GEOG 1200: World Regional Geography
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11.00 am to 12:20 pm
Room WH 122
Instructor: Waquar Ahmed
Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2.00 pm to 3.00 pm and by appointment.
Office location: ENV 310C
Email:
Teaching assistant: Lan Hu
Office hour: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.30 am to 11 am.
Office location: ENV 231
Email:
Overview on Objectives:
GEOG 1200, World Regional Geography, is an introductory geography course offered by the Department of Geography, University of North Texas at Denton. It focuses on geographical characteristics, major problems and role of major world regions. This course satisfies the cross-cultural, diversity and Global Studies requirement of the University Core Curriculum. Students will be introduced to a wide selection of themes, but particular emphasis will be placed on regionally specific economic, political, social, environmental and cultural processes that combine to make our world. We incorporate theoretical, historical and critical approaches in examining world regions. What is expected from you? Only your intense interest, your dedicated responsibility, your hard work, your beautiful, original thoughts and your most eloquent writings.
Learning Outcomes:
· Understand regionally specific economic, political, social, environmental and cultural process.
· Understand how regionally specific economic, political, social, environmental and cultural process produce a global society.
Readings:
In addition to attending the classes, you are expected to read a lot. Sometimes the reading parallels the class lectures. Sometimes they simply provide the background/foundation on which the class lectures are based. In either case, read everything twice, once before the class for which the reading is assigned, and once after the class. Note-taking on the assigned reading is strongly recommended. Lectures are prepared based on the assumption that students are prepared for class. Based on past experience, students who prepare inadequately for class are unlikely to perform well or at the level of their ability, and they are likely to fall behind and find themselves unable to effectively catch up. Regular and punctual attendance is required. Students taking another class that overlaps with this course should drop either this course or the other. Students are responsible for any course material that is missed. There is one required textbook and a number of articles and book chapters/sections that you must read. The required book is: Marston, S. A., P. L. Knox, D. M. Liverman, V. J. D. Casino & P. F. Robbins. 2011. World Regions in Global Context: Peoples, Places, and Environments. Boston: Prentice Hall.
This book is available at the university bookstore. All other readings are on the UNT’s “Blackboard” system that can be accessed via Internet.
Course Requirements:
(i) There will be three map quizzes, a midterm examination, and two take-home assignments.
(ii) You are expected to be awake, on time, thinking and ready for every lecture. If you are not going to attend a class, tell me in advance and give a very convincing reason, else it will affect your grades (there are points for classroom participation).
(iii) If you bring your cell phone to class, make sure that it is turned off.
(iv) Take-home exercises are due on the date stated – they have to be handed over at the beginning of class, i.e., at 11 am.
(v) I do not want you to work in groups (copying from one another) for any of the assignments/examinations/quiz. If I detect that you have done this, you will be given an incomplete grade for the class.
(vi) It is official university policy that plagiarism is outlawed, banned! You can avoid such charges by always citing work you have used in your paper assignment.
Grade:
The course grade will be based on the following components: three map quizzes – 7% each; Mid-term examination - 30%; two take-home assignments – 20% each; attendance and participation 9%. Your points will be added up at the end of the semester and grades will be awarded as follows:
A / 85 to100B / 75 to <85
C / 65 to <75
D / 55 to <65
F / < 55
Make-up exam policy:
If a student must be absent from an exam to attend a religious holiday, or represent the university sports team/event (and only as a player, not as audience) or university academic team/event (like university debate team), please contact me 1 week in advance of the quiz/exam date. If you are ill, please let me know by email immediately. Make-up exams will be given only if supporting documents related to illness is provided.
Important dates:
September 18: 1st map quiz
October 4: First take-home assignment due
October 23: Mid-term exam
October 30: 2nd map quiz
November 15: 3rd map quiz
December 6: Second take-home assignment due
I reserve the right to make reasonable and responsible changes in the syllabus based on our progress, and any special requirement that may arise as the semester progresses. You will be notified about these changes well in advance.
Lecture Outline:
August 30 and September 4: Regions and Regional Geography
Chapter 1 of assigned textbook.
September 6, 11, 13 and 18: Europe
Chapter 2 of assigned textbook.
Russel, B. 1959. Rise of Modern Philosophy (pages 170-175) in Wisdom of the West. Doubleday Company Inc, New York.
Russel, B. 1959. Enlightenment and Romanticism (pages 230-235) in Wisdom of the West. Doubleday Company Inc, New York.
Erne, R. 2012. European union after the crisis. In Economy and Society in Europe, eds. L. Burroni, M. Keune & G. Meardi, 124-139. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
1st map quiz will be held on September 18
September 20: The Russian Federation, Central Asia and The Transcaucasus
Chapter 3 of assigned textbook.
September 25 and 27 and October 2 and 4: Middle East and North Africa
Chapter 4 of assigned textbook
Barber, B. 1992. Jihad Vs Mc World, Atlantic Monthly, March, pp. 53-65
Peet, R. 2007 Neoconservatism (pages 186-189) in The Geography of Power, Zed Books, London, New York.
Harvey, D. 2005. The ‘new’ imperialism: On spatio-temporal fixes and accumulation by dispossession, excerpts from New Imperialism, Oxford University press, Oxford.
Benin, J and Hajjar, L. Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Middle Research and Information Project, available at www. MERIP.org
Davis, M. (2011) Spring Confronts Winter. New Left Review, 72, 5-15.
1st take-home assignment due on October 4
October 9: Sub-Saharan Africa
Chapter 5 of assigned textbook
October 11, 16 and 18: United States and Canada
Chapter 6 of assigned textbook
Peet, R. 1997. Cultural Production of Economic Forms. In Lee R and Wills J eds Geographies of Economics, Arnold, London, pp. 37-46.
Peet, R. and Hartwick, E. 1999. Fordism in Theories of Development (pages 115-118) in Theories of Development, Guilford press, New York
Peet, R. et al. 2003. Chapter 1 in Unholy Trinity: the IMF, World Bank and WTO. Zed Books, London
Mid-term exam on October 23 (from 11 am to 12.20 pm)
October 25 and 30: Latin America and the Caribbean
Chapter 7 of assigned textbook
2nd map quiz on October 30
November 1, 6 and 8: East Asia
Chapter 8 of assigned textbook
Harvey, D. 2005. Neoliberalism ‘with Chinese characteristics’ (chapter 5) in A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pg. 120-151.
Wade, R. (1996) Japan, the World Bank, and the art of paradigm maintenance: the East Asian miracle in political perspective. New Left Review, I/217, 3-36.
November 13, 15 and 20: South Asia
Chapter 9 of assigned textbook
Ahmed, W. 2009. From Mixed Economy to Neoliberalism: Class and Caste in India’s Economic Transition. Human Geography 2 (3): 37-51.
Ali, T. 2002. Chapter 9: The roots of Wahhabism; Chapter 10: The kingdom of corruption. In The Clash of Fundamentalisms, pp. 73-85, 281-315. London: Verso.
3rd map quiz on November 15
November 27: Southeast Asia
Chapter 10 of assigned textbook
November 29: Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific
Chapter 11 of assigned textbook
December 4: Living in a globalizing world
Harvey, D. 2001. Time-space compression and the postmodern condition. In Held D and McGrew A eds The Global Transformations Reader Polity Press, Cambridge pp. 82–91.
December 6: Course wrap-up
2nd take-home assignment due on December 6
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