syllabus Mount Sac

Cultural Geography
Syllabus
Mount Sac
Summer 2008
TWTH
1:20-4:00pm
June 24th-August 3rd 2008
Email: kofi_peprah_@hotmail.com
: Peprah.kofi@gmail.com



Geography by its nature is a spatial science. Geographers therefore study space in order to locate the distribution of people and objects. Geographers ask two main questions, “where” and “why.”

Text Material:
An Introduction to Human Geography. The Cultural Landscape, 9th Edition
By James. M. Rubenstein

Course Objectives:
Over the course of the semester students will be provided with information to enable them understand the cultural elements of geography.
At the end of the semester students will be able to:
Define geography and explain its importance in education
Think geographically
Understand the elements of population growth and why population is increasing at different rates in different countries
Explain why people migrate, where are migrants distributed and why do people migrate within a country
Define folk and popular culture, where do folk and popular culture originate and diffuse
Distinguish between language and dialects, why do people preserve local languages
Define what is religion? Where are religions distributed and why are religions distributed where they are
Define ethnicity and understand why do ethnicities clash?
Understand the concept of political geography
Understand what is Development

Dates Topics chapter
06/24/08 Syllabus/Introduction
06/25/08 Introduction to Geography Intro. Chapter 1
06/26/08 Population chapter 2
07/1/08 Population chapter 2
7/2/08 Migration chapter 3
7/3/08 Migration chapter 7/4/08 No Classes
7/8/08 mid term 1/folk and Popular culture chapter 4
7/9/08 folk and popular culture chapter 47/10/08 Language chapter 5
7/15/08 Language chapter 5
7/16/08 Midterm2/Religion chapter 6
7/17/08 Religion chapter 6
7/22/08 Religion chapter 6
7/23/08 Ethnicity chapter 7
7/24/08 Ethnicity chapter 7/29/08 Midterm3/Development chapter 9
7/30/08 Development
7/31 Finals

P.S. I reserve the right to alter the reading, exams, and assignments to improve the quality of this course

Assignments due dates

Explain the difference between physical and human geography
Due July 1th

Why does globalization of popular culture cause problem?
Due July 15th

Explain the causes of the conflict in Rwanda between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Explain whether the conflict was genocide or ethnic cleansing
Due: July 30thth

Attendance
Class attendance is mandatory. A student missing 3 days in a row or more than 20% of a course shall be automatically dropped, this is college policy. Be silent, and turn off your noise making devices. Do not interfere with the ability of others to hear or participate in class. Students who are absent or disruptive risks losing points on their final grade for poor class participation

Grading system
The point system will be used

3 Midterm exams each 50x3 points = 150
Finals examination = 60
Assignments 3x20 = 60
Positive attendance = 20
Total = 290

Points scale
290pts-261pts = A
260pts-232pts =B
231-203pts = C
202-174points =D
173+- = F