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University of Languages and International Studies, VNU – Hanoi

FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS AND CULTURES OF ENGLISH SPEAKING
COUNTRIES
Division of Country Studies
GENERAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE UK & THE US
ENG1001 (Prerequisite: 2B)

PURPOSES
Human geography refers to understanding, interpreting, and representing the
human world in ways that emphasize spatial relations, spatial processes, and relationships to
the non-human world. In line with the discipline, this course invites you to look at popular cultural
maps of the UK and the US. As you follow the course, be prepared to
● understand how regions and places in the UK and the US are recognized as well as
differentiated based on natural conditions, population growth and distribution, cultural codes
and practices.
● understand how maps are created.
● develop a critical distance towards what is recognized as the UK, the US, their regions and
places.
● broaden your view on how people engage with and construct their environments.
● approach problem-solving from a geography perspective by understanding the roles location
and architecture play.
● appreciate that the diversity of cultural backgrounds and personal experiences influence the
way people perceive places.
● appreciate the places and landscapes encountered in everyday life.
● initiate and join conversations about the above-mentioned issues.

ASSESSMENT
Weekly Quizzes (10%)
This component of assessment provides a frame of practice that supports students’ regular reading of
course materials and acquisition of basic vocabulary about the geography of the UK and the US. The
course instructor may deliver a lecture, receive and answer questions before giving the quizzes, but you
are supposed to be able to answer the questions in the quizzes due to your studying the relevant
prescribed texts before coming to class.
Group Presentation (30%): General Geographical Profile and Curated Art Exhibition
This task asks your group to identify a place of interest (a city, an area of a city, a county, a town),
create a general geographical profile of the place, and curate an exhibition of cultural artifacts about
the place.
During the course, there are 03-04 GeoFest days. Based on the place that your group wants to explore,
your group presentation is scheduled on a specific GeoFest day. A detailed outline of the presentation
should be sent to your course instructor at least four days before the presentation.
The presentation, to last around 35 minutes, should include the following elements:
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● An introduction, which briefly states why and how you have become interested in the place
● A general geographical profile of the place, which addresses all the questions below (in the
order that you think would make the best flow and with a balance of elaborateness that fits into
about 20 minutes):
○ Where is the place located?
○ Describe its topography, weather and climate.
○ Describe the current situation of its population.
○ What are key historical events and stages in its development?
○ What are some distinctive cultural and economic activities of the place? How are these
activities related to its location and history?
○ What are some icons and symbols of the place? How are they related to its history?
● A curated multi-modal exhibition of cultural artifacts of the place, which could be from one of
these art areas: music, literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, cinema,
fashion, and culinary art.1
○ A curator is a person who selects and interprets works of art/cultural artifacts for an
exhibition.
○ Your exhibition should have a title appropriate to its contents and interesting to the
audience.
○ The curated artifacts should display a problem of the place, a prominent cultural
phenomenon of the place, or the variety of how local resources are made use of. As you
introduce your exhibition, explain its theme(s) and tell stories about the place with the
artifacts.
○ This task does not assume a clear distinction between high art and low art. Both
common objects and famous works of art are eligible.
○ Curated works can be by anonymous authors, different authors or the same author. If
you want to focus on one author, make sure that the author is an important figure of the
place.
○ Real-life objects would attract the audience; however, visual representations of the
artifacts (in any form) are totally fine. Select, interpret and arrange these visual
representations thoughtfully. If you curate musical pieces, pay attention to the quality of
the records and the technical features of the speakers you will use to bring the music to
the audience.
○ Examples: Songs about London that tell stories about multiculturalism, various artifacts
about how jazz has been developed and practiced in New Orleans, etc.
Your performance is graded individually. Make a detailed report of each member’s contributions if
you want your course instructor to see beyond what is observable in class.

