Geography of Global
Change
GEO 3001, U02. Spring 2009
Class Location: PC 426 Time: 5:00-6:15 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
Mega-Cities, Melting
Artic 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 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: Society, Nature, Development. By Porter and
Sheppard. The
Geographies of Global Change: Remapping the World (2nd
Edition). Edited by
Tuesday, February 3 –Exam
One
Tuesday, February 17 –Research 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)
Tuesday, April 7 – Research
Assignment Due
Tuesday,
April 21, 5-7 pm – Final Exam (PLEASE NOTE: EXAM TIME COULD CHANGE DUE TO WHIMS
OF FIU ADMINISTRATION)
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
Each exam will be a combination of multiple choice,
matching, and essay, drawn from lectures, readings, videos, etc. – basically
anything covered in class or assigned. 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 Tuesday, April 8.
Additionally, a proposal, which will be used to gauge progress, will be
submitted at the beginning of class (but not on turnitin.com) on Tuesday,
February 19. 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)
I also want to get to know who you are, so as hokey 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. 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
paper. 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 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.
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.