Population and
Geography of the
GEA 3635, U01. Spring 2009
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, 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 3 –Exam One
Thursday, February 19 – Paper Proposal Due
Friday, February 27 – Last Day to Drop
Course with DR grade
Thursday,
March 5 – Exam Two
Tuesday, March 17 & Thursday, March 19 –
Spring Break (No Class)
Thursday,
April 2 – Paper Due
Thursday, April 23, 12-2 pm – Final Exam (PLEASE NOTE: THE EXAM TIME COULD
CHANGE BASED ON WHIMS OF FIU ADMINISTRATION)
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
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. PLEASE NOTE THE DAY AND TIME OF THE FINAL
EXAM: NO MERCY FOR THOSE WHO TRY TO
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!