Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
GEO D004.
Course Title (CB02)
Cultural Geography
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
The location of people and activities throughout the world and understanding the reasons for their distribution will be examined. Topics covered include population and migration, human-environment relationships, geographies of language, religion, race and ethnicity, economic activities, political organization and settlement patterns including the urban environment.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is an introductory course in Geography focusing on the cultural aspects of people and space. It is a required course for all Geography majors, it fulfills °®¶¹´«Ã½ G.E., CSUGE and IGETC requirements and is CSU and UC transferable.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
Yes
Foothill Course ID
GEOG F002.

Course Philosophy

Course Philosophy
This course takes a thematic approach to explore people and activities across earth and the reasons for their distribution. It leads the student through an investigation of the fundamental geographic questions of "where," "what," "how" and "why" about people in different spaces, to foster a better understanding and appreciation of similarities and differences in human cultures.

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GDX°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
2GES°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE - Environment Sustainability and Global CitizenshipApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
C-IDArea(s)StatusDetails
GEOGGeographyApprovedC-ID GEOG 120

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

  • EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.
  • Pre-algebra or equivalent (or higher), or appropriate placement beyond pre-algebra

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class essays

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Quiz and examination review performed in class

Homework and extended projects

Guest speakers

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Collaborative projects

Assignments

  1. Daily reading from a college level text and/or a reader.
  2. Take-home short essay assignments based on readings and class discussions involving application of concepts studied in class. This may involve data collection, data interpretation, mapping and written analyses involving description, synthesis and analysis of similarities and differences in cultures.
  3. In-class exercises involving individual or group activities such as discussions of concepts, readings, interpretation of data and maps, analysis of particular examples. These may include oral presentations or written exercises.
  4. Discussion and written analyses of documentary films and video clips shown in class that require synthesis, interpretation and application of concepts studied.
  5. Term paper or project. The student has the option of working in a small group (or alone) on a guided term paper or project (including maps) with a geographic focus. Students get to select from a list of topics provided to them. Sources can include articles from academic sources such as books, journals, news magazines, newspapers, and Internet sources.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Quizzes and examinations with objective, essay and map and/or diagram based questions, including a final examination, that require students to demonstrate the ability to synthesize, analyze and apply concepts introduced in the course.
  2. In-class group discussions of concepts and examples, with oral or written presentations demonstrating comprehension, analyses and application of the concepts.
  3. Take-home essay assignments in the form of papers and/or projects that require students to display their critical thinking skills through data collection, data interpretation, mapping and analyses of geographic issues.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • Wall maps

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Boyle, Mark. "Human Geography: A Concise Introduction." New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.
Fouberg, Erin H., Alexander B. Murphy and H.J. de Blij. "Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture," 11th ed. New York: Wiley, 2015.
Greiner, Alyson. "Visualizing Human Geography: At Home in a Diverse World." 3rd ed. New York: Wiley, 2018.
Kuby, Michael, John Harner and Patricia Gober. "Human Geography in Action." 6th ed. New York: Wiley, 2013.
Rubenstein, James M. "Contemporary Human Geography." 3rd ed. New York: Pearson, 2015.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Armstrong, Karen. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam." Gramercy, 2004.
Aslan, Reza. "No god but God; the Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam." Updated ed., Random House, New York, 2011.
Bjelland, Mark, Daniel Montello, Jerome D. Fellmann, Arthur Getis and Judith Getis. "Human Geography." 12th ed., New York: McGraw Hill, 2014.
Cohen, Saul Bernard. "Geopolitics: The Geography of International Relations." 3rd. ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014.
de Blij, Harm. "Why Geography Matters, More Than Ever." 2nd. ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Diamond, Jared. "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed." Penguin Press Science, 2006.
Diamond, Jared. "Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies." W.W. Norton, 2005.
Diener, Alexander C. and Joshua Hagen. "Borderlines and Borderlands, Political Oddities at the Edge of the Nation State." New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2010.
Gladwell, Malcolm. "The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference." New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000.
"Goode's World Atlas." 23rd ed., New York: Rand McNally, Pearson, 2017.
Harvey, David. "Social Justice and the City: Geographies of Justice and Social Transformation." Revised ed. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2009.
Jennings, Ken. "Maphead." New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011.
Johnston, R. J.; Derek Gregory, Geraldine Pratt, Michael Watts and Sarah Whatmore, eds. "Dictionary of Human Geography." 5th ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, 2009.
Jordan-Bychkov, Terry G., Mona Domosh, Roderick P. Neumann and Patricia L. Price. "Jordan's Fundamentals of the Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography." 2nd. ed. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2013.
Kaplan, Dave H., Steven Holloway. "Urban Geography." 3rd ed. New York: Wiley, 2014.
Knox, Paul L. and Sallie A. Marston. "Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context." 7th ed. New York: Pearson, 2016.
Livi-Bacci, Massimo. "A Concise History of World Population." 5th ed. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
Marshall, Tim. "Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World." Scribner, 2015.
Monmonier, Mark and H. J. de Blij. "How to Lie With Maps." 2nd. ed. University of Chicago press, 1996.
Ostler, Nicholas. "Empires of the World, A Language History of the World." New York: Harper, 2005.
Oxtoby, Willard G. and Alan F. Segal. "A Concise Introduction to World Religions." 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Rubenstein, James M. "The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography." 12th ed., New York: Prentice Hall, 2017.
Schlosser, Eric. "Fast Food Nation." Harper Perennial, 2005.
Wilkerson, Isabel. "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration." New York: Random House, 2010.
Worldwatch Institute. "State of the World 2015: Confronting Hidden Threats to Sustainability." New York: W. W. Norton and Co, 2015.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Compare content and methodology of cultural/human geography with other disciplines and other fields within geography.
  • Describe and analyze world population distribution, growth and migration patterns, both voluntary migration and refugee flows.
  • Examine the environmental and cultural problems that result from the depletion, destruction and misuse of the world's natural resources, at global, regional and local scales. Suggest possible future courses of action.
  • Examine how different cultural groups are distributed and explore their origins and diffusion.
  • Identify various forms of livelihood (listed in detail below) and assess the concept of economic development and its goals.
  • Investigate the political organization of space from global, national, regional and local perspectives. Use examples of geopolitical conflicts to examine the underlying cultural and physical factors around resource distribution and representation leading up to the conflicts.
  • Compare and contrast the nature of cities, the forces that shape them and urbanization patterns and problems.

