau@columbiacollege.bc.ca
Monday and Wednesday
Monday 6-7 pm and Wednesday 1-2
pm
3
Course Content and Objectives:
This course explores the basic concepts in human geography including communities,
scale, space, culture and landscape.These concepts are essential to understand
changes happening in the relationship between human societies, economic spaces
and the environment. This course will look at issues located at the core of human
geography: employment and spaces of production, cultural transformation, economic
and ethnic disparities, migration, urban and rural landscapes, and environmental
degradation among others. Human geography is a sub-field of the discipline of
geography and a branch of the social sciences.
Every week, for a total of 14 weeks, the students will be introduced to a new topic in
human geography. Topics will evolve from a local or regional scale (e.g. population
dynamic, migration, cultural geographies, gender) to a global scale (e.g. globalisation,
food production, urbanization). In addition, one hour every week will be directed to
discussions and labs where tools used in geography will be explored: thematic maps,
census, geographic data, critical writing, debates, etc.
Required Text:
L. Knox and Al. (2013). Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context.
Fourth Canadian Edition, Pearson
Evaluation:
Transfer Agreement
Mid-term 1: 10%
Mid-term 2: 15%
Final exam: 25%
Labs: 25%
Individual Project: 20%
Attendance/participation: 5%
Transfer to SFU, UBC-V, UVic, KWAN
Attendance and Notes:
Attendance in class is expected from all students.
** Not all material presented in the lectures is covered in the text or notes **
The Power-Point slides alone are not a substitute for attending lecture or doing the
lecture. Students are encouraged to take notes and read all the chapters in the book,
as the slides may not be entirely self-explanatory.
Classroom code of conduct
1. Students will aim to arrive at all classes early so as to be ready when the class
begins – this means taking a seat and getting out paper, pens, necessary texts
and so on before the class starts.
2. Students will not expect to leave the class before the instructor has finished. On
those rare occasions when a student must leave a class early he/she should seek
the permission of the instructor before the class starts. If a student must excuse
himself/herself during a class the student should request permission and leave as
quietly as possible.
3. Cellphones will be turned off during classes, not simply switched to “vibrate”
mode. Students should never consult their phones during a class, nor chat
online.
4. Students will not talk while the instructor is talking.
5. Students will speak respectfully when asking a question or answering a question
posed by the instructor.
6. Students may not eat or drink during classes unless the instructor indicates that
this is acceptable in his/her class
Cheating and Plagiarism
Columbia College expects all students to uphold the principle of academic honesty.
Cheating and plagiarism (presenting another person’s words or ideas as one’s own)
are not acceptable behaviour at any educational institution. Depending on the
severity of the offense such acts can result in a grade of zero on the test or
assignment, a failing grade (F) in the course or expulsion from the college. In all
cases, the circumstances and the penalty are recorded in the student’s file.