GEO 105

GEOGRAPHY OF THE NON-WESTERN WORLD

Spring 2000

Instructor: Mark Giordano

Meeting Times: 10:00-10:50 Tuesday and Thursday, Gilfillan Auditorium

Office: Wilkinson Hall, room 217, 737-1307

Office Hours: 11:00-12:00 Tuesday and Thursday

Required Texts: de Blij and Muller. Geography: Realms Regions and Concepts 2000. 9th ed.

Goode's World Atlas. 19th ed.

Lecture notes available at the library reserve desk under GEO105-1

Old tests and blank practice maps are in the library under GEO105-2

Course Description:

This course will give you an introduction to the geography of the “Non-Western World”. After a study of basic geographic ideas, the class will focus on the physical geography, history and contemporary social, economic and political conditions in each of five geographic realms: North Africa/Southwest Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Recitation:

The recitation section is a major part of this class. Details on the structure and grading of the recitations will be provided by your teaching assistant.

Mid-Term and Final:

For both the mid-term and final, you are responsible for material covered in the lectures and in the readings. Not everything in the readings is covered in the lectures, and not everything in the lectures is covered in the book. You need to study from both your lecture notes and the corresponding areas of the text book to excell on the tests. The tests will include factual questions (e.g. The Ottoman Empire was centered in what modern-day country?) as well as map identification problems (e.g. The river marked on the map is the...?).

Due to the large class size, alternative test dates will generally not be allowed. If you think you have a good reason for changing the test date, submit your request IN WRITING to the instructor. Early requests are more likely to be approved than those made at the last minute.

Grading: Recitation 35% of final grade

Midterm 30% of final grade

Final 35% of final grade

WEEK DATE LECTURE READINGS

1 3/28 Introduction

3/30 Geography Basics and Cartography

2 4/4 Geomorphology Introduction, pp. 1-11

4/6 Climatology Introduction, pp. 11-35

3 4/11 North Africa/Southwest Asia Overview Ch. 6, pp. 280-298

4/13 Israel and the Middle East Ch. 6, pp. 298-321

4 4/18 Resources in the Middle East

4/20 Sub-Saharan Africa Overview Ch. 7, pp. 334-356

5 4/25 Nigeria and South Africa Ch. 7, pp. 356-379

4/27 Guest Speaker from Malawi

6 5/2 Applying Geographic Thought: The Okavango Delta

5/4 MIDTERM EXAM 10:00 a.m. Gilfillan Auditorium

7 5/9 South Asia Ch. 8, pp. 380-391

5/11 Guest Speaker from India

8 5/16 Issues in South Asia Ch. 8, pp. 392-422

5/18 China Ch. 9, pp. 426-472

9 5/23 Guest Speaker from China

5/25 Japan and Korea Ch. 9, pp. 472-491

10 5/30 South East Asia Ch. 10, pp. 492-527

6/1 Cambodia

FINAL EXAM in Gilfillan Auditorium Wednesday, June 7, 12 noon.