GEOGRAPHY 404-01
GEOGRAPHY
OF THE U.S. & CANADA
Fall, 2015
Monday, Wednesday, 4:00-5:15; G11 Chichester
Lecturer: Dr. David S. Hardin
Office: 205D
Chichester; 395-2581; hardinds@longwood.edu
Hours: Monday,
Wednesday 2:00-4:00 pm or by appointment
Course Description
Regional analysis of the United States and Canada, emphasizing the
physical, cultural, and economic factors affecting the utilization of the
several regions. Prerequisite: GEOG 201 or permission of instructor. 3 lecture
periods. 3 credits.
My Expectations
This course approaches the United States and Canada from a geographic
perspective. Given my background in historical geography, this course may end
up sounding like a history course, but you should always remember that I expect
you to know not only the "who," "what," "when,"
and "why," but also the "where." That means being
able to locate the major patterns of physical, climatic, cultural, and economic
processes on maps of each of the regions we will investigate. As a result, maps
will account for a large percentage of exam questions. I expect you to listen
during lectures, take comprehensive notes, review those notes each day and as
the semester progresses, obtain and read the supplemental materials, and read
the textbook assignments. You will be given a great deal of information. I
expect you not only to master it as it comes along but also to retain what you
have learned. If you heed my expectations and the other advice you will receive
(see "How to Survive a Hardin Course"
and "Classroom Etiquette"), you not
only should do well in this course but enjoy it too.
Suggested Materials
·
a three-ring binder is suggested for holding notes and
supplemental materials
·
color pencils or markers for the creation of maps and diagrams
·
http://www.longwood.edu/staff/hardinds/Courses/Anglo/index.html
for other course resources
Grading
|
Evaluation |
Number of Points |
Proportion of Grade |
|
Three class exams |
100 points total
(100; 300)
|
20%
each; 60% of total
Total: up to 500 points
|
·
Final grades are not curved, will be based on the total points you
accrue, and scored by the following percentage distribution: ≥ 94% = A;
90-93.99% = A-; 87-89.99% = B+; 84-86.99% = B; 80-83.99% = B-; 77-79.99% = C+;
74-76.99% = C; 70-73.99% = C-; 67-69.99% = D+; 64-66.99% = D; 60-63.99% = D-;
< 60% = F.
·
At the end of the term, if you decide to argue for raising an
average that is on the cusp between two letter grades or portions of letter
grades, you must make a compelling case based on (1) stellar
attendance,(2) completion of all assignments, and (3) showing
continued improvement in all exam scores - including the Final Exam.
Obviously, rounding up should be considered a rare event.
·
There are no make-up exams unless
prior permission or some compelling excuse is given (i.e. illness,
family emergency) and certified through notification of the Dean of Students.
YOU MUST NOTIFY ME BEFOREHAND TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A MAKE-UP EXAM. Arrangements
to make up missed assignments are the responsibility of the student and
must be made no later than one week after the scheduled assignment
termination date.
·
If you have or even suspect you have any special needs in
regard to test-taking, make arrangements with me and Disability Resources before the first exam.
Exams
Exams are made up of a mix of multiple choice, true/false,
matching, definitions, map, and essay questions. The total number of questions
will depend on what was covered in class and will total 100 points if all
subjects are covered. The exams are closed notes and text. You will be
allowed to bring with you into the exam handwritten notes on both sides
of one 3x5 card. There will be study guides posted sometime before each exam.
Each exam will have a 75 minute time limit.
Research Paper
A research paper of 8-10 pages will be worth 100 points toward
your final grade and will consist of a descriptive analysis of a geographical
problem of your choice in Anglo-America. A paper topic proposal of one
paragraph is due at the beginning of class on September 14. A status update including a rough outline and an
example of a map you’ll use is due at the beginning of class on October 5. Failure to submit the proposal
or the status report will incur a maximum five point penalty. The completed
project is due at the beginning
of class on December 2. Papers
received after class on December 2 will incur a half-letter-grade penalty; each
subsequent day late will incur a whole-letter-grade penalty per day. NO LATE
PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER DECEMBER 8!
