University of Lethbridge

Department of Geography

GEOG 1200 Introduction to Human Geography

Spring 2020

Monday, Wednesday & Friday | 10:00-10:50pm | SA 8002

Instructor: Dr. Julie Young

Office: University Hall B874
Office hours: Wednesdays 11:00am-12:30pm or by appointment
Email: julie.young@uleth.ca

Survey of human geography as a discipline, focusing on interrelationships among people, places

and their environments. Topics include the changing geographies of population, economy,
settlement patterns, resource use and environment, politics, gender, and culture.
Note: This course complements Geography 1000.

Objectives: The aim of the course is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the
processes, patterns, and systems that influence the spatial organization of human life and activity
and the interactions between people and places. Students will be introduced to key concepts in
human geography including place, landscape, and scale. The course will provide an overview of
the sub-fields of human geography, covering: population geographies and migration; cultural
geographies and interpreting landscapes; economic geographies and economic development;
agricultural geographies and food security; political geographies, borders, and the nation-state;
urban geographies and city spaces. While focused on the Canadian context, the course will draw
in global examples as relevant.

Required text
Mercier, M., & Norton, W. (2019). Human geography. 10th edition. Don Mills ON: Oxford
University Press Canada.

Evaluation
Personal geographies assignment: 16%
Tests: 3 x 15%
Workshops: 9%
Final exam: 30%

Late assignments: Barring compassionate and medical reasons, late assignments will be
penalized 5% per day. This policy will be strictly enforced in fairness to those who submit on
time.

Academic integrity: Students are subject to the student discipline policy for academic and non-
academic offenses in accordance with the Calendar. Written assignments will be submitted
through Moodle via Turn-it-in, a university-approved plagiarism detection service. Student work

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may be stored in the database of the service, and if you object to such storage, you must advise
me in sufficient time that other techniques may be used to confirm the integrity of written work.

Overview of assessment:

Personal geographies assignment (16%)

This assignment asks you to reflect on the places that matter to you by mapping and analysing
your personal geography at four different scales from the local to the global. It has two
components:
1) The first part of the assignment is to map your connections at four scales: i) on U of L
campus; ii) within Lethbridge; iii) within Canada; and, iv) globally.
2) The second part of the assignment is a two-page paper that discusses how your personal
geography influences or shapes your perception of the world (12 pt. font, double-spaced,
maximum 500 words).

Tests (3 x 15%)
There will be three Moodle tests throughout the term. They will be comprised of multiple choice
and short answer questions.

Workshops (9%)
I am introducing a workshop component to the course this year to provide students with
opportunities to apply course concepts. There will be four workshops held in class throughout
the term: the first will be a trial run and the remaining three will be assessed pass (3%)/fail
(1.5%). Students will collaborate in groups (to be assigned after the add/drop deadline) to
complete an assignment during class. Students will work on Google Docs and submit one
assignment as a group via Moodle.

Final exam (30%)

The final exam will be written during the University’s exam period. Please make sure you are
available for the whole exam period, April 7-18 inclusive.

Grading scale

Percentage Letter Grade Grade Point Value Description

90-100 A+ 4.0 Excellent
85-89 A 4.0
80-84 A- 3.7
77-79 B+ 3.3 Good
73-76 B 3.0
70-72 B- 2.7
67-69 C+ 2.3
63-66 C 2.0 Satisfactory
60-62 C- 1.7
57-59 D+ 1.3 Poor
50-56 D 1.0 Minimal Pass
0-49 F 0.0 Fail

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 Weekly schedule

Week Dates Topic Textbook: key Notes

sections
1 January 6, 8, 10 Introduction: Why does Chapter 1
geography matter? (2-9; 21-31; 34-
35)
2 January 13, 15, 17 Interpreting places & Chapter 1 Workshop trial
landscapes (9-21; 31-34) run: January 17
Chapter 4
(130-142)
3 January 20, 22, 24 Geographies of Chapter 11 Mapping
globalization (408-426) exercise due:
January 24
4 January 27, 29, 31 Political geography Chapter 6 Test #1 opens:
(209-214; 231) January 27
(on Weeks 1-3)
5 February 3, 5, 7 Population geography Chapter 2 Workshop #1:
(46-66) February 7
6 February 10, 12, 14 Borders & displacement Chapter 2 Guest lecture:
(69-72) Mariah Besplug
Chapter 3
(106-114)
February 17-21 Reading Week
7 February 24, 26, 28 Geographies of identity Chapter 5 Test #2 opens:
& difference (168-188) February 24
(on Weeks 4-6)
8 March 2, 4, 6 Economic geographies Chapter 10 Workshop #2:
(366-374; 393- March 6
402)
Chapter 3
(88; 92-95; 118-
123)
9 March 9, 11, 13 Nature & society Chapter 12
(444-450; 454-
456; 477-478)
10 March 16, 18, 20 Geographies of food & Chapter 9 Test #3 opens:
agriculture (330-334; 339- March 16
350) (on Weeks 7-9)
11 March 23, 25, 27 Urbanization Chapter 7 Workshop #3:
(250-262; 268- March 27
274; 277-281)
12 March 30, April 1, Urban social geographies Chapter 8 Final exam
3 (284-301; 306- (Apr. 7-18)
310)