EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 1
University of Alberta
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
EAS 192
CULTURES, LANDSCAPES, AND GEOGRAPHIC SPACE
Fall Term, 2005-2006
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Room:
Instructor:
Office:
E-mail:
Telephones:
Office hours:
TA:
Dentistry-Pharmacy 2022
Dr. Ed Jackson
HM Tory, 3-90
ed.jackson@ualberta.ca
492-0342 (office); 436-9493 (home)
To be announced.
To be announced.
Course website:
www.eas.ualberta.ca/elj/eas192
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
Introduction to geographical techniques and the spatial organization of human landscapes and
significance of the distribution of human activity. Not open to students with credit in EAS 190 or 191.
THEMES AND OBJECTIVES OF EAS 192
Overview
Geography, as an academic discipline, is concerned with the study of patterns and processes across the
earth’s surface. Human Geography examines the spatial organization of human activities and the
meanings attached to the places where activities take place. EAS 192 introduces students to the main
concepts of human geography and encourages students to “think spatially” about their world.
Like all other academic disciplines, human geography has at least two defining and distinguishing
characteristics:
• First, human geography has a substantive focus. This means that it focuses on a particular set of
phenomena: the regular (spatial) location and distribution of human activities on the surface of the earth.
Many human geographers view these patterns either as a reflection of reciprocal interactions between
people and the natural environment, or as the imprint of culture on the natural landscape to create a
cultural landscape.
• Second, while there are several different “kinds” or “branches” of human geography, they all share the
idea that a theoretical framework is not only useful but necessary if we are to make sense of what we
study. Thus, human geography is defined as much by its approach to the phenomena it investigates (i.e.,
what questions are asked, and how they are asked) as it is by the subject-matter of what is studied.
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 2
The Two Main Traditions of Human Geography as Presented in EAS 192
In the context of the above, EAS 192 is an introductory course in human geography that explores two
distinct but interconnected themes within the discipline: (1) the spatial organization of human activity; and
(2) the cultural landscape and place as expressions of human perceptions, values, and behaviours.
The Spatial Organization of Human Activity
For the purposes of EAS 192, the theoretical spatial framework we shall use rests on the assumption that
the following are some important attributes of human activities:
• They are located in space at particular places (where do human activities occur and why are they
located there?).
• Human activities are regular: that is, they exhibit non-random patterns of location, distribution,
and movement.
• There are underlying influences that govern these patterns. One of the most important of these is the
culture that generates the behaviours that in turn create the patterns.
• The patterns and influences can be described and understood at a high level of generality, i.e., from
the standpoint of theory that seeks to focus on common patterns and relationships rather than the
uniqueness of individual phenomena.
Landscape and Place in Human Geography
In addition to the spatial aspects of human activities, EAS 192 is designed to provide an overview of the
social processes important to human geography, and, specifically, to explore the roles of landscape and
place in our world. Throughout this course we will use the concepts of landscape and place to examine
how human beings have changed, manipulated, adapted, and adapted to their surroundings at various social
and geographic scales.
• Landscape refers to the physical manifestation of social process and cultural, political, and
economic choices. For example, the downtown cores and urban landscapes of Edmonton, Reykjavík
(Iceland), and Bombay (India) share many features in common, but they also look very different
from one another. Why? Because social, political, cultural, and economic forces have differentially
shaped the built environment to produce spatially specific representative landscapes.
• Place refers to the emotional attachment that we have to spaces or landscapes. These attachments
occur at the individual, family, group or societal levels and reflect the meanings we give to our
environment (both natural and built). The difference between a “house” and a “home” is a good
example: a house is a built structure in which one lives, while a home is traditionally a place of
comfort, safety, and belonging. This illustrates the difference between a “place” and having a “sense
of place.” From this definition, you can see that some people may live in a house that is not a home,
while others find a home in non-traditional structures such as a tent or motor-home. The example
also illustrates the difference between what we might call the “objective attributes” of things and the
“cultural meanings” we attach to them. This difference is also reflected in the last section of the
course, which is organized around the idea of objective versus subjective space.