Attendance
Because of federal regulations, we must have a means of determining if and when
students stop attending classes. Therefore, attendance will be taken via a sign
up sheet beginning after the add period. It is your responsibility to
initial the roll when it is handed out. I reserve the right to (1)
administer pop quizzes/exercises if attendance drops below fifty percent on any
given day, (2) dock one point for each absence (definite), (3) lower your final
grade by half a letter grade for missing 1½ weeks worth of classes or more (≥5
classes; roughly 10%), or (4) lower your grade a whole letter grade or fail you
outright if you miss three weeks worth of classes or more (≥9 classes;
roughly 25%). It is your responsibility to keep me informed of any events that
warrant an excused absence (short-term illness, sports teams, academic
teams, field trips, job interviews, court appearances, GRE/MCAT, etc.). This
must be done as soon as you get back. Most social events do not qualify for
being excused, including leaving early to start breaks. If you have a family emergency
or an extended illness (covering more than two classes), your first move should
be to contact the Dean of Students, who then will notify all of your professors
and ask that we accommodate your needs. Appeals at the end of the semester
about absences will fall on deaf ears unless you have compelling and
documentable evidence (do hang on to your paperwork!) and even then you may
not obtain a reversal. If you are told to leave my class, your attendance
for that day will be voided.
Technology Policy
You may record lectures; in fact,
I strongly encourage it. Using personal communication devices such as iPhones,
iPods, Blackberries, etc. is strictly prohibited. If you are found using
one while in my class, you will be told to leave. Recent studies have shown
that the use of computers for note-taking actually leads to lower performance
on exams. Also, the temptation to multitask, surf, and play games simply is too
great. Therefore, computers will not be allowed in this class unless that is
part of an arrangement you have made with Disability Resources.
Honor Code
All students are expected to abide by the Honor Code
at all times. Using copies of old exams, unauthorized back-filling or
initialing for someone else on the attendance roll, and use of computer-printed
3x5 cards during exams are all violations of the Honor Code. All submitted
work must be pledged.
CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Week # |
Dates |
Topics |
|
1 |
Aug. 24, 26 |
Introduction/Atlantic Periphery |
|
2 |
Aug. 31 Sept.
2 |
Drop/Add Period ends 5:00 pm Quebec/Megalopolis |
|
3 |
Sept.
7 Sept. 9 |
LABOR
DAY - NO CLASS Megalopolis |
|
4 |
Sept.
14, 16 |
Manufacturing
Core |
|
5 |
Sept.
21 |
EXAM
1 |
|
6 |
Sept. 28, 30 |
Inland South |
|
7 |
Oct.
5, 7 |
Inland
South |
|
8 |
Oct. 12 Oct. 14 Oct. 14 |
FALL BREAK – NO CLASS EXAM 2 Withdrawal with “W” deadline 5:00 pm |
|
9 |
Oct. 19, 21 |
Agricultural Core |
|
10 |
Oct. 26, 28 |
Great Plains |
|
11 |
Nov. 2, 6 |
MexAmerica |
|
12 |
Nov. 9, 11 |
Rocky Mountains/Intermontane West |
|
13 |
Nov.
16 |
EXAM 3 |
|
14 |
Nov. 23* |
SEDAAG |
|
15 |
Nov. 30, Dec. 2 Dec. 2 |
Pacific Northwest/Far North/Hawaii RESEARCH PAPER DUE |
|
|
Fri.
Dec. 11 |
FINAL EXAM |
THIS
SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS EVENTS AND INTEREST
WARRANT, INCLUDING THE RESCHEDULING OF CLASSES, EXTRA
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS, AND POP QUIZZES
Created August
21, 2015
A Quick
Synopsis of What GEOG 404 Entails
1.
Your
grades will be based on what I expect you to learn and I won’t spring anything
extraneous on you during the semester.
2.
My
multi-page syllabus is your roadmap to this course and clearly lays out my
expectations and your responsibilities. The index page on my website gives you
access to that and much more.
3.
My
exams aren’t easy, but they cover only the material from lectures and if a
question is asked about something I didn’t cover or is poorly written, I’ll
give extra credit for getting it right.
4.
I’ll
ask your opinions – and sometimes I’ll go a bit over-the-top to get you to
speak up – and test your knowledge on a daily basis.
5.
I
will give you feedback throughout the course by way of comments on paper
proposals and status reports, quick turn-around and analysis of exams, comments
on written portions of exams, and rapid posting of grades to Blackboard.
6.
I
hope to teach you that geography helps you make sense of a very complex world;
it is part of everything and everything can be looked at from a geographical
perspective.
7.
I
hope I will convey my love of geography to you and that you will have a greater
interest in it too. I’ve traveled extensive in all but a few corners of the
Lower 48 States and southern Canada so I have first-hand experience with what
I’ll be talking about. I have yet to get to Hawaii, Alaska, and the Canadian
North, but I know a great deal about those areas, too.
8.
I
hold 25% more office hours than are required and my office door is always open
to you. If you don’t make use of my availability in person, I provide you with
all of the PowerPoint lectures, color versions of the base maps I use, study
guides for all exams, and I’ll allow you to use the ever-popular hand-written
3x5 card during exams. I usually answer emails promptly. I will create a
Facebook page for this course, so join up!
9.
