University Bulletin
Undergraduate Degree Programs
GEOG 301
Thinking Geographically (3) Learning to think geographically.
GEOG 3
GEOG 301 Thinking Geographically (3)
The course explores the process of thinking geographically. As a discipline that draws on elements of four intellectual traditions - the physical sciences, the social sciences, the information sciences, and the humanities - geography offers an extensive palette of approaches to the study of the interactions among people, places, and environments. In addition to those traditions, geography also draws on key themes: setting events and activities into multiple spatial and temporal contexts; setting events and activities into multiple spatial scales from the local to the global; seeing complex, multi-way interactions between human and physical systems; recognizing the interconnectedness between places. In terms of methods, the fundamental building block is the idea of geospatial location and the associated spatially- or geo-referenced data. Data, both quantitative and qualitative in character, is increasingly available in terms of amounts and quality. Students must come to appreciate and be able to use this powerful way of thinking about the world. GEOG 301 assumes a beginning understanding of geography, in terms of basic content knowledge, and builds an understanding of how to think geographically, how to ask geographic questions, how to find geographic answers, how to assess the quality of those answers, and how to present and communicate those answers convincingly and compelling in multiple formats. Students will learn how to think geographically and to appreciate the power, applicability, and limitations of the geographic approach. Each year the course is organized around a significant contemporary problem as a commonly shared case study. Students will work in small groups to analyze the case study, presenting their own portfolio of work for 60% of the course grade and collaborating with group colleagues for a collective presentation for 40% of the grade. Work will be submitted in stages through ANGEL. GEOG 301 is required of all geography majors and will be offered Fall and Spring of each academic year with an annual enrollment of approximately 120 students. Preference will be given first to declared Geography majors, then to Geography minors, before places are offered to students from other programs. Geography 301 is a bridge between the knowledge that comes from the broad-based introductory geography courses and the detailed understanding that comes from the focused, advanced-level geography courses. It enables students to learn about and to practice geographical thinking in real-world contexts.
Note : Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor. For these details check the specific course syllabus.