Geography of Global
Change
GEO 3001,
U01. Fall 2009
Class Location: GC 286 Time:
11:00-11:50 p.m. M,W,F
Instructor: Benjamin Smith Email: bsmith@fiu.edu
Office:
DM 437B Office Phone: 348-2074
Office
Hours: M,W,F 8:30-8:50, 10:00-10:50, or by appointment
Teaching
Homepage Which You Must Check Frequently: http://www.fiu.edu/~bsmith/teaching.htm
Where
You Must Log In To Take The Essay Portion of Exam 1 & 2: http://online.fiu.edu/login/uts
Mega-Cities, Melting Arctic Ice, and Transnational Consumer
Cultures. Oh my!
We live in extraordinary times.
In the last few years the planet has become more urban than rural, has
begun to face a multitude of problems associated with climate change, and has
seen more of the world’s information potentially available to more people than
ever before through the Internet. Not to
mention the profoundly interconnected planetary economy. In the 1990’s, a term called globalization
emerged to describe this seeming leveling of the world – so much so that a
well-traveled person like New York Times
columnist Thomas Friedman actually wrote a book called The World is Flat. Some
have even declared geography not to matter anymore – that every issue is only
global now.
However all these recent changes lumped under globalization have histories
– or to be precise historical geographies.
Furthermore, in the words of Richard Florida, “the world is spiky”–
meaning that global issues have an uneven geography, with areas of intensity
and absence. Causes and effects are
often not found in the same location; nor is everywhere equally impacted. The history and present of this uneven
geography is what this class will be about.
You will
have to read and understand geography stuff
The point of this course is to learn not just “facts” about global
change – though you certainly will be presented with a lot of those (which you
will hopefully find interesting). More
importantly, the point is to acquire a “geographic” perspective on how to
contextualize, analyze, think about and act upon those facts. This will require reading work written by
geographers so you to can begin to think like a geographer.
Additionally, this is the highest numbered geography course all
geography majors have to take, so in order to make sure majors get admitted to
the super secret geography club, it is important to read work written by some
of the smart people in the discipline.
So if you don’t want to read, perhaps you should consider a course in
interpretive dance.
1. Become
knowledgeable about contemporary global changes, by knowing their historical
geographies and dynamics. Most of the foundations of today’s seemingly
new “global” phenomenon date back at least to the period of colonialism,
sometimes early. Furthermore, many
problems are exceedingly complex without easy solutions – understanding and
accepting this complexity will be part of this course.
2. Use
that knowledge to become a critical assessor of information. This course will be an introduction to global issues
that will by and large be around for the rest of your lives. Hopefully the course will inspire you to keep
tabs on the issues, and maybe even act influence their course in ways big and
small.
3. Learn
to think from a geographic prospective. Though
geographers analyze many of the same issues people from other disciplines do,
there is a difference in how geographers approach things. Terms like space, scale, systemic analysis
and materiality are extremely important to geographers – this course will help
you understand why.
A World of Difference: Encountering and
Contesting Development (2nd Edition). By Porter, et.
Al. The
Geographies of Global Change: Remapping
the World (2nd Edition). Edited by
Monday,
September 7 – No Class, Labor Day
Monday, September 21 – Exam One
Wednesday, October 7 Wednesday, October 14 – Research Proposal Due
Friday, October 16 – Last Day to Drop
Course with DR grade
Monday,
October 26 – Exam Two
Friday,
November 20 – Research Assignment Due
Wednesday,
November 25 – No Class, Study Day
Friday, November
27 – No Class, Thanksgiving
Sometime
between December 7 & 11 – Final Exam
Grading
There will be 500 total points available
in this class, broken down as follows:
90
points: Global Change Research Assignment & Proposal
50
points: Attendance and Participation
120 points: Exam 1
120 points: Exam 2
120
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
The first two exams will
consist of two parts. The first part,
taken in class on the dates shown above, is a combination of multiple choice, matching,
and short answer drawn from lectures, readings, videos, etc. – basically
anything covered in class or assigned.
The second part, available online for 48 hours after the in-class exam,
consists of timed essay questions. You
will need to login to the address at the top of the syllabus and click on this
course’s module to take the exam. PLEASE
NOTE: YOU SHOULD SET UP YOUR LOGIN WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE ACTUAL EXAM
DATE.
The final exam, because
there is more time allotted, will be taken entirely in person – meaning
multiple choice, matching, short answer AND short essay will all be done during
the exam time.
Each exam covers only
material covered since the previous exam.
This includes the final. That does not mean major concepts should be
completely forgotten after first tested – indeed some concepts will be covered
again and again. I will also say this: essays will be worth a significant amount of
points on the test, because this is a largely conceptual class.
Research
Assignment & Proposal
Full instructions will be released soon, but this
assignment will involve demonstrating an ability to conduct and summarize
research concerning global change, which takes into account a geographic
prospective. It will be submitted in
person and electronically via turnitin.com at the beginning of class on
Wednesday, October 7. Additionally, a
proposal, which will be used to gauge progress, will be submitted at the
beginning of class (but not on turnitin.com) on Friday, November 20.
Assignments turned in late will have points deducted.
Attendance
and Participation Points, Name Cards & Classroom Etiquette
This being an upper division course, you
should not have to be reminded how important regular attendance is. This is especially true because lectures,
while drawing on the readings, will expand upon them as well. Missing class means missing a lot of the
material that will be on the test. The
same goes for the readings – if you fail to do them before the test, your
efforts to answer essay questions will be hamstrung (ummm… hamstrung…ahhhhh)
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.
In fact, the first set of
participation points you earn is by bringing me a printed copy of this syllabus
before the start of next class, signed by you.
Once you show it to me, it is yours to keep and I will check you off my
list.
However, these points can
also be taken away, at the instructor’s discretion, in extreme circumstances,
due to regularly bad behavior. 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. If points are taken, the student will be
notified as to why. Also, any of the
above behaviors are grounds for me to remove you from the classroom for the
remainder of the class period in which the infraction occurred. But again, I’ve not had to do that –
probably because I look so threatening.
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.
Since this course is
difficult to structure, the schedule of readings and lectures will likely be in
flux throughout the semester (although exam and due dates are firm). I will always announce the reading for next
class at the beginning of each class, and update the “Class Schedule” link as
needed. It is your responsibility to
know what the reading is – either by attending class or checking the class
schedule.
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 regarding the research
assignment. Also, there and only there you will be able to find study guides for
the exams – meaning I will not be handing these study guides out in class. In addition, I will post announcements (such
as the unlikely event of a class cancellation) on this page as well. Thus,
if you have a question about the structure of the class (due dates, test
structure, etc.), check the teaching website, because the answer will probably
be there. NOTE: Very
little will be contained on the online.fiu.edu site, other than the test
questions.
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 – it is easier for me to
answer an email than to play phone tag. If you e-mail me, please put “GEO 3001”
or “Global Change” 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.