Instructor: Dr. Wendy Shaw
Class: Online section
Office: Alumni Hall; Rm 1407
Office I have my e-mail on screen from 8-5 Monday
Hours: through Friday. If you need to talk to me
directly you can telephone any time, or set
up a telephone appointment time by e-mail.
You may also FAX me material if you wish.
Tel: (618) 650-3623 or
(618) 650-2090 (Department of Geography Office)
FAX: (618) 650-3591
e-mail: wshaw@siue.edu
Internet: http://www.siue.edu/~wshaw/
Mailing Dr. Wendy Shaw
Address: Box 1459
Department of Geography
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL 62026
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
You will be introduced to geography as a field of study and
to the area of human geography. We will be investigating
the Earth as the home of humankind. This course will focus on
basic concepts and relationships in the areas of the physical planet,
the environment, resources, population, migration, language, religion,
social customs, political geography, economic development, agriculture,
industry, settlements, and urban patterns. Human inhabitants of the
world are divided by numerous political boundaries into various cities,
counties, states and countries. Our society is increasingly aware of
a variety of environmental, social, and economic patterns that
transcend such political boundaries. I hope that during the next few
weeks you will enjoy exploring the geography of our planet and its
human population, and that this will help you to understand our
complex world.
TEXTBOOK AND OTHER MATERIALS:
There will be no textbook required for this course, but
I recommend the following book should you feel a text would
be helpful:
1. Runenstein, J.M. 1998 The Cultural Landscape:
An Introduction to Human Geography. Prentice Hall,
Upper Saddle River, NJ. 6th Edition.
You should also have access to a world atlas. I recommend the
following atlas since it is relatively comprehensive:
2. Espenshade, E.B. Jr. and J.L. Morrison. 1995 Goode's
World Atlas. Rand McNally, Chicago. 19th Edition.
CALENDAR OF STUDY:
This course is divided into 14 lessons. You should plan on
devoting approximately 3 - 4 hours to each lesson. All the
lessons are available to you immediately, so you can work at
your own pace; however once you are given a start date for
the course, you will have 16 weeks to finish all course
requirements. At that time a course grade will be assigned
to you. Do the lessons in the correct sequence - don't skip
lessons and go back to them. Doing so destroys the continuity
of the course. Geography 111 is an introductory course
and covers a broad range of material. Each lesson will cover
substantial areas of information so I suggest that you take
notes just as you would in a classroom. Taking notes helps
you remember the material, and your notes should be useful
when you are studying for tests.
See the 'Calendar' provided for details of your program
of study for this course.
COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS:
Please feel free to add any comments you may have and ask
questions via e-mail, telephone, or FAX. I am happy to
have student input - I know you all have unique experience
and knowledge that will add greatly to the class material.
Also I am available if you need to talk to me. Contact me
by telephone, or e-mail to make a mutually convenient
telephone appointment.
EVALUATION Points will be assigned as follows:
TESTS: There will be a series of quizzes over each lesson,
that you will take online. Each quiz is worth 10 points
the ten highest quizzes counting toward your final grade.
There is also a comprehensive final examination. The
final examination consist of 75 multiple choice
questions randomly generated from the 280 questions you
will have answered during your lesson quizzes, and
will be worth 150 points. You must schedule a time and
date to take each lesson quiz and the final examination.
You will be provided with a password that will allow you
access to the quizzes and final. The tests are
challenging - they cover a lot of material and you must
know it thoroughly! Develop good study habits early;
if you "cram" for the tests the night before you are
unlikely to do well.
1. Lesson Quizzes 100 points
2. Final Examination 150 points
Total 250 points
LOCATIONS EXERCISES: (3) 30 points
(10 points each exercise)
You will find three sets of maps with various countries and
cities indicated by a number. To complete the locations
exercise identify the country or city indicated and e-mail
a list to me. Locations exrecises should be completed at the
scheduled point within the course.
LESSON ASSIGNMENTS: 200 points
Each lesson has assignments associated with it. Do not
neglect these lesson assignments since they make up a
substantial part of your grade. Complete each lesson
assignment before you move on to the next lesson.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY: 20 points
The instructions for this diary are provided on-line.
You should keep your diary entries in some word processing
software. When the diary is complete, copy it, and send
it to me via e-mail. For some reason I often have trouble
with attachments, so it may be best to avoid them. The
International Events Diary is due one week before the end
of your 16 week program of study, and before you
take the final examination.
PAPER: 50 points
The instructions for the paper are provided on-line;
follow theseinstructions carefully. An important part
of the paper is to reference your sources of information -
I will check your references. When the paper is complete
e-mail it to me. Again avoid attachments if possible.
You may also publish your paper to the web if you wish.
Your paper is due one week before the end of your 16
week program of study, and before you take the final
examination.
GRADES: Final grades are based on total points (550 possible),
calculated as follows.
A 90 -100% ( 495 to 550 points)
B 80 - 90% ( 440 to 494 points)
C 70 - 80% ( 385 to 439 points)
D 60 - 70% ( 330 to 384 points)
F Below 60% ( 0 to 329 points)
MAJOR TOPICS COVERED IN THIS COURSE:
Geography
Definition
Cultural Ecology
Possibilism
The physical planet
Man and the natural world
Location
Types of location
Maps
Distributions
Environmental Issues
Global warming
Acid rain
The water supply
Deforestation
Desertification
Waste disposal
Resource Issues
Energy
Pollution
The global food supply
Culture
Components of culture
Subsystems
Cultural change
Variations
Population
Concentrations
Density
Change
The demographic transition
Population pyramids
Problems
Migration
Spatial interaction
Push-pull factors
International
Internal
Forced
Voluntary
Language
Families and branches
English
English as related to other languages
Distribution of languages
Dialects
Religion
Major religions
Distribution
Organization of space
Impact on the landscape
Conflicts
Social Customs
Popular and folk custom
Distribution
Folk regions and landscape
Problems
Political Geography
Nations and states
Colonialism and imperialism
Drawing boundaries
Boundary problems
Internal organization of states
Multinational organizations
Economic Development
Measurement
Social & demographic characteristics
Levels of development
Promotion
Primary Economic Activity
Origin and diffusion
Types in developing countries
Types in developed countries
Secondary and Tertiary Economic Activity
Origin and diffusion
Distribution
Factory location
Industrial problems
Settlements
Location of goods and services
Concentration of goods and services
Establishment
Growth
Urban Patterns
The central city
Suburbanization
Social groups
Problems
FINAL EXAM
URL: http://www.siue.edu/~wshaw/