Seminar in Geography

490 - Seminar in Geography (3)
Prerequisite: Senior majors only. An intensive study of one of the subfields of geography, with emphasis on critical reading of the literature, group discussion, and the preparation of a major research paper (This course counts toward the Writing Intensive and Speaking Intensive Across-the-Curriculum requirements).

In Fall 2008, the following three seminars will be offered:

For students interested in Globalization:

GEOG 490N: Globalization
Instructor: Farhang Rouhani

Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30 – 4:45pm

This seminar delves into the geographic contradictions of globalization, with a special focus on the marginalized people and regions of the Global South. Through critical reading and discussion of its economic, geopolitical, cultural, and ecological dimensions, we will examine both how globalization is radically restructuring people’s lives and how people are reshaping and transforming globalization from below through labor, fair trade, and justice-based movements. As a seminar, the course will require students to actively participate in the production of knowledge and learning through leading and participating in class discussions, writing, and in the second half of class selecting readings for discussion.

For students interested in community, development, and culture:

GEOG 490A: Geographies of Tourism
Instructor: Stephen Hanna

Mondays 6:00 – 8:45pm

This seminar begins with an in-depth exploration of geographic concepts central to any understanding of tourism – place, cultural landscape, and local economic development.  Students will then develop themes or foci building from these bedrock concepts.  Such themes may include heritage tourism, the impacts tourism development can have on local economies and environments, and/or the roles tourism can play in how both residents and visitors identify places.  

For students interested in nature and society:

GEOG 4905: Alpine Environments
Instructor: Joseph Nicholas

Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00 – 12:15

This course explores aspects of mountain environments ranging from the origin of mountains to their demise through various processes of erosion. We will examine in some detail how mountains have their own peculiar climatology and biogeography. We will see how various erosional processes act to wear down the mountains, and how these processes, though discontinuous in space and time, are yet linked together to create a debris cascade that moves material continuously downslope. The course concludes with a look at natural hazards and the implications of climate change in mountain environments.