Geography (GEG)

The Department of Geography helps students develop a broad, integrated understanding of the earth—the home of humanity. Geography is a vital discipline that helps us make sense of a world undergoing globalization, fragmentation, and massive environmental change. Believing that social and environmental problems should not be viewed in isolation from each other, geography bridges the social sciences and natural sciences to provide a foundation for thinking critically and ethically about the use of land, air, water, and other resources, and the creation of healthy, just and sustainable communities. Geographers, like other social scientists, study human issues such as poverty, development, and urbanization. Geographers are also natural scientists, studying physical phenomenon at the earth’s surface: weather, climate, soils, landforms, hydrology, and biomes. What distinguishes geography from other disciplines is the way in which geographers have a spatial perspective, solving problems by looking at patterns in the landscape, and exploring the processes that created them, and how they change over time. Geographers study the natural and social links and interdependencies between places and people. Geographers adopt a regional perspective, studying specific places and regions and the ways that physical and cultural elements blend together to lend them their unique character. Geographers adopt a human-environment perspective, exploring how different human cultures have perceived their environment, responded to its potential hazards and resources, and transformed the earth.

Because getting out of the classroom is vital to a geographical understanding, many geography classes offer field trips or experiences with diverse cultures. The Geography Department promotes fieldwork, internships, travel courses, and study abroad. With planning, many courses taken abroad can count toward the Geography major. Geography students also have opportunities to collaborate with faculty on research projects that benefit communities.

Geography graduates have many vocational opportunities in fields such as cartography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and natural resource management. A Geography degree is also a strong background for a number of professional careers, including architecture, community development, environmental management, foreign service, landscape architecture, law, urban and regional planning, and locational analysis for business.

Geography Major:

Ten courses distributed as follows:

1. Three course geography core: GEG-101, GEG-102, and GEG-105.*
2. One regional method course: GEG-232, GEG-233, GEG-234, or GEG-235.
3. Two courses in geographic research methods: GEG-340 and GEG-342.
4. Three additional geography courses.
5. One course of independent study, internship, or senior seminar.

*GEG-105 may be substituted by taking BIO-101, GEO-111 and GEO-246.

Geography Major with Honors:

This optional major is designed for students who prefer a significantly greater research and professional presentation component to their major. Participation is by application to the chair of the department in the fall semester of the junior year. In addition to all the requirements for the regular major, candidates must have and maintain at least a 3.5 GPA in the major and a 3.25 GPA overall. Honors majors write a thesis under the direction of a member of the department and defend that thesis before the department. Majors also will be encouraged to present their thesis as a formal presentation at a professional meeting in the senior year. Honors majors enroll in GEG-399 during the senior year to work on the thesis.

Geography Minor:

The minor consists of four geography courses, no more than two from Level I and not counting independent studies.

Courses

101 Introduction to Human Geography (1 course) Like a work of art, the earth’s surface is a beautiful, intricate, and often bewildering mosaic of places and landscapes. These places and landscapes are arranged and organized according to specific cultural, economic, social, and political processes. Human geography studies those processes in order to understand the resultant patterns they create and ways of life they support. This course is a topical survey of human geography introducing cultural, economic, population, political, and urban geography. SOSCI, Fall and Spring semesters.

102 World Regional Geography (1 course) A comparative study of the physical and cultural characteristics of selected world regions including Latin America, South and East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. NWEST, Fall and Spring semesters.

105 Introduction to Physical Geography (1 course) This course focuses on understanding “the way things work” in the biophysical world, and is centered on interactions between the water cycle, atmosphere, biosphere, and the earth’s surface. Students will come to appreciate the complexity and interconnectedness of the earth system as well as the many ways humans interact with it. We investigate earth’s energy budget; the cycles of air, carbon, water, and nutrients; feedbacks among oceans, atmosphere, ice, and land; climate change; and the role living creatures play in maintaining planet earth. Students will also learn how physical forces such as wind, glaciers, rivers, and volcanic activity have sculpted the landscapes we inhabit and continue to modify our environment today. NASP, Fall and Spring semesters.

108 Weather and Climate (1 course) An introduction to the science of the atmosphere, exploring the processes that produce weather events and climate patterns. Students begin by studying earth-sun geometry, the earth’s energy balance, and global circulation patterns for wind and water. We then study weather events, such as, precipitation, mid-latitude cyclones, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Students are introduced to the basic principles of weather forecasting and climate modeling. The course concludes by examining human interactions with the atmosphere, including vulnerability to natural hazards, air pollution, and climate change. NASP, Fall semester.

232 The American South (1 course) A study of the past and present physical and cultural landscapes of the South as a distinctive American region. Prerequisite: at least sophomore standing. SOSCI, Fall semester.

