GEO 2000: Introduction to Geography Syllabus Florida International University, Spring 2016

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1 GEO 2000: Introduction to Geography Syllabus Florida International University, Spring 2016 Time: M, W, F 12:00 12:50 PM Place: Ziff Education Bldg. Room 150 Professor: Dr. Jeffrey A. Onsted jonsted@fiu.edu Office hours: M, W, PM Office Location: AHC5 395 COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic geographic concepts as well as topics on both human and physical geography. This course falls under the category of Foundations of Social Inquiry. Thus, after this class, students will be able to use research and analytic skills to evaluate and apply theories and methodologies. Inductive and deductive logic skills are taught to students to enable them to deconstruct cultural components and historical political evolution, recognize economic patterns and trends from the forefathers of economic thought and analysis, as well as gain an understanding of basic earth science concepts. In short, this course will introduce students to the mature study of geography. Including, but also transcending, the familiar elementary school exercise of memorizing what is where, this class will encourage students to ask the question, Why is that there? COURSE OBJECTIVES Describe why landscapes look the way they do Identify ideas behind various cultures Recognize spatial concepts in politics, and other geographic theories Investigate social, political, and economic configurations Explain cultural and psychological features of human life Evaluate gender, race/ethnicity, and social class; Explain consciousness and identity; Identify social interactions with the natural environment; Classify local, national, and global aspects of the human world. Required Texts: Textbook Title: Introduction to Geography Author: Arthur Getis, Mark Bjelland, Victoria Getis McGraw-Hill Education, 14 th Edition, 2013 ISBN-10: ISBN-13:

2 Class Location: This class will meet at the Ziff Education Bldg. Room 150 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (except where otherwise noted) from 12:00 to 12:50 PM. My Commitment to you: I will respond to every you send as soon as possible but always within 24 hours. As for your assignments, I promise to grade them for the same duration that you had to work on them. For example, if I assign you a homework that is due 1 week from the time I assign it, then, once you turn it in, I will take no longer than one week to grade it. Similarly, if I assign you a homework that is due in 2 weeks (which tends to be a larger assignment), then I will take no more than 2 weeks to grade it, etc. The Work Required: This course will be graded based on 2 exams, 4 quizzes, and 3 homeworks. The total amount of possible points you can earn in this class is 400 points. The 4 quizzes are worth 100 points total. The first midterm exam is worth 100 points, the second exam is worth 100 points, and the 3 homeworks are worth a total of 100 points. Exam 1 will be evaluating the first half of the course, while Exam 2 (The Final Exam) will test ONLY the material introduced during the second half of the course. The only allowable excuse for missing an exam is a serious illness and you must provide a signed and stamped Doctor s note written on medical stationary in order to have a makeup exam scheduled. Quizzes and Tests You can drop your lowest Quiz score, so you will only be graded on the top three of your quizzes (each worth points). You must keep both exam scores. Since one can be dropped, there will be no makeups for quizzes. No exceptions. * Homework Assignments: The following assignments have strict due dates and portals for submission. If the portal closes and you have not submitted your assignment, you will receive a zero. Therefore, please pay close attention to these due dates. I will go over each assignment in more detail within the module it is assigned. Assignment 1: Mental Maps: Without using any help from paper maps, the internet, or a computer, draw your house on a map. Draw FIU on a map. Now fill in as much detail between your house and FIU on your daily commute to school. Now, look at an actual Google Map. What landmarks did you forget on your commute? What did you remember? Why do you suppose that is? What is a mental map? Please either scan or take a digital photo of your map and then insert it into your word document. If you need help with this, please let me know. ( words, double spaced, 12 point font, including map) Due no later than January 29th. Points: 15 Assignment 2: Hurricanes: Do research on any Hurricane that has affected the Miami Metropolitan Area and answer the following questions: Where did the storm originate? What time of year did it strike? What Category of Magnitude was it? What damage did it do? How