I
expect you to learn a great deal in this course and I’ll give you the tools
necessary to tackle that task by supplementing exams with other opportunities
for you to excel, including a paper in which I’ll encourage you to be creative
and giving five extra credit points for perfect attendance. I’ll also fuss and
cajole, but it’s only because I care!
10.
All
the lectures hopefully are organized in a logical manner, including slides
labeled with outline headings and color-coding to refer back to reference maps.
This particular course is still in the construction phase, so there may be
exceptions to the above.
Sincerely,
Dr. Hardin
After decades of
teaching experience, I have devised a list of Dos and Don'ts of behavior in the
classroom . . .
Classroom
Etiquette
BEFORE
YOU EVEN COME TO CLASS . . .
DO NOT CALL ME "MR." HARDIN
(This is not high school. I have a Ph.D. and I am a tenured Associate
Professor with 28 years of teaching experience, 19½ of those at Longwood; showing
minimal respect means addressing me as "Doctor" or
"Professor" Hardin)
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS GET 15 MINUTES
(Contrary to what you may have been told, you should wait 15 minutes before
leaving if I have not arrived for class. Why not use that time to review your
notes?)
DECIDE BEFOREHAND THAT YOU’RE HERE TO LEARN SOMETHING
(Nothing is more
galling and flat-out ridiculous than reading comments at the end of the
semester like, “I didn’t learn anything in this class.” That reflects more on the student than it
does on me. If you don’t come in here with at least some intellectual curiosity
and you’re not here to learn about the world, you’re not going to have much
fun. There’s probably still time to switch to some other course)
READ THE SYLLABUS
(The syllabus now equals five pages of single-spaced 10 point text with
important information relative to your success in this class; it is your
responsibility to know what it contains)
RELIEVE YOURSELF BEFORE CLASS
(Barring real emergencies, you should not be getting up in the middle of
class for a potty break; this is not high school where you can afford to miss a
lecture and pick it up again a week later)
TURN YOUR @#$%! CELL PHONE RINGER OFF
(I will keep mine on in case there is an emergency announcement from
Longwood)
N NO NOs . . .
ASSUMING THAT PERFUME/COLOGNE IS A
SUBSTITUTE FOR BATHING
(If I can smell you, you've got WAY too much on)
DOING HOMEWORK FOR ANOTHER CLASS
DURING THE LECTURES
(The word is spelled I-N-S-U-L-T-I-N-G)
WORKING ON YOUR SOCIAL CALENDAR DURING
LECTURES
(All play and no work makes Jack/Jill a dullard)
ASKING, "DO WE NEED TO KNOW THIS
FOR THE EXAM?"
(Sorry, you have to know everything!)
ACTING LIKE YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE BETTER
TO BE
(Simply put, this is the best place to be for the next 50-75
minutes)
PICKING NOSES, SCABS, OR ACNE AND
CHEWING FINGERS
(Aside from being gross, they're usually done with the writing hand)
HAIR TWIRLING
(Fix your hair before coming to class; flipping and twirling are
extremely distracting and will hamper your note-taking efforts. If this is
compulsive behavior, consider counseling)
PLAYING WITH
PIERCINGS (TONGUE, NAVEL, ETC.)
(See above)
MAKING ANNOYING NOISES DURING LECTURES
(I expect to be the only annoying noise you'll hear in this class)
TALKING TO/PLAYING WITH OTHERS DURING
THE LECTURES
(These disturb those around you and are so 7th grade)
BLOWING BUBBLES, SNAPPING, OR
OTHERWISE PLAYING WITH GUM
(Your parents should have whacked you on the back of your head for doing
this when you were about nine)
Note: this
professor and/or Longwood University do not condone corporal punishment for
children, but you get the idea
EATING IN CLASS
(If you need to grab a snack before coming to class, eat it on the way,
not in class)
YAWNING WITH AN OPEN MOUTH
(I have no desire to review your dental history - or lack thereof)
WATCHING THE CLOCK
(A watched pot never boils)
SLEEPING IN CLASS
(How anyone can sleep through one of my performances is beyond me)
T_E_X_T_I_N_G
(This is nothing more than the modern equivalent of note passing and will
result in immediate banishment from my class. If you cannot survive 50-75
minutes without chit-chatting, you might want to look into an avocation other
than college student. Turn your WiFi off if you cannot resist temptation)
USING COMPUTERS OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES
(Unless you have
permission)
ASKING ME TO CALCULATE YOUR CURRENT SCORE SO YOU KNOW WHAT SCORE YOU'LL NEED TO GET ON THE FINAL EXAM TO ACHIEVE A CERTAIN FINAL GRADE
((1) you should already know how to do that kind
of math; (2) I don't do such calculations for you; and (3) WHY NOT TRY FOR
100%?!?)
