Population
and Geography of the
GEA 3635,
U01. Spring 2007
Class
Location: PC
432 Time:
2:00-3:15 p.m.
T,Th
Instructor: Benjamin Smith Email: bsmith@fiu.edu
Office:
DM 437B Office Phone: 348-2074
Office
Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday 1:00-1:45, 3:30-4:45, or by
appointment
Teaching
Homepage Which You Must Check Frequently: http://www.fiu.edu/~bsmith/teaching.htm
There is More to the Middle
East than the Headlines
This is going to be the theme of this course. I also imagine, since you are
going to devote an entire semester to studying the region, you have that
inkling, too. You are
probably thinking that there is more to life for the 300-400 million people
(depending on what countries are included) who call this region home than 1)
gender oppression and 2) violence. If this is what you are
thinking, you are, of course, right.
In this course, while we will address issues that grab
headlines – Israel/Palestine conflict,
We will also do all this from a geographic
prospective. On the one hand
this means a grab bag approach – environment, politics, economics and culture
are all fair game. On the
other hand, this also mean paying attention to geographic perspectives such as
how humans interact with the natural and built environment, how ideas and people
diffused through the region over time, and how the region came to be defined as
it.
1.
Develop an understanding of the diversity of the Middle
East. The “
2.
Understand how the
3.
Be able to critically examine what you hear about the
The Modern
National
Geographic Atlas of the
Supplemental
Tuesday, February 6 –Exam
One
Thursday, February 22 – Paper Proposal
Due
Thursday, March 8 – Exam
Two
Tuesday, March 20 & Thursday, March 22
– Spring Break (No Class)
Monday, March 12 – Last Day to Drop Course
with DR grade
Thursday, April 5 – Paper Due
Thursday, April 26, 12:30-3:15 – Final
Exam
Grading
There will be 500 total points available
in this class, broken down as follows:
100 points: Paper
25 points: Paper Proposal
50 points: Attendance and Participation
100 points:
Exam 1
100 points:
Exam 2
125 points: Final Exam
500 points Total
The grading scale is A = 100-93%, A- = 92.9-90%, B+ =
89.9-87%, B = 86.9-83%, B- =82.9%-80%, C+ = 79.9-77%, C = 76.9-73%, C- = 72.9-70%, D+ = 69.9-67%, D =
66.9-63%, D- = 62-60% F = 59-0%, which translates to, in
points:
A :
500 thru 465 points
A-:
464 thru 450 points
B+: 449 thru 435
points
B: 434 thru 415
points
B-: 414 thru 400 points
C+: 399 thru 385
points
C: 384 thru 365
points
C-:
364 thru 350 points
D+: 349 thru 335
points
D: 334 thru 315
points
D-:
314 thru 300 points
F: 299 thru 0 points
Each exam will be a
combination of multiple choice, matching, map identification, and short
answers/miniature essays, drawn from lectures, readings, videos, etc. –
basically anything covered in class or assigned in
reading.
The first two exams are
non-cumulative, meaning they cover material not previously tested. The Final Exam, however, is
slightly different – mostly, it is an exam over new material covered since the
second exam; but it also will have one 10 point essay which summarizes the
course, and an expanded map section that requires you to label all the countries
in the region – which should be easy by that point in the
semester.
Exam 1: 100 pts
Exam 2: 100 pts.
Final: 125 pts
While more
specifics will be given soon, there will be a 10 page research paper which will
be worth 100 points. This
paper will help gauge your ability to apply concepts learned during the course
of the semester to independently conducted research. It will be due on Thursday, April
5 at the beginning class, and must be submitted in both physical form (typed and
stapled) and electronically via turnitin.com. You will lose 10 points for
every day it is late.
Additionally, to
help make sure everyone is on the right track with their paper, there will be a
short paper proposal worth 25 points, due at the beginning of class on Thursday,
February 22.
Instructions for this will also be given
soon.
Attendance
and Participation Points, Reading & Classroom
Etiquette
There will be oodles – oodles I say! – of
information covered in this course.
You need to be in class to learn it all. This is especially true because
lectures, while drawing on the readings, will expand upon them as well. You will not do well on the tests
unless you come to class.
Similarly, if you do not do the readings,
you will not do well on the tests.
This is especially true on essays questions based on more conceptual
readings – though we will cover the readings in class, you will not get them
fully unless you read and then re-read them.
I also want to get to know who you are, so
as corny as it sounds, I would like you to bring with you some sort of name card
to sit in front of you while you are in class – including your first and last
name, written in letters big enough for me to see from the front of class. This way I can start to put names
to faces.
To reward you for reading
and attendance, I will have various easy point opportunities throughout the
semester. Sometimes they will
be announced tasks – like bringing three questions to class about the reading
for discussion. Other times, they
will be unannounced – like having a quick individual quiz about the reading that
asks a few, really simple questions.
