I. PURPOSE

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: The elements of geography are studied through regional delineation to understand utilization of one's surroundings. Geographical interpretations of international relationships are emphasized.

GENERAL COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is designed to introduce the student to the spatial distribution of cultures, regions, and nation-states. Emphasis will be placed on defining important geographical concepts, identifying major political boundaries, understanding current and recent national and ethnic conflicts, recognizing economic and social processes that are leading to increasing global interaction, and understanding reasons for international/interregional disparities in economic development.

SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES:
(1) To describe the subdisciplines of geography and identify career opporunities.
(2) To understand how research is conducted and identify useful research tools.
(3) To become familiar with online computer resources such as the World Wide Web.
(4) To understand current events, such as territorial conflicts, from a geographer's perspective.
(5) To identify the major countries, regions, cultures, languages, and religions of the world.
(6) To describe the major urban areas and industrial resources of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa.
(7) To understand the basic tenets of major world religions.
(8) To describe determinants of birth rates, death rates, migration, population growth, and population density.
(9) To identify competing political and economic systems.
(10) To understant the growth and functions of key supranational organizations.
(11) To understand elementary models and concepts used in geographical analysis, such as diffusion, growth poles, industrial location, supply & demand, and central place theory.
(12) To distinguish among different types of industries.
(13) To understand why urbanization occurs and in what forms it often occurs.
(14) To define economic development and understand the drawbacks and limitations of common measures of economic development.
(15) To identify models and policy tools used to promote economic development .
(16) To understand the problem of underdeveloped regions within developed countries.
(17) To comprehend the growing importance of international trade and the pros and cons of multilateral trade agreements.
(18) To use the information introduced above to understand better the context of countries around the globe.

II. COURSE POLICIES

A. ATTENDANCE:
Students are recommended to attend classes regularly because exams will be based on the material presented in class as well as assigned readings. Students should strive to arrive in the room(s) before class begins.

B. CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Participation is not required, but it is strongly recommended.

C. GRADING:
Grades will be based upon the student's performance on four exams valued at 100 points each and assignments worth a total of 50 points (guidelines for these assignments will be distributed later). The grading scale is as follows: 90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, and 0-59% = F.

D. EXTRA CREDIT:
Twenty points of extra credit will be added for those students who make arrangments to participate in a hands-on Internet tutorial session at the main campus in Cumberland. Details of this opportunity will be announced at a later date. No additional extra credit is available.

E. TUTORING, EXTRA HELP SESSIONS:
Contact the instructor or Student Services at your location. I will be available 20-30 minutes before the class begins for consultation. If a student needs additional help, please contact me about scheduling another time.

F. MAKE-UP TEST POLICY:
If a student is unable to take an exam at its regularly scheduled time, he or she will be given a make-up exam only if he or she contacts me before the regularly scheduled exam. For athletes and club members who are on the road at times, a written request from the coach or faculty advisor is required in advance. Make-up exams will be given during the last week of class (and, needless to say, the make-up exam will be different from the regular exam).

G. ASSIGNMENT FORMAT AND DEADLINES:
Instructions and deadlines will be announced in class and distributed to the class.

H. CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM:
Cheating and plagiarism will be punished severely. Please consult with the Student Handbook regarding College guidelines.

I. INTERACTIVE VIDEO NETWORK POLICIES:
Please consult the student memorandum "Student Orientation to Distance Learning ACC-IVN Classroom" for information regarding seating conventions, suggestions for communicating and using the microphones, camera operation, sending materials to the instructor, and inclement weather and technical difficulty policy.

III. COURSE REQUIREMENTS

A. REQUIRED TEXT: Fisher, James S., Ed. Geography & Development: A World Regional Approach. 5th Edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall 1995.

B. Course Outline:

A. CONTEMPORARY WORLD ISSUES
Required Reading:
The Economist. Kirgizstan: Heavenly Hopes.
"Kyrgyzstan," In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: GPO
Video
Destination: Kyrgyzstan (Washington, DC: World Wise Schools) (22 minutes)
Software:
Netscape Navigator 2.0, Netscape Communications Corporation.
WWW Sites of the Day:
Kyrgyzstan Freenet
Central Asian Images
Berserkistan

B. INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHY
Required Reading:
Fisher, Chapter 1. The Subdivisions of Geography, Geography and Other Disciplines.
WWW Sites of the Day:
Geocities pages
Virtual Tourist
Citynet
Mapquest
Job Listings in Geography

D. POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS
Required Reading:
Fisher, Chapter 2. People and Resources.
WWW Pages of the Day:
Demography and Population Studies
Immigration Links
Zero Population Growth

E. ETHNICITY, LANGUAGES, AND RELIGION
Recommended Reading:
Rubenstein, James M., Ed. An Introduction to Human Geography. 3rd Edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Chapter 4. Language.
Rubenstein, Chapter 5. Religion.
WWW Pages of the Day:
U.S. Information Agency
The Human Languages Page
Resources in Religion
Ethnic World Survey

