Global Learning Assignment

GEA 2000: World Regional Geography

Co-Curricular Activity & Report

For this assignment, you must attend a co-curricular activity (or view a talk online) having to do with the themes of the course, and write a 500-750 word report about that event that addresses the questions listed below. 

What is a Co-Curricular Activity and What Ones Count?

Every semester, the various departments and colleges at FIU combine to bring hundreds of speakers to campus and participate in dozens of online and teleconferenced events.  This helps our students and faculty broaden their perspective by bringing in ideas from outside the university.

So which of these count for the assignment?  Basically, any event whose topic is relevant to what we covered in World Regional geography.   Look through the themes in Chapter 1 and the sections included in most chapters: topics include human-environment interaction; history of human settlements and empires; population growth and decline; migration; changes in the spatial arrangement of agriculture, manufacturing and services; trade; urbanization; international relations; gender; and measuring human well-being.  Anything on those topics should be good.

However you may choose any TED talk from YouTube you think is relevant to the course.

Where do I find out about these events?

Although theoretically any department on campus could host a relevant event, the following departments are likely suspects.   Most of them list their events very clearly on the front page.  Also note that just because these departments host an event does not mean it automatically fits – for example, if the speaker is someone performing music or reading poetry, it is a lot less likely to actually be applicable.

Global and Sociocultural Studies, Latin American Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, Middle East Studies, Africa and African Diaspora Studies,  SIPA (School of International and Public Affairs), Women’s Studies, Politics and International Relations,  Earth and Environmental Science, and Global Learning.

The Assignment

You will be graded on your articulation of the event you attend, addressing the points below, and your writing (grammar, spelling, etc.). 

After attending a co-curricular event, answer/do the following:

1. Briefly summarize the subject of the event (what the speaker(s) talked about).

2. What was the argument/conclusion about the topic?

3. What data/evidence did they give to support their points?

4. In what ways did the event connect to material covered in World Regional Geography (be specific)?

5. Did you find their arguments convincing – why or why not?

6. Can you relate the subject to your own life, and/or see how you might impact or participate in relation to the topic?

There is a folder on Canvas to submit your assignment. Make sure it is edited for proper grammar/spelling and addresses all of the above points.