Geography 155-05: Cultural Geography
Tuesday-Thursday 4:20 – 6:00
Winter Quarter 2010
Instructor: Dr. Stephen Mulherin, 4059 King Hall, 323-343-2041
Office Hours: M-W 2:50 - 4:20, W 4:00-5:00
Email: smulher@calstatela.edu (This is usually the best way to contact me).
Web Site: http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/smulher/ All major handouts appear on this site.
Course Description and purpose:
This is a four unit course fulfilling Block D of the General Education requirements. Its purpose is to enable students to understand the sociocultural characteristics of contemporary societies and how and why they vary across space. Understanding the differences and similarities of various cultures around the world provides a primary focus of this class.
Reading Materials:
Required: ‑Rubenstein, James. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, 2008 9th edition.
Optional: ‑An atlas. It is important to have access to one in order to locate places for the map quiz. Because of the many boundary and place name changes that have occurred recently, you should obtain the most recent edition possible. Make sure the atlas is large enough to read and has an adequate index.
Evaluation: Student evaluation is based on the following criteria:
Grades are weighted as follows:
3 examinations 60 % (Jan 26th , Feb 18th , Mar16 th )
Map Quiz 10 % Jan 19th
Migration Exercise 15 % Feb 2nd
Neighborhood Write up 15% Feb 25th
100%
Final letter grades will be given with +’s and -‘s.
Exam and Quiz Format and Procedure:
Exams are a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions. The multiple choice and short answer questions are of varying degrees of difficulty ranging from ones requiring only memorization to ones requiring conceptualization. Approximately 50% of questions will come from lecture, and 50% will come from the text book. The entire book will be covered during the course of the quarter, and will be discussed in sequential order of the chapters. The first exam will cover chapters 1-4, the second exam will cover chapters 5-9, and the final exam will cover chapters 10-14.
The map quiz will be given at the beginning of the class period on Jan 19th and will last for 20 minutes. Late arrival will reduce your available time to answer questions. The quiz will involve ‘filling in the blanks’ for 25 items specified on a map handed out during the quiz. See attached sheet for the list of places that may appear on the quiz. The final exam is on March 16th from 4:30 am to 7:00.
Migration Exercise and Neighborhood Write Up:
Details on these assignments are available on the attached documents. Papers are due by the end of class on the designated day. Late projects will lose 25 points for every 24 hour period that they are late. The clock starts running at the end of the class period. A lab session will be held on Feb 11th in the Geography lab, KHD4046 for students that are interested in getting instructions using the Census Web site for the neighborhood write up project.
Additional Policies:
Cell Phone/Texting Policy: The activation of cell phones is highly disruptive in a classroom setting and is not acceptable. I expect all students to turn these devices off before entering the classroom. If your cell phone goes off during class I will take your name down. If your device goes off at any other time during the quarter I will deduct 5 points from your next exam each time it happens. If you phone goes off during an exam or quiz, either ringing or vibrate mode, you will be asked to turn in your exam and leave at that moment, even if it is your first violation. Texting is also prohibited. If I suspect that you are sending or receiving texts during class and your phone is out, you will have a 5 point penalty on your next exam each time it happens.
Laptop Computers: The use of laptop computers in the classroom is a privilege, not a right. Laptop computers are to be used only for taking notes during the lecture. If it comes to my attention that you are using your computer anything other than word processing, your privilege to use your computer during class will be revoked.
Extra Credit: There is no option for extra credit offered in this course. If you have insufficient opportunity to complete the regular course requirements with the time you have available, extra credit work will only further infringe on your ability to complete the basic requirements of the course.
Study Sheets: No study sheets are offered in this course before exams. Use your class notes as a guide for determining the important topics in the course.
Furlough Dates: March 1-4.