F. POLITICAL BOUNDARIES, POLITICAL SYSTEMS, AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Recommended Reading:
Rubenstein, Chapter 7. Political Geography.
Software:
CIA World Factbook (Washington, DC), CD-ROM
WWW Sites of the Day:
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Electronic Field Trip to the United Nations (PBS)
World Bank
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
European Union
The Electronic Embassy

G. INDUSTRIAL AND URBAN LOCATION
Required Reading:
Fisher, Chapter 3. Physical and Cultural Components of the Human Environment. pp. 65-69.
Software:
SIMCITY 2000 (Maxis), CD-ROM.
Mapinfo (Mapinfo Corporation), CD-ROM.
WWW Pages of the Day:
SimCity Page

H. THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT
Required Readings:
Fisher, Chapter 4. More Developed and Less Developed Countries: An Overview.
The Economist. The poor and the rich. May 25, 1996
Video:
Catch a Rising Economic Star: Taiwan (30 minutes).
WWW Pages of the Day:
U.S. Agency for International Development
International Research and Exchanges Board
Republic of China Home Page

I. UNDERDEVELOPED REGIONS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Required Readings:
Fisher, Chapter 7. Anglo-America: Problems in a Developed Realm.
WWW Pages of the Day:
Homelands:Secession and Independence Movements
Northern League (Italy)
Bureau of Indian Affairs

J. NORTH AMERICA
Required Readings:
Fisher, Chapter 5. Anglo-America: The Bases for Development. pp. 117-138.
Fisher, Chapter 6. Anglo-America: Economic Growth and Transformation.
Recommended Reading:
Garreau, Joel. 1981. The nine nations of North America. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company. pp. 1-13.
Software:
America Alive, CD ROM (Sunnyvale, CA: CD Technology, Inc.)
WWW Sites of the Day:
Oh Canada

K. WESTERN EUROPE
Required Readings:
Fisher, Chapter 9. Western Europe: Landscapes of Development.
Fisher, Chapter 10. Western Europe: Multinational Groupings to Meet Modern Challenges.
Recommended Reading:
Fisher, Chapter 8. Western Europe: A Varied Home for Humanity.
Software:
Europe Alive, CD ROM [Sunnyvale, CA: CD Technology, Inc.)
WWW Sites of the Day:
Europe Online
Test your Geography Knowledge of Europe

L. EASTERN EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION
Required Readings:
Fisher, Chapter 11. Eastern Europe: The Land Between.
Fisher, Chapter 12. Russia and the Eurasian States of the Former Soviet Union: Land and People.
Fisher, Chapter 13. Russia and the Eurasian States of the Former Soviet Union: Economic Activity.
Video:
Destination: Poland (Washington, DC: World Wise Schools) (16 minutes)
WWW Sites of the Day:
Russia Today
Open Media Research Institute
Central European Online Navigator

N. ASIA
Required Readings:
Fisher, Chapter 25. South Asia: Past and Present.
Fisher, Chapter 27. China and Its Neighbors: Changing Societies and Economies.
Fisher, Chapter 28. Southeast Asia: Mainland and Islands.
Video:
Destination: Sri Lanka (Washington, DC: World Wise Schools) (20 minutes)
WWW Sites of the Day:
Asian Development Bank
Chinascape
Inside China Today

O. LATIN AMERICA
Required Readings:BR> Fisher, Chapter 18. Latin American Regions: The North.
Fisher, Chapter 19 Latin American Regions: South America.
Recommended Reading:
Fisher, Chapter 17. Latin America's Heritage: Foundations and Processes of Change.
Video:
Introducing Central America (10 minutes)
Destination: Paraguay (Washington, DC: World Wise Schools) (20 minutes)
WWW Sites of the Day:
Cubaweb

P. AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Required Readings:<BR> Fisher, Chapter 20. Africa: East and West.
Fisher, Chapter 21. Central and Southern Africa.
Fisher, Chapter 22. The Mediterranean Crescent.
Fisher, Chapter 23. The Gulf States.
Video:
Destination: Senegal(Washington, DC: World Wise Schools) (20 minutes)
WWW Sites of the Day:
Middle East Network Information Center

*On reserve in the library.

C. LIBRARY ASSIGNMENTS:
The assignment alluded to in section II C. will require extensive use of the library.

D. ADDITIONAL REQUIRED STUDENT READING ASSIGNMENTS:
Additional short readings concerning important current events may be distributed to the class if time permits. The instructor will notify students if they are responsible for the material covered.

E. RECOMMENDED AND OPTIONAL READINGS:
These readings are listed in the course outline.

F. SUPPLEMENTAL LEARNING RESOURCES:
Computer software demonstrations, World Wide Web demonstrations, multimedia presentations, round-table discussions, and videocassettes will be used in this course.

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