Population and
Geography of the
GEA 3635,
U01. Spring 2008
Class Location: GC 287A 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, the state of
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 State of the
Supplemental
Tuesday, February 5 –Exam One
Thursday,
February 21 – Paper Proposal Due
Thursday, March 6 – Exam Two
Tuesday, March 11 – Last Day to Drop Course with DR grade
Tuesday,
March 18 & Thursday, March 20 – Spring Break (No Class)
Thursday, April 3 – Paper Due
Sometime Between
April 21-26 – Final Exam (PLEASE NOTE: THE EXAM TIME WILL BE POSTED ON THE
TEACHING HOMEPAGE ONCE IT IS KNOWN)
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. So the Final
Exam is basically the same as the other exams, just with one comprehensive
question and a few more map items.
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 3 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 21. 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 understand 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, as well as the course schedule and instructions for the paper and paper
proposal. Additionally, I will post study guides for the exams there and there
only – meaning I will not be handing out copies of the study guides in
class. 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. Please do not call outside of
office hours, and just email instead – games of phone tag usually don’t end
well. 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 & (A Small Amount of) 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.
However, there will be an
opportunity to receive 12 points of extra credit in the course by attending
lectures affiliated with the
1.
"Thinking
Security: A Comparative Analysis of Israeli and Arab Approaches." Efraim Kam, The
Institute for National Security Studies, Thurs Mon., January 28. 10:30 AM. GC 243
2.
“Israel and Iran: Forever Enemies?" Trita Parsi.
National Iranian-American Council. Thurs.,
February 7. 6:30 PM. GC 243
3.
"Modernism,
Islamism and Post Islamism." Farhang
Rajaee.
4.
“People and the Problem of Law and Space
in
5.
"Terrorism
and Sacred Violence." Scott Atran.
6.
"
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.
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.
HERE’S TO A GOOD SEMESTER AND BEST
OF LUCK!