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 3
Course Objectives
What all of the above means is that human geographers use several central concepts (e.g., location,
distribution, distance, movement, accessibility, etc.), methods and models (e.g., maps, quantitative
analysis, qualitative interpretation), and approaches (questions and frameworks) to describe and
understand the cultural landscape and the spatial organization of human activity. Thus, the objective of
EAS 192 is to acquaint beginning undergraduates with the key concepts, models, and approaches of human
geography. Students should then be equipped to go on to more advanced courses in human geography at the
200-level and beyond.
By the end of the course, students in EAS 192 should be able to:
• Identify and define key spatial, social, and cultural concepts used in the study of human activity;
• Choose and apply the appropriate concepts for studying and explaining particular geographic
patterns; and
• Analyze the usefulness of geographic concepts for understanding cultural landscapes and the
distribution of human activities in geographic space.
It is important to recognize and keep in mind that the approach of EAS 192 and its component parts cannot
be assessed as “right” or “wrong.” Rather, the concepts, models and approaches of the course – like any
other set of ideas or conceptual framework – should be judged as “more or less useful,” i.e., how successful
they are in enhancing our understanding of phenomena and in providing insights that would be difficult
(perhaps impossible) to achieve in the absence of the conceptual framework.
STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE
The course material will be organized into 4 main sections, each further divided into sub-topics varying in
length (see detailed schedule). The sections and sub-topics are as follows:
Section 1: The Tools of Human Geography
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introduction to human geography as an academic discipline
Introduction to basic concepts and tools
Geographic concepts (e.g., place, landscape, location, area, distance, spatial distributions, regions)
Models, scale, and maps
Spatial interaction
Migration
Section 2: Urban Geography
• Introduction: Urban geography as a “vehicle” for exploring spatial and cultural geography
• Urban systems: City functions; urban hierarchy; central place theory
• Urban structure: Models of urban structure; intra-urban hierarchy; social aspects of urban structure
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 4
Section 3: Geography, Culture, and Popular Culture
• Geographic aspects of culture
• Geography and popular culture
• Cities as cultural landscapes
Section 4: Objective and Subjective Space
•
•
•
•
The perceived environment
Mental maps and place preferences
Sense of place
Perception and response to natural hazards
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS
There are several resources that you will find helpful in mastering the subject-matter and concepts of EAS
192:
This Course Outline
In many respects what has been said up to this point is a summary of the key ideas of the course. It may not
all be clear to you at the beginning of the course, so you should review the course outline from time to time,
and certainly use it as a source for preparing for the final examination.
The Textbook
The textbook for EAS 192 is William Norton, Human Geography, Fifth edition, Oxford University
Press, 2004. Please regard the assigned parts of the text as required reading.
The textbook has several advantages over its numerous competitors: first, it is up-to-date; second, it is
Canadian (a rarity these days!); and third, it provides a good balance of the spatial and cultural approaches
to human geography. Also, the most recent edition of the text includes a Student Study Guide CD;
however, I am unable to comment on its quality because, at the time of drafting this course outline, I have
not yet received a copy from the publisher.
Please note that not all of the textbook’s contents will be dealt with as lecture topics. However, I intend to
make your purchase of the text “good value for money” by making as much use of it as possible. Please
note, too, that the lecture topics are not in the same order as they appear in the text: see later in this outline
for a list of text readings related to each topic.
World Wide Web Resources
Several web resources will assist you in studying the EAS 192 course material and accessing additional
materials:
•
The course website: In addition to contact information and external web links, the website will
contain handouts and lecture notes in various formats (most likely PowerPoint and PDF) to make
them easily accessible to you. It is recommended that you print the slides for each lecture prior to
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 5
that lecture so that you do not have to waste time copying notes and diagrams from the screen, but
instead can write your notes directly on your copy of the slides.
•
Textbook website: www.oup.com/ca/he/companion/norton
•
Search engines: In addition there are the normal web search engines. I personally seem to have
most success with Google (www.google.ca), Yahoo (www.yahoo.ca), and AltaVista
(www.altavista.ca), but there are many others to try. You can access an enormous amount of
factual and conceptual information on the Internet by typing in relevant key words (e.g., nearest
neighbor analysis, central place theory, gravity model, mental maps, natural hazards).
