Geography is the study of where things and people are and how they came to be there. Geographers inquire about the interplay of human societies and physical environments. They address some of the world’s most urgent challenges: Who grows your food? How do globalization and environmental changes affect you? How do businesses make location decisions? How is identity linked to where people live and work? Can growth be managed? Are maps political? Geography’s contribution to these public issues and solutions is spatial analysis and accountability to place. Students of geography find careers in the education, business, government, and non-profit sectors, some through majoring in Geographic Information Science.
Geography
- This course introduces students to the key concepts and principles of human geography. The course is designed to show how world geographic conditions such as climate, landform, natural resources, soil, space and ecology have influenced human culture and civilization over time.
- This course introduces students to environmental studies with a focus on policy and management of resources. The course will examine issues pertaining to sustaining our resource base (biodiversity, food, soil, water, and energy) and how humans have impacted these key elements of the natural system. The goals of the course are to introduce students to the trends in human impact and management of the natural environment and provide a background to debates on sustainability and conservation. Prerequisite: GEO 100
- Population geography examines the dynamics of populations and their patterns of spatial settlement through time. Specifically, it will examine the main characteristics, changing size, and geographic distribution of populations, particularly in this age of intense globalization. The course covers fours main themes in global population: mobility and settlement; population and environment; population increase and decrease; and urbanization. Because of the broad scope of this subject matter, this course will provide a general overview of the scale of the diverse and complex patterns that operate between people and landscape. Prerequisite: GEO 100
