Geography
of Global Change
GEO 3001, U01. Spring 2011
Class Location: CP 439 Time: 5:00-7:40 p.m. W
Instructor: Benjamin Smith Email: bsmith@fiu.edu
Office: SIPA 305 Office Phone:
348-2074
Office Hours: Monday 2:00-2:45, Wednesday 4:00-4:45 or by appointment
Teaching Homepage Which You Must Check Frequently: http://www.fiu.edu/~bsmith/teaching.htm
E-campus site for supplemental readings: http://ecampus.fiu.edu
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 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
Exam 1 – Wednesday, February 9
Proposal Due – Wednesday,
February 16
Exam 2 – Wednesday, March 23
Project Due – Wednesday,
April 6
Final Exam – Friday, April 29,
7:15-9:15 PM
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, short answer 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 Wednesday,
April 6. Additionally, a proposal,
which will be used to gauge progress, will be submitted at the beginning of
class (but not on turnitin.com) on Wednesday,
February 16. 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.
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.
One Day-a-Week Format, Readings and Changes to Schedule
Since I have not taught
this class in a one-day a week, three hour format, it is likely the actual
readings due each day will shift slightly as the class goes on. 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.
This also means you will
have a fairly hefty amount of reading due each week, please keep up with it by
spacing it out throughout the week.
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 ecampus.fiu.edu site, other than some
supplemental readings
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.