Human Geography in the News and in Your Everyday Life
You might be surprised to discover how much of the material in EAS 192 relates to current events and your
everyday life. Thus, while they are not “formal resources” for the course, television news, newspapers, and
news magazines should help you to keep up with current events at the local, national, regional, and
international scales; you should try to make a habit of thinking about this material in the context of what
you are learning in EAS 192. Also, try to develop an awareness of how your everyday behaviour both
reflects underlying geographic principles and exposes you to examples of phenomena that express these
principles. For example, your daily journey to the University is an example of spatial interaction; you may
pass churches or sports fields that reflect religion and leisure as important aspects of culture that are
expressed in the urban cultural landscape; where you shop for clothes is a manifestation of consumer
spatial behaviour; and so on.)
GRADING: TESTS, THE FINAL EXAMINATION, AND THE ASSIGNMENT
Because of the introductory nature of EAS 192, coupled with the size of the class, most grading will be
done via tests and the final examination, mostly in the form of multiple-choice and short-answer questions,
but there will also be a short written assignment (see below).
Tests
Two tests will be conducted during class time; each will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer
questions related to specific topics and reading covered between the test and the previous one (see the table
below for clarification). Each test will be worth 20% of the final grade, for a total of 40%. Test 1 will be
held on Thursday, October 6; Test 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, November 1.
Final Examination
The final examination will cover the material discussed in class after Test 2. The questions will be in
multiple-choice and short-answer format. There will also be some short-answer questions related to the
course material as a whole. The final examination will be worth 45% of the final grade.
The final examination will be held on Tuesday, December 20, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Written Assignment
A separate statement will be prepared before the end of September outlining the requirements for the
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 6
assignment, which will be worth 15% of the final grade. Several options will be offered, oriented towards
both the cultural and spatial themes of the course, and may involve either a short fieldwork exercise or a
pencil-&-paper spatial analysis task. The assignment will be due to be handed in by the class on November
22, so you will have several weeks to complete it.
Evaluation
Evaluation will be completed and expressed in raw marks throughout the course. Grades (using the U of
A’s letter-grading system) will be assigned only to the final distribution of mark totals for the course. Such
assignment will be based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in this class
and will remain unofficial until approved by Faculty Council or its designate. Please note that the teaching
assistant will be responsible for most of the marking in EAS 192, while the instructor has responsibility for
reviewing the marks and assigning the grades.
Summary of Grades Allocation
Test 1
Test 2
Assignment
Final examination
20%
20%
15%
45%
OTHER STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW
Missed Examinations
The instructor must be notified within 48 hours of any missed exam (test or final). Students missing a test
due to illness must provide the instructor with a University of Alberta Medical Statement Form signed by
the treating physician within 48 hours of the exam. In other cases, including domestic affliction or religious
conviction, adequate documentation must be presented to the instructor. In such cases, the weight of the test
will be added to the final exam. In the case of a missed final, students must follow University regulations,
which include contacting the student’s own Faculty office. Courtesy suggests informing the instructor as
well, though this is not required. Deferred final examinations will be sat at a date to be announced. Students
are advised to see detailed faculty regulations regarding absences and deferrals.
Written Work
Although the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences is in the Faculty of Science, EAS 192 is part
of the Human Geography program and is thus an Arts course. Therefore your ability to communicate what
you know, especially in written form, is critically important. Knowing how to communicate an idea is as
important as the idea itself, and your work will be marked accordingly.
Plagiarism & Cheating
Students are reminded that plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. Ensure that the work you submit
is yours and yours alone. Check the University Calendar for details on plagiarism and cheating. If you
have questions, ask your Instructor or Teaching Assistant.
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 7
Legally Required Statements
Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar. (GFC 29 SEP
2003). The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty.
Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the
policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the
provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid
any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of
facts and/or participation in such offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in
suspension or expulsion from the University. (GFC 29 SEP 2003).
