Syllabus, GEOG 101: Fall, 2008

Objectives

• The objectives of this class are twofold: the first is to provide background knowledge (natural, social, economic, political, and cultural) about the world's regions; the second is to examine the interdependencies among these regions. These objectives will be met via a combination of traditional textbook-based lectures, lab exercises, and daily readings from the New York Times newspaper.

Professor:

Dr. Robert Hickey
119A Lind Hall
Phone: 963-2178
Fax: 963-1047
e-mail: rhickey@cwu.edu
Home Page: http://www.onlinegeographer.com

Lecture Program

        Time: Monday through Friday, 10:00 - 10:50, Black 150

Office Hours:

Monday and Wednesday from 9:00 - 11:00 AM.

Text

1. World Regions in Global Context (Marston, Knox, and Liverman). 3rd edition. I will be lecturing and testing directly from this book.. Absolutely required.
2. Mapping Workbook download from http://www.onlinegeographer.com/. Note - this mapo pack is in two files. Material from these maps will be on the exams. Required.
3. A subscription to the New York Times newspaper. A 1 quarter subscription runs about $22, the M-F papers are available at the bookstore. Required.
4. Class information (reading lists, syllabus, etc..) will be on the web (accessible through my home page, URL above).
5. A completely optional, but nonetheless very interesting book: Material World: a global family portrait. By Peter Menzel. Paperback, $18 at Amazon.com.
6. Even more optional - The World's most dangerous places by Robert Pelton. Sort of the anti-travel guide. $15 at Amazon.com.

Assessment

Misc. Rules:

The following requirements are compulsory. Failure to comply with these instructions will result in the student failing the class.

READ THIS CAREFULLY -- IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Copying another student's work with or without his/her knowledge, or giving/receiving aid during any test or examination is cheating. Any student caught cheating will receive a final grade of "F" regardless of grades earned on other assessed work.

Copying an author's work without proper citation is plagiarism. Ensure that you provide proper citation in ALL WRITTEN WORK submitted in this class. Plagarism (including copying another student's work) will result in a final grade of "F" regardless of grades earned on other assessed work.

Attendance: I will be taking attendance. While attendance is not a formal part of your grade, should I choose to offer a curve at the end of the quarter, only those students missing fewer than four classes will be eligible. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to do the reading and get class notes from a classmate. Also - not all material covered will be in the textbook. As such, regular class attendance is essential to understanding the material (and its corrolary - getting a good grade).

Make-up exams: Students are required to take all examinations/quizzes at the assigned times. Make-ups are given only in cases of documented illness or personal emergency. Contact your instructor either before or within 24 hours after the exam/quiz. Failure to promptly and adequately explain your absence will result in a "0" on a missed exam. Exams may not be taken early under any circumstances. ALL makeups will be given immediately following the final exam - no other times will be acceptable. In other words, IF the student sees the professor asap AND get permission to take a makeup, they may take the makeup after the final exam. The only exception will be university-required absences (ie travel to a game if on the team, conference presentations).

At the instructor's discretion: points will be deducted for classroom interruptions. This includes (but is not limited to) cell phones - a maximum of 1 point will be deducted for every time the phone rings (not per call). Answering the phone is included as a separate distraction. For example, Johnny's phone rings three times before he answers it (not turns it off) - he could lose 4 points (same as 4% of his final grade).

Course alterations: The instructor reserves the right to change the schedule, readings, exams, and assignments as deemed necessary to improve the quality of your education in this course.

A............................................ 93% - 100%
A-........................................... 90% - 93%
B+.......................................... 87% - 90%
B............................................ 83% - 87%
B-........................................... 80% - 83%
C+.......................................... 77% - 80%
C............................................ 73% - 77%
C-........................................... 70% - 73%
D+.......................................... 67% - 70%
D............................................ 63% - 67%
D-........................................... 60% - 63%

F          < 60%

Lecture Topics:

Lectures will be bimodal. Approximately 80% of lecture time will be devoted to material from the text. The other 20% will be based upon daily readings from the New York Times.

Text topics include:

• An introduction to regional geography. (Ch. 1)
• Europe (2)
• North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean (ch 6 and 7)
• Australia, etc (11)
• Russian Federation, Central Asia (3)
• Middle East & N Africa (4)
• Sub-saharan Africa (5)
• Asia (8, 9,10)

Map Requirments.

Goto http://www.onlinegeographer.com and print these maps. The following maps will be fair game on exams:

• Exam 1: North America, Latin America, Europe
• Exam 2: Australia and region, Russian and neighbors
• Exam 3: Middle East and Africa
• Final Exam: E. Asia, SE Asia, South Asia

However, not everything that is on the Study Maps document will be required. Goto MAPS for the list of what I require you to know.

Website design and maintenance by
Dr. Robert Hickey