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Afghanistan |
Finland |
Luxembourg |
Somalia |
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Albania |
France |
Madagascar |
South Africa |
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Algeria |
Germany |
Malawi |
Spain |
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Angola |
Greece |
Malaysia |
Sri Lanka |
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Argentina |
Guatemala |
Mexico |
Sudan |
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Austria |
Honduras |
Morocco |
Swaziland |
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Bangladesh |
Hungary |
Mozambique |
Sweden |
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Belgium |
Iceland |
Myanmar (Burma) |
Switzerland |
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Bolivia |
India |
Namibia |
Syria |
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Botswana |
Indonesia |
Netherlands |
Taiwan |
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Brazil |
Iran |
Nicaragua |
Tanzania |
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Bulgaria |
Iraq |
Nigeria |
Thailand |
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Cambodia |
Ireland |
Norway |
Tunisia |
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Chad |
Israel |
Oman |
Turkey |
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Chile |
Italy |
Pakistan |
Uganda |
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China |
Japan |
Panama |
United Arab Emirates |
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United Kingdom |
Colombia |
Jordan |
Paraguay |
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Belize |
Latvia |
Lithuania |
Estonia |
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Haiti |
Congo |
Ukraine |
Slovakia |
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Benin |
Dominican Republic |
Jamaica |
Togo |
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Uruguay |
Costa Rica |
Kenya |
Peru |
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Venezuela |
Cuba |
North Korea |
Philippines |
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Denmark |
Czech Republic |
South Korea |
Poland |
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Ecuador |
Kuwait |
Portugal |
Yemen |
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Egypt |
Laos |
Qatar |
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El Salvador |
Lebanon |
Romania |
Dem Rep of Congo |
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Ethiopia |
Lesotho |
Russia |
Zambia |
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Vietnam |
Libya |
Saudi Arabia |
Zimbabwe |
G155 Class Exercise: Migration
This exercise involves documenting your family’s history buy tracking its residential location over time. For yourself, your parents, and your grandparents document the residential location of each party through their lives. List the year that a move occurred and the location, but only if the move was from one city to another, not to another house in the same place. A list of places for a student in this class should look like this:
1983: Born, Houston Texas
1987: Moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1995: Moved to Los Angeles, California
The list for your parents and grandparents should look similar. Be sure to include a brief narrative that explains the reasons that your family members moved. If you are unable to contact any of the relatives listed above, indicate that in your report, with a brief description of why they were unreachable. Your parents may know some of your grandparent’s history if they are deceased, for example, so check with them.
In addition, after this information is documented, indicate the movements of all individuals involved on a map of the United States and any other country where movement occurred. You may want to use different colors or symbols for the different individuals shown on the map (to easily distinguish them) or use several maps by copying the first one. To get a map of the United States, or any other country or region that you may need, go to the following web site: http://alliance.la.asu.edu/azga/
After you enter the site, click on “maps”, scroll down and a list of maps from around the world will be available for your selection.
Guidelines for Neighborhood Write Up
The first part of you paper should include information for your community of residence, and this should be obtained from the U.S. Census. Census data for both 1990 and 2000 is available on the web at www.census.gov. See the “Instructions for accessing census data” and “Getting 1990 block group information” sheets for details on how to obtain the data you will need to complete this project
Your paper should include the following items from the 1990 and 2000 census:
-Population
-Racial Composition (including Hispanic ethnicity)
-Education levels
-Median family income
and something else you think may be relevant that you find on the web site. Be sure to explain why your additional census item is relevant. Present this information in a table in your paper. The rows of your table should contain the data items from the census, and the columns should contain the data item name,1990 and 2000 data, and a column for the change between the two years. Provide a brief comment as to why you think the additional data that you chose helps in the understanding of you neighborhood. Be sure to include the name of your community or neighborhood and the year your community was founded (which is not included in census data). You may need to contact your local library to find out when your community was founded.