If the reading is particularly theoretical, I will put you into groups
during class so you and your classmates can hash it out together. These are meant to be low stress, and
providing everyone makes a good faith effort (and attends), these points should
be easy to get. Even easier to get
are the points where I simply mark down everyone who is there and brought there
name cards with them.
However, these points can
also be taken away, at the instructor’s discretion, in extreme circumstances,
due to regularly bad behavior.
Reasons for losing points include being aggressive, rude or dismissive
towards your fellow students or the instructor. Though people may express
opinions different than your own in this class, you are free to disagree –
providing you do so in calm, courteous manner. This is especially important because we
will be covering some sensitive, divisive subjects during this class. Points can also be taken away if a
student shows lack of engagement by talking to other students while the
instructor, guest or another student is speaking, repeatedly reading the newspaper, using their cell phone or mp3
player, doing homework for other classes, or using their notebook computer for
IM’s (not note-taking). However, I
doubt it will come to this. So
basically, respect everyone, and this should be a great semester. If points are taken, the student will be
notified as to why.
Attendance
quizzes and activities will contribute a maximum of 50 points to your final
grade. There will likely be
more than 50 points made available during the semester, meaning if you miss a
class or have an off day, you will still be able to receive full attendance
credit.
Teaching
Website, On-Line Articles, and Updates
At the top of this
document, you will find the address for my teaching homepage, which is http://www.fiu.edu/~bsmith/teaching.htm
. There will be a copy of the
syllabus there, the course schedule, handouts, exam and quiz review sheets –
anything I hand out. In
addition, I will keep a blog (which will be accessible from the teaching page)
for this class on which I will post announcements (such as the unlikely event of
a class cancellation), answer questions and link to articles which are related
to the class that I come across.
Thus, if you have a question
about the structure of the class (due dates, test structure, etc.), check the
website and the blog, because the answer will probably be there.
Office
Hours & Making Contact
My
office hours are posted at the top of this document. If you are having trouble at all, I
strongly encourage you to stop by or call during office hours, or make an
appointment to do so. My
job is to make sure you learn the material, not just to assign grades.
I
will also try my best to answer questions via e-mail, but realize that apart
from teaching this class, I am also teaching a second course, doing research,
and administrative work, thus the quickest, best way to get an answer is to stop
by or call me during office hours.
If you e-mail me, please put
“GEA 3635” or “Geography of the M.E.” in the subject line – so I know what class
you are in. Also, pretty
please put your name in the email, so I know who I am replying to.
Earning
the Grade You Want & (Lack of Significant) Extra
Credit
If
you are doing poorly in the class, the time to ask how you can do better is not
right before, and especially not right after, the Final. If you do badly on the first or second
test PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come to office hours or make an appointment to see me
as soon as possible after that test, and I will help you devise strategies to
study more effectively.
If
there are events on campus (e.g. lectures) that are related to the course, I may
give 2 or 3 points extra-credit if you attend. Other than that, I will not give extra credit – so there
is no point in asking.
Nor will I go back and change grades after the semester is over and
grades have been submitted – you earn what you earn. It is the only thing that is fair
to all students in the course – I cannot give advancement opportunities to one I
do not give to all.
Academic
Integrity, Cheating and Plagiarism:
Cheating and plagiarism are done by pathetic and
desperate people – don’t be one of them. If you plagiarize on your
research assignment, or cheat on an exam – you will receive at
minimum a zero on that assignment, which instantly
drops your score for the course by about two full letter grades. If you find yourself in a
desperate situation while taking a test or up against a deadline – turn in the
best work you can do at the time.
Getting an F usually means you will get some points – getting caught
cheating means you get zero.
Furthermore, depending on the severity of the case, I can choose to
pursue harsher penalties, including assigning an F0 for the course or pursuing
your expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with
the FIU student handbook’s sections on cheating and plagiarism. Also, if you need to know more about how
to not plagiarize, please check out the following
websites.
1)
“Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (
Excused absences include serious illness; illness of a
spouse or dependent; death of an immediate family
member; University-sponsored trips; and major religious holy
days. It is your responsibility to
inform me of the absence in advance of
class by e-mail (and within 2 weeks of the start of class if it is a
university trip or holy day), but no later than two class sessions after the
missed class. In order to have an
absence excused, you must provide original documentation which I can keep. If this is done, and I determine
the absence to be excused, I will do my best make sure you make up what you
missed.
Make-up exams will only be given in extreme
circumstances. The make-up exam will not be the same one
given to those who took the test on the established date, and will be given
during the final examination period, during which time you will take both the
make-up exam and the final.
To sit a make-up exam, you must 1) provide documentation to me in
class within two class periods of the missed exam addressing why your absence
qualifies as excused 2) have that documentation accepted by me 3) email me
asking to be given a make-up exam and 4) receive back an email from me
confirming a make-up exam will be given.
Your choices to attend or not attend have consequences –
just like they would at work.
I take my responsibilities and role as a teacher seriously; I hope you
hold your role and responsibility as a student in equal respect.