Population
and Geography of the
GEA 3635, U01. Spring 2013
Class Location: PC 213 Time: 12:30-1:45 p.m. Tu Th
Instructor: Benjamin Smith
Email: bsmith@fiu.edu
Office: SIPA 305 Office Phone:
348-2074
Office Hours: Thursday 2:00-4:00 (also see me before or after class)
Teaching Homepage Which You Must Check Frequently: http://www.fiu.edu/~bsmith/teaching.htm
Supplemental Readings: http://ecampus.fiu.edu
There is More to the Middle East than the Headlines
The last couple of years in the Middle East have been momentous: several long standing regimes fell to be
replaced by elected officials, while signs of protests became more visible in
many parts of the region. Yet, as much
as the region has been in headlines here in the US for the past decade, the
region (and especially its diversity) is still little understood here. This is going to be the theme of this
course.
In this course, while we will address issues that grab headlines – the
Arab Spring, Israel/Palestine conflict, the state of Iraq, etc. – the majority
of this course will focus on the more mundane, extremely diverse, day to day
living that goes on in the region. People work: we will talk about that. People watch TV: we will cover that. There are environmental issues: not just
political and religious ones. Yes, the
issues and challenges that those in the region faces are real and severe, but
that is not the whole story.
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
Middle
East Patterns: Places, People and Politics, 5th or 4th Edition. By Colbert Held. Westview Press.
ISBN: 0813341701
Supplemental Readings
Tuesday, February 5 – Exam One
Thursday,
March 7 – Exam Two
March 11 thru 15 – Spring Break
Thursday,
April 4 – Travel Guide Due
Tuesday, April 23 – Final Exam, 12-2 pm (NOTE: THIS IS A GUESS,
SINCE OFFICIAL SCHEDULE IS NOT OUT)
Grading
There will be 500 total points available
in this class, broken down as follows:
100 points: Travel Guide
75
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, you will be required
to produce one travel guide covering somewhere in the Middle East on a place
(or places) randomly chosen for you by Prof. Smith. This will be worth 100 points. The reason this is being assigned is
threefold 1) to make you think about the everyday, very material geographies of
the Middle East (what to eat, how to travel, where to stay, what to do) 2) help
you appreciate that there is more to the region than oppression (and, in fact,
that many people in the Middle East actually do enjoyable things) 3) to help
those who are not great test takers, with some non-test points It will be due on Friday, April 6 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.
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.
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 75 points to your final
grade. There will likely be more than
75 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.
Also, I will post supplemental
on the ecampus.fiu.edu website – those should be posted shortly.
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 see me right after class, or 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 might be an opportunity to receive a small amount of
extra credit in the course by attending lectures affiliated with the Middle
East Studies Center, if any are offered this semester. Each lecture will be worth two points
each. There will be no other extra
credit opportunities.
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 travel guide, 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!