233 Central America/Caribbean (1 course) This course focuses on the historical and contemporary geographic landscapes of the Central America/Caribbean region. Past and present physical and cultural environments will be examined, including pre-Columbian cultures, the Spanish conquest, colonialism and neo-colonialism, and the impact of commercial farming, logging, and eco-tourism. Prerequisite: At least sophomore standing. NWEST, Spring semester, odd years.

234 The American West (1 course) Aridity may be the fundamental characteristic that distinguishes the American West from other parts of the country. Indeed, the “Great American Desert” extended from Nebraska to Nevada according to early travelers and settlers. In this course we will examine, through written work and film, the way people have managed this arid landscape and how they have continuously reshaped the American West according to their changing perceptions. SOSCI, WRITD, Offered occasionally.

235 Sub-Saharan Africa (1 course) This is a regional course providing an introduction to the physical and human geography of the region south of the Sahara. The influence of the African traditional society, the Islamic diffusion, and the European colonial period, commonly called the “triple heritage,” will be examined. NWEST, Fall semester.

236 Urban Geography (1 course) This course explores the setting in which most of the U.S. population and about half of the world’s people live—the urban setting. Throughout history, urban areas have been the centers of economic, political, and cultural life. Further, many of the critical issues in our society—social polarization, economic restructuring, environmental degradation, traffic congestion, and poverty—are concentrated in America’s urban areas. This course examines the forces that give rise to cities, paying particular attention to the geographic location and changing internal spatial arrangement of cities. Prerequisite: GEG-101 recommended. SOSCI, Spring semester.

243 Water Resources (1 course) This course examines physical as well as cultural elements of water resource management. After an introduction to the principles of surface and groundwater hydrology, the emphasis turns to the socio-economic aspects of water resource development, including the role of federal, state, and local governments, water rights, and water law. Local, national and international water resource problems are examined from ecological, economic, and social perspectives. Prerequisite: GEG-105 or GEO-111 recommended. Spring semester.

244, 344 Special Topics in Geography (1 course, 1 course) Lecture and discussion on advanced topics in geography, including regional, planning, or environmental themes. The course may involve field work. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

GEO-246 Geomorphology (1 course) The study of the earth’s surface and the processes that shape it. Processes discussed include those associated with weathering, streams, glaciers, ground ice, ground water, wind, oceans, tectonism, and volcanism. The laboratory is research oriented and consists of learning basic tools (maps and photos) and applying these to several field research problems. Prerequisite: GEO-111 or permission of instructor. Fall semester.

336 Urban and Regional Analysis (1 course) This course offers an in-depth exploration of the dynamics of urban and regional change through a combination of readings and geographical analysis. The goal is to better understand the forces shaping the growth and change of towns, cities, and regions, so that students become better informed citizens and are prepared for careers or professional training in urban and regional planning or public policy. The course is organized around three key components of healthy communities and regions: economic, social, and ecological sustainability. Prerequisites: GEG-236 and GEG-340, or permission of instructor. Fall semester, even years.

340 Geographic Information Systems (1 course) Geographic information systems allow users to overlay multiple map layers, link them to databases and satellite images, and perform analysis. This course examines the theory and methods of geographic information systems and science (GIS). Students will be introduced to geographic data models; data collection, management and manipulation within a GIS; digital spatial analysis; modeling geographic features and processes; and issues of representation, scale, uncertainty and data standards. Students will use GIS software to solve problems encountered in land use planning, environmental health, business and/or resource management. Fall semester annually and Spring semester, even years.

342 Quantitative Methods (1 course) An introduction to quantitative techniques employed in geographic investigations. Emphasis is placed on how certain statistical and quantitative analyses are used in a problem-solving context. Prerequisite: Juniors and Seniors only. WRITD, Fall semester.

343 Geographic Information Systems II (1 course) The purpose of this course is the application of GIS to a variety of geographic and environmental topics. More specifically, the goal is to build on the fundamentals introduced in GEG-340, by focusing on GIS problem solving and dealing with such topics as hydrology, demographics, land use, and land cover change. Each student will be required to execute a research project. Prerequisite: GEG-340. Offered occasionally.

268, 368 Career Exploration, Internship (Course value to be determined) Off-campus employment experience in geography position related to the student’s interest. Prerequisite: one other geography course. Fall, Spring semesters and January Interim.

291, 391 Independent Study (.5 to 1 course) Intensive study in any of several topical or regional areas selected by the student after consultation with the advisor. May involve field study away from the campus. Prerequisites: Two other geography courses and submission of study proposal to advisor. Fall and Spring semesters and January Interim.

399 Geography Seminar (1 course) This course examines a variety of research methods in preparation for the Geography Honors thesis. Prerequisite: senior Geography Honors major.