Instructor : Larry McGlinn, Hamner House, 1st Floor (former kitchen)
Email : mcglinnl@newpaltz.edu
Phone : (845) 257-2696
Office Hours : M 4:30-5:30 PM; T & Th 9-10 AM, 1-2 PM
In World Geography, we will examine the world through the eyes of a geographer. In particular, we will focus on the developing world: Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Our units of study will be regions, broad areas we define as having some commonality or unifying feature. Covering the world in detail is obviously not possible in five weeks, so we will broadly scan the regions as defined in the text, and then I will bring our focus down to one or two important geographic issues within each region. This will give us a sense of what it is like to live and work in less developed parts of the world.
My philosophy is to be as informal as possible. Feel free to interrupt my lectures to ask questions or comment on the topic. And please respond when I throw out a question to the class, so I do not have to pick on any one individual to answer. I want for this class to be interactive. That is why I am here. You could just watch a video to hear a prof drone on about land reform in Zimbabwe, or whatever. I am here to help you learn to think as well as to know information.
Reading
Required text : Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 10th
Edition by
DeBlij and Muller. Publisher: John Wiley and Sons.
Grading
For exams, students are responsible for all material covered in the
reading and in lecture. Emphasis will be placed on material covered in
lecture. A list of terms and topics covered will be on the course web page,
available as a link from my home page - http://www.newpaltz.edu/~mcglinnl
Exam #1
150 points
Exam #2 and Final Exam (non-comprehensive), 250 each
500 points
Map Quizzes (Countries, Cities, Landforms), 75 each
225 points
Neighborhood Paper (100 written, 25 map)
125 points
Total : 1000 points
Exams will consist of about 2/3 multiple-choice questions and 1/3 short answer questions. (Examples will be posted on the course web page). I will include at least one extra credit short answer question with each test. I will not offer any other extra credit opportunities. Please contact me before exams with questions/problems, not after. I will throw out questions that too many students get wrong, but I am not very flexible on reinterpreting questions for more points.
For the map quizzes, you will be given a list of places (countries, cities, and landforms - one for each quiz) which you must locate using the maps in your text and the study map that I give you. This would be a perfect "study-group" activity to minimize repetitive work. For the quiz, I will give you a list of 75 places from the list, and a copy of the study map with all of the places on the list numbered. You match the places on the list to the corresponding numbers on the map. These should be nice "grade-builders."
The Neighborhood Paper is just a 3-page description of a neighborhood where you spend a great deal of time, along with a hand-drawn map of the area. More details will be on the course web page.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism includes: bringing cheat sheets to tests, copying from a
classmate, and downloading information from the Web which you then claim
as your own work. Please do not do it. I will be forced to report it to
the dean, and there will be loads of trouble for you. I do not anticipate
any such problems, just a reminder.
Course Outline
| Aug 27-29 | Introduction, Global Processes | Introduction |
| Sep 3-5 | Global Processes | Introduction |
| Sep 10-12 | Middle America, COUNTRY MAP QUIZ | Chapter 4 |
| Sep 17-19 | Middle America, South America | Chapter 4, Chapter 5 |
| Sep 24-26 | South America | Chapter 5 |
| Oct 1-3 | North Africa/SW Asia, MIDTERM #1 (Thru 9/26 material) | Chapter 6 |
| Oct 8-10 | North Africa/SW Asia | Chapter 6 |
| Oct 17 | Subsaharan Africa | Chapter 7 |
| Oct 22-24 | Subsaharan Africa, LANDFORM MAP QUIZ | Chapter 7 |
| Oct 29-31 | South Asia | Chapter 8 |
| Nov 5-7 | South Asia, MIDTERM #2 (Thru 10/31 material) | Chapter 8 |
| Nov 12-14 | East Asia | Chapter 9 |
| Nov 19-21 | East Asia, Southeast Asia, NEIGHBORHOOD PAPER DUE | Chapter 9, 10 |
| Nov 26 | Southeast Asia, CITY MAP QUIZ | Chapter 10 |
| Dec 3-5 | Pacific | Chapter 12 |
| Dec 19, 9:00 AM | FINAL |
Important Dates :
City Map Quiz
9/12
Midterms
10/1, 11/5
Landform Map Quiz
10/24
Neighborhood Paper Due
11/21
Final
12/19