Grading Criteria

1. General profile Thoughtful organization 1

Sufficient, well-balanced information 1

1 If you are interested in specific works and figures in other art areas or from a variety of art areas, contact your course
instructor for advice and approval.
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Relevant and interesting details 1

2. Exhibition Thoughtful organization 1

Sufficient, well-balanced information 1

Relevant and interesting details 1

3. Oral Presentation Intelligible, effective, and beautiful language 2

4. Collaboration Positive contribution to the group’s performance as a 1

whole

5. Attendance and Attendance, thoughtful questions, answers, and 1

Participation comments

Total 10

Final Exam (60%): Personal Reflection and Sitting Exam

Sitting Exam (40%)
The exam would last 45 minutes. It consists of short questions that test your knowledge of key facts
about the geography of the UK and the US as introduced in the course. Near the end of the course, you
will be given a sample test.
Personal Reflection (20%)
As you are staying in Viet Nam, does any place in the UK or the US appear “intimate” to you? A yes
answer would spark your audience’s curiosity, especially if you have not spent any considerable
amount of time in the country. Yes or no, the answer reflects perceptions of far and near. Geography is
inseparable from experience.
For this task, write an essay of 500 words or a photo essay of 10 photographs to describe how you
relate to a place that at times evokes a sense of intimacy. This place can be in any country in the world.
You can interpret the word “intimate”/“intimacy” in your own way. If you write a photo essay, please
include a short text (100 words) to introduce the essay, a title and a short explanation/description (01-
02 sentences) for each photo.
Your essay should address at least two of the following points:
● How you move and pause in the place
● How you hear, smell, and feel in the place
● How things in the place are organized to make possible your activities
● How the place reflects the culture of communities that you are identified with
To have some inspiration for your writing, you may want to read extracts from Yi-Fu Tuan’s ([1977],
2001) Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, University of Minnesota Press. Please note
that Tuan’s writing is meant to provoke thought rather than providing standard definitions.
● Distinction between space and place
● Experiential perspective

Grading Criteria
● Thoughtful organization (1)

● Sufficient, well-balanced information (3.5)
● Relevant and interesting details (3.5)
● Beautiful and effective presentation (2)
Alternative assignment for Personal Reflection: will be informed later.
SCHEDULE
Week Contents
Introduction to Geography, the UK, and the
Course
1 ● The UK and the US in world maps
● Cartography as a cultural practice:
How maps are made and
representation problems
● Physical and human geography
○ Topography and climate
○ Population, languages, and
other cultural practices
● Brief information about UK physical
and human geography
● Cultural icons and symbols as
defining geographical features
● UK cultural icons and symbols
● Course introduction
Review
UK Cultural Icons and Symbols: Meanings
and History
● Union Jack, British national anthem,
British monarch, royal coat of arms
● Britannia, John Bull
● Bulldog, robin
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Materials
Main Texts
Unit 2 and Unit 1, General Geography of the
UK & US, Division of Country Studies
Why all world maps are wrong (VOX Video)
The United Kingdom's geographic challenge
(STRATFOR video)
Why is the UK's population growing so fast?
- Number Hub (Ep 15) - Head Squeeze
Other Resources
TWL #3: Paper Towns- Fake Places Made to
Catch Copyright Thieves (Wendover
Productions Video)
This map of Earth is the most accurate ever
produced, and it looks completely different
Vietnam's Geographic Challenge
Why do Brits talk about the weather so
much?
Where did English come from? - Claire
Bowern (recommended)
[Language] Differences in English words
(UK, US, AU, MY)
30 Dialects of the English language in the
UK
Languages of the British Isles
(recommended)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Main Texts
Unit 1, General Geography of the UK & US,
Division of Country Studies
Other Resources
History of the Union Jack (CGP Grey)
British Anthem, God Save the Queen (with
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● Bowler hat lyrics)

● Tea The Origin of “Soccer”
● Football (soccer) 400 Years of Hats in 3 Minutes | Style Guide
| GQ
Review || Quiz 1 Main Texts
England Unit 3, General Geography of the UK & US,
● Physical geography Division of Country Studies
● Cultural icons and symbols: River
Thames, Big Ben, Westminster Other Resources
Abbey, Houses of Parliament, 100 best London songs
bobbies, double-decker buses, rose, 12 Songs You Need To Listen To When In
oak, cricket London
● Lake District, Stonehenge Top ten songs about London
● London Top 7 Revolutionary Cultural Movements
that Started in London