APPEALING A GRADING DECISION BY SENDING NASTY EMAILS
(This is incredibly poor tactics; you catch more flies with honey than
vinegar)
ASKING TO HAVE YOUR GRADE BUMPED UP TO THE NEXT FRACTION OF A WHOLE GRADE (I.E. “ROUNDING UP”)
(I realize that the new +/- system can affect your GPA; I sympathize
because we didn’t have that at Mary Washington and I missed Summa Cum Laude by
one-hundredth of a point as a result. But I won’t haggle over fractions of
points with over one hundred students. Your letter grade will be calculated
within Blackboard. You have numerous opportunities to supplement your grade in
my classes; I suggest taking every opportunity)
ASIDE FROM THE FACT
THAT MOST OF THEM SHOULDN'T BE DONE IN POLITE SOCIETY ANYWAY, ALL OF THE ABOVE
ARE DISTRACTING TO ME AND OTHERS. DEPENDING ON MY MOOD, DOING ANY OF THE ABOVE
MAY DRAW MY WRATH, RANCOR, IRE, ETC.
J IT IS OK TO . . .
USE YOUR INTELLECT
(Process what you're hearing and think about it)
TAPE RECORD LECTURES
(Why no one does this is a mystery to me)
CHALLENGE MY FACTS OR OPINIONS
(While I have a right to academic freedom, that doesn't mean you can't
challenge me; what you need to do is be polite and make a logical and reasoned
response. Remember: we all have a right
to our own opinions, not our own facts)
QUESTION WHAT YOU ARE BEING TOLD
(Don't let anyone spoon-feed you the "truth")
INTERRUPT TO ASK A PERTINENT QUESTION
(Stay on track so you don't de-rail my train of thought, though)
INTERRUPT TO MAKE AN INTERESTING COMMENT
(If you have experienced something that's relevant to the topic,
please share it with all of us)
TELL ME WHAT YOU LIKE OR DISLIKE ABOUT THE COURSE
(I take your opinion seriously; just about all of the improvements to this
course have come from written student evaluations and other comments - and a
pat on the back once in a while helps too!)
QUIETLY DRINK IN CLASS
(Non-alcoholic beverages only, please, and no dregs slurping)
GET TO KNOW ME
(I've led a fairly interesting life and I don't bite - at least not so
that it breaks the skin - so don't be shy about talking to me; do keep in mind
that students do this so infrequently that I'll probably talk your ear off)
REMEMBER: THIS
CLASS IS NOT SO LARGE THAT YOU CAN BECOME INVISIBLE, SO WATCH YOUR BODY
LANGUAGE. SCOWLING, SLOUCHING, SLEEPING, YAWNING, OR OTHER OVERT EXPRESSIONS OF
BOREDOM WILL DRAW MY ATTENTION; DON'T BE SURPRISED IF I STOP AND ASK WHAT THE
PROBLEM IS!
Updated August 21, 2015
© David S. Hardin
HOW TO SURVIVE A HARDIN COURSE
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF
(Your
performance in this class depends on how much time,
effort, and energy you are willing to devote to it)
PAY ATTENTION AT ALL TIMES
(Details can be
missed when you snooze)
ATTEND THE LECTURES
(Do I really
need to point this out?)
SWEAT THE DETAILS
(Examples and
some anecdotes probably will be on
exams)
IF IT'S ON THE BOARD, IT'D BETTER
BE IN YOUR NOTES
(If I take the
time and trouble to write something on the
board,
you'd better believe you'll see it again)
IF IT'S ON A POWERPOINT SLIDE, IT'D
BETTER BE IN YOUR
NOTES
(Visual
references and the basic outline of each lecture are in the PowerPoint slides)
ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND
SOMETHING
(There are no
stupid questions, just non-pertinent
ones)
REVIEW THE ASSIGNED CHAPTERS
BEFORE THE LECTURES
(At least look
at the maps and pictures; this helps to ensure
that lecture materials are not
completely alien to you)
REVIEW YOUR NOTES AFTER EACH
LECTURE
(This ensures
that everything you have written down makes sense to you and saves time
and frustration while reviewing for tests)
DO NOT ASSUME THAT A TOPIC IS NOT
IMPORTANT BECAUSE I AM USING
HUMOR TO DISCUSS IT
(It is my
personal style to inject humor whenever I can; if
it is important, I’ll probably repeat it in a more serious tone)
DO NOT THROW AWAY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
(While each section
of this course is designed to teach you discreet information about various
topics, the course is organized so that each new section compliments and builds
upon the previous ones; do not be surprised if I expect you to apply the
information you already have been exposed to when new subject matter arises.
Also, if you’re planning on a teaching career, believe me when I say you’ll
rely on your course notes and textbooks in that first critical year)
© David S. Hardin