Geography: Global Environments & Cultures

Introduction to Geography from global, place-based, cultural, and socio-environmental perspectives.

Open to Degree and PACE students

This course offers an introduction to geography from global, regional, and place-based perspectives. We will examine socio-environmental transformations that arise from interactions between natural systems and human activities through five analytical modules: i) political ecologies of population and conservation, ii) agroecology, iii) geopolitics of arid lands, outer space, and undersea networks, iv) critical development geographies of sustainable development and energy transitions, and v) geographical perspectives on environmental justice and science and technology studies (STS). Within each module, we will review key concepts that are likely familiar to students at this stage of learning, but that we re-examine from critical and diverse perspectives. The course encourages students to think geographically about global processes and their many social, political and environmental impacts. Although this is a required course for geography majors and highly recommended for geography minors, students of all interests and majors are welcome!

Required Texts: Students will be required to read the entirety of Dr. Natalie Koch’s book, Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia (2022, Verso, ISBN: 978-1-83976-369-4). Students will also be required to read the materials listed for each lecture day (due on the date listed). These readings will be posted in our course Brightspace (https:brightspace.uvm.edu) and will be organized by module folders.

Attendance & Participation (15%): Ideally, students should join every class session. You can miss up to 4 classes for the entire semester without penalty to your grade. This should cover most issues with unforeseen weather, illness, family or work emergencies, etc. Thus, DO NOT EMAIL PROF. NELSON about any of these types of reasons for class absences. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain notes from another student. Office hours are for working through specific questions and not an occasion for a professor to repeat an entire missed lecture. Please respect the instructor and your classmates by giving them your full attention when they are presenting. Attendance will be taken using the free iClicker Cloud App (which can be accessed using a phone or laptop). We will establish expectations for how we will use the features of iClicker Cloud using the free iClicker Student Mobile App (https://www.iclicker.com/students/apps-and-remotes/apps) during the first week of class. We may revisit our iClicker protocols and norms as needed throughout the semester. Short Reading Quizzes (5%): Students will occasionally see short reading quizzes in Brightspace or given as a ‘pop’ quiz question in class using the iClicker App. They are meant to be virtual ‘pop’ quizzes to encourage keeping up with our readings. Altogether, quizzes are worth 5% of your course grade (your lowest quiz grade will be dropped). Exams (75%): There are two midterms (the first is worth 20% of your final grade and the second is worth 25% of your final grade) and a final exam (30%). Exams will be part multiple choice, part fill-in-the-blank and part short response. You are expected to be in class for all exams; missing an exam means failing the exam. If you cannot take an exam on the scheduled day, you should have your Dean of Students office contact Prof. Nelson regarding requests for accommodations. Students with registered learning accommodations through SAS may require coordination with the Exam Proctoring Center to schedule taking the Exams in the Center (please go ahead and book these dates and times now!). Reflective and Integrative Work (5%): There will be two opportunities to complete a more in-depth assignment throughout the course. Students should submit only one of them.