4 Review Main Texts

Scotland Unit 4, General Geography of the UK & US,
● Topography, weather and climate Division of Country Studies
● Population and languages
● Major cities: Glasgow, Edinburgh Other Resources
● Scottish identity vs. British identity British (Scottish) Accents: Glasgow/
● Scottish cultural icons, symbols and Glaswegian
practices:
○ Flowers of Scotland: The
thistle and the bluebell
○ Marriage and family: Clans
in rural areas
○ Food and drink: Haggis and
whiskey
○ Recreation: Highland games
○ Holidays and celebrations:
New Year’s Eve
(Hogmanay)
5 Review || Quiz 2 Main Texts
Wales Unit 5 and Unit 6, General Geography of the
● Topography, weather and climate UK & US, Division of Country Studies
● Population and languages
● Major cities: Swansea, Newport, Other Resources
Cardiff Why Ireland split into the Republic of
● Welsh identity vs. British identity Ireland & Northern Ireland
● Welsh cultural icons, symbols and
practices: Accents of the British Isles: Northern Irish
● The daffodil and the leek Giant's Causeway | National Geographic
● Eisteddfod 'My love isn't second-class': the struggle for

Northern Ireland
● Topography, weather and climate
● Population and languages
● Belfast
● The Giant’s Causeway
● Northern Irish identity vs. British
identity
6 Cities: British Cities and Cities Around the
World
● Urban architecture: Tradition vs.
modernity
● Urban sprawl
● Livable cities, smart cities, happy
cities
7 GeoFest: Group Presentations
GeoFest: Group Presentations
8 Review
9 US National Icons and Symbols: Meanings
and History
● National flag, national anthem
& the Pledge of Allegiance
● National coat of arms
● National mottos
● Goddess of Liberty, Columbia,
Uncle Sam
● Liberty Bell
10 Review
US Geography: An Overview
● Topography, weather and climate
● Population, ethnic groups
● Languages
● National celebrations
● Regional identities
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marriage equality in Northern Ireland
Belfast and Causeway coast named world’s
best region for tourism
Main Texts
Buildings That Shaped Britain - Modernism -
Simon Thurley
Why Build Higher? (Real Engineering
Video)
Why is everyone leaving the city? (US)
World’s Most Livable Cities
Smart City
The happy city experiment | Charles
Montgomery | TEDxVancouver
Other Resources
Hà Nội vào top 4 thành phố hạnh phúc
Main Texts
Unit 8, General Geography of the UK & US,
Division of Country Studies
Other Resources
Main Texts
Unit 9, General Geography of the UK & US,
Division of Country Studies
Other Resources
Why America still uses Fahrenheit (VOX
Video)
Every State in the US (Wendover
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Productions Video)
Weird Borders: State Borders of the United
States of America (VanDeGraph Video)
Best and Worst States to Raise your Family
(Business Insider Video)
11 Review || Quiz 3 Main Texts
Northeast US Unit 10, General Geography of the UK &
● The Atlantic Coast and the Gulf US, Division of Country Studies
Coast New York City vs London - City
● The Appalachian Mountains Comparison
Megalopolis
Other Resources
Extracts from “National Treasures”
Review Main Texts
Central US Unit 11, General Geography of the UK &
● Central Lowlands US, Division of Country Studies
● Great Plains
● The Midwest Other Resources
Extracts from “Gone with the Wind”
13 Review || Quiz 4 Main Texts
Western US Unit 12 and Unit 13, General Geography of
● The Rocky Mountains the UK & US, Division of Country Studies
● The Intermontane Region
● The Pacific Mountain System Other Resources
● Alaska & Hawaii

14 GeoFest: Group Presentations

15 GeoFest: Group Presentations

Review
Submission of Personal Reflection Essay

GENERAL CLASS POLICIES

Discussion: Contribute to discussion each class and participate in all small group activities.
Readings: Complete readings by the day assigned. Bring the textbook to class.
Class Time: Being significantly tardy or leaving early will result in you being marked absent.
Absences: Keep your course instructor informed about your absence if possible. You are allowed 03
unexcused absences, and this doesn’t mean that you should use up all these opportunities and then try to
make excuses for other absences. Absences may be excused only for very limited reasons.
Late/Missed Assignments: The schedule of the quizzes and group presentations is fixed. If your missing one
or some of them affects your final grade severely, please discuss the problem with your course instructor. If
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the teacher does not manage to propose any alternative measure of assessment or deadline, please accept the
fact that your grade does not meet your expectation.
Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty is not tolerated. Penalties are an F on the assignment and an F in
the course.
Always communicate with your instructor first if you encounter any problem with the course. If you run into
problems that call for a third party, contact the course coordinator.