Geography Program

GEOGRAPHY 360: POPULATION, DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. John B. Richards, Ph.D
CONTACT INFO: Office: TA119; Phone: 541-552-6281; E-mail: richards@sou.edu

Office hours:

COURSE PURPOSES AND TOPICS:

The course is geography AND general education. In geography, we examine the relationship between the human physical and cultural systems that determine the production, distribution and consumption of values, and the earth-environmental systems that provides for and are altered by humans’ pursuit of their cultural and biological imperatives. I LOVE this stuff, and have spent more than half my life studying it. Even so, I think the general education portion of this course is just as important, and it will take up about half our time and be worth about half your grade. “General education,” in this course, means the time spent during your college years in discovering and developing your genuine self and developing the abilities needed to interact constructively with other people, especially when they genuinely disagree with you. We will use writing, sharing, discussion, honest criticism, and presentation of reasoned opinions about controversial topics as vehicles for developing the general, human skills.

TEXTS: Both required. (You might find partners with whom to share books & expenses.):

Thomas A. Easton and Theodore D. Goldfarb (eds.) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Environmental Issues. 11th Ed. Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. 2005.

Presents adversarial arguments about 21 nationally or globally important issues divided into five groups: Philosophy, Politics, Energy, Food and Population, and Toxic or Hazardous Chemicals.

Robbins, Richard H. (ed.), Talking Points on Global Issues. Boston: Pearson, 2004.

Unlike the other text, which focuses more on environmental issues and less on global issues, this set of readings helps you think about the values and economic systems that operate globally, causing decisions in one part of the world to have impacts on people in distant parts of the planet.

READING: You will receive a schedule of student presentations by the end of the first week of class. You are expected to read and will be tested on all the assigned readings, even if they are not specifically presented in class.

GRADING:

You will be graded on Exploratory and Preliminary Writing, two Exams, an Individual Presentation, and a Group Presentation.

EXPLORATORY AND PRELIMINARY WRITING:

(10% of grade – you are expected to keep two journals, one of uncensored, free “Exploratory writing,” and a second of semi-finished extracts (“Preliminary Writing.”) Bring both to class every day. On random occasions, I will check your exploratory journal in class for new entries (I will not read them). On scheduled days, we will critique Preliminary Journals in class, emphasizing paragraph composition, and looking at alternative ways of communicating our thoughts more effectively. Grades will be based 5%, on % of check times your exploratory journal has new writing in it and quantity of total writing, and 5%  on quality of participation in preliminary journal critique sessions. The purposes of both journals are to help you to develop your own voice, use writing as a thinking tool, think of writing as a multi-step process, and prepare you to write a better term presentation.

QUIZZES (0% of grade):

There will be two or three un-graded quizzes to help you prepare for exams.

EXAMS (40% of grade.):

Midterm exam at the end of the 4^th week, worth 20%, and a final, worth 20%.
Final is Monday, June 12th, 3:30 – 5:30pm.

INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS (15% of grade):

 (Oral presentations plus written summaries) You will present and defend an oral reading response on two of the articles in Taking Sides or Talking Points, then turn in written version, worth. Please refer to separate handout for more complete description.

GROUP PRESENTATIONS (35% of grade):

Working in groups of about 5, you are asked to define and present problems, and recommend solutions. Please see separate hand-out for more complete description of this assignment.

GENERAL NOTES:

1. Discrimination or Harassment: Southern Oregon University prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status or disability. Neither will the University tolerate sexual misconduct or sexual harassment by students faculty or staff. For more information or assistance, contact me, the department Chair (Dr. Susan Reynolds 2-6279), the Associate Provost’s office in Churchill Hall, or Disability Services in the ACCESS Center.

2. Schedule: The quarter is only nine weeks long.  Do not put things off. Particularly, do not delay coming to see me with questions, criticisms, or for advice; I take the advising part of my job seriously.

3. Study time and schedule conflicts: The normal expectation is that you will spend 2-3 hours outside of the classroom for each hour in the classroom. If you have trouble completing assignments in that amount of time, or have trouble finding that much time to spend on the work from this class I should hear from you. I may be able to help you study more efficiently, manage your time, or organize your priorities.

4. Academic Honesty: Don’t cheat. See the Student Handbook and your Colloquium handbooks on plagiarism. If you suspect another student of cheating, take it up with the student or with me; I will attempt a quiet resolution. The College also has procedures for protection and punishment of students in such cases. I consider honesty the most valuable personal characteristic and assume you do, too.

5. Drugs or Alcohol: Help is available without recrimination and in complete confidence.  See me or the office of student affairs.

HANDICAPS: 

Handicaps: Some of us live with visible or invisible characteristics that can make learning in a university classroom extraordinarily difficult. If you are in need of academic support because of a documented disability (whether it be learning, mobility, psychiatric, sensory, or health-related), contact Teresa Lowrie, Interim Director of DSS in the ACCESS center: phone: 552-6213 or email: lowriet@sou.edu. She understands the issues and can get you on the right track for reasonable accommodation in complete confidence. To document a disability, or just find out what this is all about, she’s the one to see.

SCHEDULE OF CLASS ACTIVITIES:

It is up to you to keep track of which readings will be presented on which dates and to complete your reading in a timely manner. Presentation dates for specific readings will be determined during the first two weeks and you are encouraged to keep track of them in the space below.