Course Components

To receive a grade for this course, a student is required to complete two written assignments, two examinations, and six quizzes. I will provide you with a list of the topics and subject areas to focus on for the quizzes. Your lowest scoring quiz will be thrown out at the end of the session. At least one week before each writing assignment is due, you will be given a written description of that writing assignment. Examinations will be based on material presented in the text and in lecture. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in the automatic failure of the course! (See Academic Conduct section below).

Text Book:

de Blij, H. J., and P. O. Muller: Geography, Realms, Regions and Concepts, Tenth Edition. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2002

Note:

I will assign specific readings for various topics (articles, internet sources, etc) as appropriate

Grading

Your course grade will be based on the following:

Final Grade Determination

Final grades are based upon the percentage of total points received by students as follows:

Quizzes, assignments and Examinations – Read the Fine Print

• Late assignments, exams, and quizzes will receive reduced credit (a 10% reduction for every day late).
•  Arrangements must be made to make up missed work by the next available office hours.
• You will be responsible for any missed lecture material.
• If you must miss an exam or be late for an exam, you MUST notify me (389-6527) if you wish to take a make up exam.
• All make-up exams will be essay in format (no exceptions).

Attendance

§         Students are highly recommended to regularly attend classes;

§         Evaluation is based on the readings and lecture materials;

§         It will be extremely difficult to pass this course if you do not attend lectures and study the materials that are presented;

§         We are all adults, as such I will not take roll, but you are expected to attend lecture (attending class means showing up on time, staying the duration of the class period, and participating);

§         If you miss a class, you need to get the notes for the missed lecture from one of your classmates;

§         I do not give out my notes, nor will I give you a “repeat performance” of my lecture during my office hours; and,

§         If you bring in your notes I will, however, clarify any points that are unclear to you as well as discuss any other course material.

Time Commitment

College instructors assume that students will spend approximately two to three hours outside of class for every hour in class. Thus, since this is a three credit-hour course, the average student will need to spend six to nine hours per week outside of the classroom reading the text, completing writing assignments, and studying for quizzes and exams. Be aware some weeks will likely require fewer hours, but others (such as exam weeks) will require significantly more.

Academic Conduct

As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County, you are part of an academic community and therefore expected to behave in a manner that is respectful of the community, by not engaging in academic misconduct.  

1.         Academic misconduct is an act in which a student:

(a) seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization or citation;

(b) uses unauthorized materials or fabricated data in any academic exercise;

(c) forges or falsifies academic documents or records;

(d) intentionally impedes or damages the academic work of others;

(e) engages in conduct aimed as making false representation of a student’s academic performance; or,

(f) assists other students in these acts.

2.         Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to:

-         cheating on an examination; collaborating with others in work to be presented, contrary to the stated rules of the course;

-         submitting a paper or assignment as one’s own work when a part of all of the paper of assignment is the work of another;

-         submitting a paper or assignment that contains ideas or research of others without appropriately identifying the sources of those ideas;

-         stealing examinations of course materials;

-         submitting, if contrary to the rules of the course, work previously presented in another course;

-          tampering with the laboratory experiment or computer program of another student; and,

-         knowingly and intentionally assisting another student in any of the above, including assistance in an arrangement whereby any work, classroom performance, examination of other activity is submitted or performed by a person other than the student whose name the work is submitted or performed.

Disabilities

If you have a disability for which you need an accommodation, please see student services as soon as possible. Also, please notify me so that I can make provisions in a timely manner.

Topics to be treated (subject to change)

1. Introduction to Regional Geography

-         Geographic Perspectives

-         The Concept of Regions

-         The Regions of the World

2. Sub-Sahara Africa - A Region in Search of an Identity

-         Introduction  - Physiography

-         The Environment and deforestation

-         Cultural Patterns

-         Population and Urbanization

-         The HIV debate and Africa’s future

3. The Middle East and North Africa - A Region in Turmoil

-         Introduction – Physiography

-         Culture and Religion

-         Arab-Isreali conflict in historical context

-         The Iraq wars

4. South Asia - A Region with History and Complexities

-         Introduction - Physiography

-         The Human Sequence

-         Pakistan

-         India

-         Bangladesh

-         Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka

5. Contrasting the Developing to the Developed World

-         Democracy

-         Population and Quality of Life

-         The role of Women

6. Review

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