GEOG-131: Environmental Geography

School
Liberal Arts
Division
Social Sciences
Department
Geography
Academic Level
Undergraduate
Course Subject
Geography
Course Number
131
Course Title
Environmental Geography
Credit Hours
4.00
Instructor Contact Hours Per Semester
62.00 (for 15-week classes)
Student Contact Hours Per Semester
62.00 (for 15-week classes)
Grading Method
A-E
Pre-requisites
Eligible to take ENG courses at HFC
Catalog Course Description

An overview examining human environment interaction at all scales from local to global. Includes an overview of the physical environment and major earth systems with emphasis on the ways humans utilize and alter the earth’s surface.

Goals, Topics, and Objectives

Core Course Topics
  1. Overview of Geography and Geographic Perspective
  2. Spatial Analysis
  3. Human Environment Interaction
  4. Mapping
  5. Human Resource Use
  6. Processes that shape the earth
  7. Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Glaciation, and Climate
  8. Pollution
  9. Spatial distribution of ecosystems
  10. Human alteration of the physical landscape
Core Course Learning Objectives (Separated)
  1. Explain spatial analysis and describe the geographic approach and perspective.
  2. Explain the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on the earth’s surface.
  3. Explain the physical processes that shape major patterns on the earth’s surface.
  4. Explain how to use maps to interpret the past, understand the present, and plan for the future.
  5. Describe the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on the earth’s surface.
  6. Discuss how culture influences the ways people interact with and use the environment
  7. Identify the spatial variations of human resource use.
  8. Provide examples of how human actions modify the physical environment.
  9. Describe how physical systems affect human systems.
  10. Discuss forms of pollution and the resulting impacts on the physical environment and humans.
  11. Analyze an environmental problem from a geographic perspective by describing the nature of the problem, assessing the present and long term impacts on people and the environment, and determining the best possible solutions and actions needed to solve or mitigate the problem.

Assessment and Requirements

Assessment of Academic Achievement

Assessment of academic achievement may include (but is not limited to) exams, quizzes, essays, homework, and projects.

Outcomes

General Education Categories
  • Social Sciences
MTA Categories
  • Category 4: Social Sciences
Satisfies Wellness Requirement
No
Effective Term
Winter 2023