Course Description
This course is designed to provide an introduction to Human Geography. This is a course concerned with the way the world’s peoples and their culture interact with the physical regions in which they live to create the resultant cultural landscape. At the heart of the course is an understanding of culture and how such cultural attributes as religion, language, agriculture, folk and popular cultural practices, ethnicity, population, industry, urbanization and political systems manifest themselves on the landscape. Current issues in development and inter and intra regional interaction will be highlighted.
Prerequisite
- None
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of the course the student will be able to:
- Describe how the world’s physical landscapes may influence patterns of human activity.
- Examine the origin, nature and distribution of the world’s cultural regions and their interaction with their physical environment.
- Explain economic regions as a result of patterns of livelihoods including past and present industrial activity, agricultural systems and service economies.
- Examine a selection of the introductory concepts, models and analytical techniques human geographers apply in a world, regional and local context, to explain patterns of human activity.
- Describe, in depth, the geographical issues and problems in the world today.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|
Discussions | 20% |
Assignments and Exercises | 10% |
Midterm Exam | 20% |
Mini Quizzes | 10% |
Weekly Reflection Papers | 20% |
Final Exam | 20% |
Total | 100% |
Required Textbooks
Available through Charter Oak State College's online bookstore
- Fellmann, Bjelland, Getis and Getis (2010). Human Geography; Landscapes of Human Activity (11th Edition). McGraw Hill.
Additional Materials
- Students will be expected to listen to one genre of music and watch one movie each week and report weekly on its nature as it relates to the particular regional culture from which it is drawn.
- For many weeks you are expected to watch a film as part of that week's assignment. All assigned films should be readily available through commercial video rental stores (Blockbuster, Netflix, etc.). It is strongly recommended that you locate the films ahead of time, even if out of sequence, as the film you need may not be available at your preferred video rental store the week you need it.
Course Schedule
| Week | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignment(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Topic: Themes and Fundamentals of Cultural/Human Geography
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2 | 4, 1 | Topic: What is Culture and What is Cultural or Human Geography?
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3 | 2, 4 | Topic: Population/Demographics in the World Today: Global/Regional/Local
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4 | 2, 4 | Topic: World Religions
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5 | 2, 4 | Topic: World Languages
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6 | 2, 4 | Topic: Folk Culture
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7 | 2, 4 | Topic: Popular Culture
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Midterm Exam Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 SLO’s 1, 2 and 4 | ||||
8 | 2, 4 | Topic: Ethnicity
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9 | 2, 3, 4 | Topic: Agricultural Systems
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10 | 2, 4 | Topic: Urban Systems
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11 | 2, 4 | Topic: Political Systems
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12 | 2, 3, 4 | Topic: Industrial Systems
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13 | 2, 5 | Topic: Patterns of Development and Change
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14 | 3, 6, 8 | Topic: Human Impact on World Systems
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15 | Final Exam Chapters 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 SLO's 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 | |||
COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.