3 many other Hurricanes struck that year? What were their magnitudes? Explain why and how Hurricanes form. Why do they hit Miami and not Los Angeles? ( words, double spaced, 12 point font, including a one page image of the hurricane or the destruction it caused) Due no later than February 19th. Points: 15 Note: You will turn this assignment in using Turnitin.com Assignment 3: I will choose a country at random for each person in the class. When you receive your country you are going to give a report on this country as if you are from that country s board of tourism. You must make a map by hand of your country as well as find pictures on the Internet that help convey what life is like there. There should be pictures of people, landforms, cities, streams, and everything that you can think of to convince people to come and visit. Try to include aspects of what you ve learned in class including both physical geography (landforms and climate, etc.) as well as human geography (cultural and political, etc.) Remember, even if there are negative aspects to life in your country you are going to try to focus on the positives. Due no later than April 29th. Additional details for Assignment 3 can be found on the Blackboard Site for the class. Points: 70 Note: You will turn this assignment in using Turnitin.com * More details (as well as possible small changes) regarding these homework assignments will be given to you as they are assigned throughout the semester. Grades: *Letter grades will be assigned as follows: A % A % B % B 83-86% B % C % C 73-76% C % D % D 63-66% D 60-62% F No effort made * If the tests and other assignments result in too few students performing well (in the A or B range) I will curve the points so that student grades will improve. NOTE: this curve can ONLY help your grade, it will never hurt it. Therefore, you will be assigned a grade either based on the curve or based on the scale above, whichever is higher.

4 On Plagiarism: (As quoted from the Office of the Provost) Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas, and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and to honestly demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result, at the very least, in a 0 on the assignment and, at most, could result in your expulsion from the University, depending on the severity of the offense. If you wish to learn more about FIU policy regarding this look here: Early Alert: In an effort to help you succeed in your academic courses, FIU utilizes an Early Alert system. Instructors are now able to notify students academic advisors if there are concerns about class performance. If an alert is submitted, your academic advisor will send you a message via your Student Dashboard (accessed via your MYFIU page) to discuss ways to improve your performance. Please respond to any communication you receive from your academic advisor about an early alert. Our goal with this program is to help you to be successful by identifying any issues as early on as possible and working to address them. Please note: This Schedule of Readings, Lectures, and Assignments is subject to change throughout the semester. Date Module Reading Event Week 1 January Housekeeping, Course Overview, and Introduction, Core Geographic Concepts Chapter 1 Week 2 January Note: Monday, January 18 no class due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2. About Maps, GIS, and Remote Sensing Chapter 2 Homework 1 is Assigned January 19th - Last day to add courses; last day to drop courses or withdraw from the University without incurring financial liability for Tuition and Fees Week 3 Jan Landforms and Processes Chapter 3 Quiz 1 on Monday, January 25th (Chapters 1-2) Homework 1 is due

5 by January 29 th at 5 PM. Homework 2 is Assigned Week 4 Feb Weather and Climate Chapter 4 February 5 - Last day to withdraw from the University with a 25% refund of Tuition Week 5 Feb Population Geography Chapter 5 Homework 1 Graded Monday, February 8 - Quiz 2 (Chapters 3-4) Week 6 Feb Cultural Geography Chapter 6 Homework 2 is due by Friday, February 19 th at 5 PM Week 7 Feb Exam 1 (Chapters 1-6 and all lectures and materials up to this point) Week 8 Feb 29 Mar 4 8. Political Geography Chapter 8 Homework 3 Assigned Week 9 March Economic Geography Chapters 9 and 10 Homework 2 Graded Week 10 Mar SPRING BREAK NO CLASS Week 11 Mar Urban Geography Chapter 11 Monday, March 21 st - Quiz 3 Week 12 Mar 28 Apr Geography of Natural Resources (Chapters 8-10) Chapter 12 March 21st - Deadline to drop a course with a DR grade Week 13 Apr Human Environment Relations A March 21st - Deadline to withdraw from the University with a WI grad Chapter 13 Monday, April 4 th - Quiz 4 (Chapters 11-12)

6 Week 14 Apr Week 15 Apr Week 16 Apr Human Environment Relations B 15. Human Environment Relations C 16. Human Environment Relations D Finals Week May Exam 2 (Chapters 8-13 and all lectures and materials since the first Exam) Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Homework 3 is due by Friday, April 29 th at 5 PM.

ECO 2013-Principles of Macroeconomics

ECO 2013-Principles of Macroeconomics Fall 2017 Instructor: E-mail: Tamanna Kabir tkabi002@fiu.edu Class Details: ECO 2013-U07, Class #77416 Class Schedule: Classroom: MoWeFr 12:00 pm -12:50 pm AHC3-110