The second part is very closely linked to the first part of your paper. In this section you should provide a thoughtful discussion of the differences in your neighborhood between 1990 and 2000 based on what you found in the census data. Discuss what changes occurred (population increase/ decrease for example) and talk about why it may have occurred, what kind of effects these changes have on your community, and whether you think your neighborhood is better or worse in 2000 than it was in 1990. In addition you should mention whether or not there have been any major changes have occurred in your neighborhood since 2000, and describe those changes.
The third part of you paper should include your THOUGHTFUL subjective feelings about where you live. Do you like it or dislike it? Do you feel safe and comfortable there, or not? Is this a place that is loud, quite, lively or has other characteristics that stand out? Is this a special place to you, or would you be happy to move if you had the opportunity? Use this section to describe what it means to you to live in your neighborhood. Make a comparison between the information you obtained from the census and your subjective feelings about your neighborhood. Does the census information give you a good and thorough impression of your area? Is it accurate? Is it inaccurate? Is it adequate, but lacking in its ability to fully describe you neighborhood? Put a real ‘face’ to abstract government data in this section. A well-written paper could probably be 6 or 7 pages long, but this can vary. The most important thing is that you think about where you live and you describe it clearly.
Final Note: Be aware that the census web site may be busy or uncooperative at times. DO NOT wait until the last minute to do this project, especially if you are unfamiliar with using the web. Expect difficulties and leave yourself enough time. Late papers lose 25 points per 24 hour period that they are late, and having difficulty with the web site will not result in this penalty being waived.
Instructions for accessing census data for your neighborhood write up project
In order to complete the neighborhood assignment, follow the following steps:
-Access the census web site at http://www.census.gov
-select American Fact Finder from the column on the left side of the web page.
-Click on “street address” at bottom left side of screen
-Enter street address in yellow boxes, hit “go”
-Click on “block group” line, hit “ok”. You can click “Map It” to make sure you have selected the correct area.
-Scroll down to bottom, select “Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF3)”
-A window will appear with population data for your block group
-To get additional data, click on the “tables” link between the two blue bars
-A table will appear
-Select population (P) and housing(H) data from table by clicking on item and hitting “Add” button
-Click on “Show Results” when finished selection process
-Tables will appear with the selected information
-The above steps give you 2000 data, for 1990 proceed as follows:
-From your 2000 results window, click on the “Data sets with Detailed Tables” link between the two blue bars
-Select 1990 Summary tape file 3 (STF3), and hit next
-Click on your block group and hit “next”. If a block group does not appear, follow instructions “Getting 1990 block group information”.
-Your block group will appear in the bottom box. Click next to proceed.
-A window will appear showing data choices similar to the 2000 data
-Select desired variables
-Click Show Result
-Information will be presented for 1990 census.
Hint: For required information, select the following variables: For 1990:
Population: P001, Race P008, Hispanic P010, Income P107a, Education Levels 057
For 2000:
Population: P1, Race P6, Hispanic P7, Income P77, Education Levels P37
Hint: To get updated information (2007) about the city you live in, enter your community name in the “Fast Access to Information” box at the top of the American Fact Finder page. Selected characteristics for your town as a while will be displayed. Click on “show more” for additional information.
Getting 1990 block group information
-Access the census web site at http://www.census.gov
-select American Fact Finder from the column on the left side of the web page.
-Click on data sets on left side of screen
-click on 1990 Census Tab
-Click on 1990 Summary Tape File 3
-Click on reference maps
-On the left under “Reposition on…” click on “a street address”
-A box will appear, enter address information in the appropriate boxes, hit “go”
-a map of your area will appear with census tract (big) and block group (small) numbers in orange
-Record tract and block group information
-Click “back” twice
-Click on Census 1990 Summary tape file 3, Detailed Tables
-Enter Geographic type: block group
-Enter state and county information
-Enter census tract information (you get this from the prior map)
-Enter Block group information (you get this from the prior map)
-At this point you can “map it” to check that you have the right location
-Click Add
-Click Next
-Click on Table Numbers that you want
-Click “add” for each table
-Click “Show Result”
-Information will be presented for 1990 census