SUMMARY OF TOPICS, TESTS ON WHICH THEY WILL APPEAR, AND ASSOCIATED
READING
TOPIC
TEXT SECTIONS & PAGES
TEST 1 (Thursday, October 6)
Introduction to human geography as
an academic discipline
• All of Chapter 1: What Is Human Geography?
• Chapter 2, pp. 45-55: Studying Human Geography
The basic concepts and tools of
human geography, including
distance, spatial distributions, and
regions
•
•
•
•
Models, scale, and maps
• Chapter 2, pp. 65-77: Techniques of analysis
• Many of the maps we shall use in class as illustrations to
discuss scale, representation and interpretation will relate to
population patterns. Most such maps express the products of
population processes, which are dealt with in Chapter 5, and
in pp. 178-181 of Chapter 6. This is REQUIRED READING,
and you will be tested on your knowledge and understanding
of population issues covered in the text, even though they will
not be systematically discussed in the lectures.
Spatial interaction
• Chapter 10, pp. 337-339: Section on gravity and potential
models
• Chapter 10, pp. 345-346: Section on networks
• Chapter 10, p. 349, Box 10.6: Commodity flows
Chapter 2, pp. 55-65: Human geographic concepts
Chapter 10, pp. 332-336: Sections on distance
Chapter 10, pp. 339-343: Section on diffusion
Chapter 12, p. 428, Box 12.4: Nearest neighbour analysis
TEST 2 (Tuesday, November 1)
Migration
• Chapter 6, pp. 181-196: Sections on migration and refugees
Urban geography
• Chapter 12: Settlement
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 8
FINAL EXAMINATION (Tuesday, December 20)
Geography, culture, and popular
culture
• Chapter 7: Cultures: The Evolution and Regionalization of
Landscapes
• Chapter 8: Cultures: Symbolic and Social Landscapes
Objective and subjective space
• Chapter 2, pp. 62-64: Section on perception
• Chapter 6, pp. 184-185: A Behavioural Explanation
• Unfortunately, the text does not cover some of the topics dealt
with in the “Objective & subjective space” lectures. Instead, a
list of appropriate web resources will be distributed well in
advance of the beginning of this section of the course.
At the end of the course you should also read pp. 501-510: “Conclusion: The Human Geography of the
Future ... and the Future of Human Geography.” This short section presents a concise retrospective
review of many aspects of the issues discussed in EAS 192.
PROPOSED LECTURE SCHEDULE
[May be subject to revision, in which case a revised outline will be posted on the EAS 192 website]
Date
Class #
Topic
Thu Sep 8
1
Course introduction
Tue Sep 13
2
Introduction to human geography as an academic discipline
Thu Sep 15
3
The basic concepts and tools of human geography
Tue Sep 20
4
Distance and spatial distributions
Thu Sep 22
5
Distance and spatial distributions; Regions
Tue Sep 27
6
Models, scale, and maps
Thu Sep 29
7
Models, scale, and maps
Tue Oct 4
8
Spatial interaction
Thu Oct 6
9
Test 1
Tue Oct 11
10
Migration
Thu Oct 13
11
Urban geography: Introduction
Tue Oct 18
12
Urban geography: Urban systems
Thu Oct 20
13
Urban geography: Urban structure
Tue Oct 25
14
Urban geography: Urban structure
EAS 192: Cultures, Landscapes, and Geographic Space •• 9
Thu Oct 27
15
[“Catch-up” session, or topic to be announced]
Tue Nov 1
16
Test 2
Thu Nov 3
17
Geography, culture and popular culture
Tue Nov 8
18
Geography, culture and popular culture
Fall Term Class Break
Thu Nov 10
Tue Nov 15
19
Geography, culture and popular culture
Thu Nov 17
20
Cities as cultural landscapes
Tue Nov 22
21
Cities as cultural landscapes / [DUE DATE FOR THE ASSIGNMENT]
Thu Nov 24
22
Objective and subjective space
Tue Nov 29
23
Objective and subjective space
Thu Dec 1
24
Objective and subjective space
Tue Dec 6
25
Course review