CSLOs

  • Map global variations in human cultures and analyze the origins and diffusion of those cultures.

  • Analyze global demographic trends and patterns and their relation to other elements of culture.

  • Apply knowledge of cultural differences and resource distribution to possible solutions of global, regional and local conflicts.

Outline

  1. Compare content and methodology of cultural/human geography with other disciplines and other fields within geography.
    1. Physical geography.
    2. The other social sciences (anthropology, history, political science, sociology, environmental studies and economics). This includes identification of major contributors to the field of cultural/human geography (both male and female) and evaluation of their ideas as they are encountered throughout the quarter.
  2. Describe and analyze world population distribution, growth and migration patterns, both voluntary migration and refugee flows.
    1. Describe the spatial variations in population distribution.
    2. Explore the regional variations in population growth.
    3. Identify migration push and pull factors; their causes and effects on people and places.
    4. Study examples of voluntary and forced migration (refugee flows).
    5. Explore the consequences of population growth and relocation, at regional, national and international scales.
  3. Examine the environmental and cultural problems that result from the depletion, destruction and misuse of the world's natural resources, at global, regional and local scales. Suggest possible future courses of action.
    1. Explore the causes and consequences of global climate change; evaluate the extent of the problem and identify possible solutions.
    2. Examine the causes and consequences of deforestation and identify possible solutions.
    3. Examine the causes and consequences of acid precipitation and identify possible solutions.
    4. Examine the causes and consequences of desertification and restricted access to water and identify possible solutions.
  4. Examine how different cultural groups are distributed and explore their origins and diffusion.
    1. Examine the spatial distribution of languages. Discuss language families, their origin and diffusion.
    2. Analyze the spatial distribution of religions. Discuss the origin and diffusion of major religions.
    3. Explore the distribution of racial and ethnic groups.
    4. Explore political conflicts that arise out of cultural differences.
  5. Identify various forms of livelihood (listed in detail below) and assess the concept of economic development and its goals.
    1. Subsistence economies such as hunting and gathering, and pastoral nomadism.
    2. Patterns of agriculture. Sustainable agricultural practices, modern commercial agriculture and organic farming.
    3. Forms of industrialization, globalization and multinational corporations.
    4. Service sector and quaternary sector economies.
  6. Investigate the political organization of space from global, national, regional and local perspectives. Use examples of geopolitical conflicts to examine the underlying cultural and physical factors around resource distribution and representation leading up to the conflicts.
    1. Relationships between nations and states.
    2. Nationalism and "separatist" movements, terrorism: role of the state, organized groups.
    3. Boundaries and borders.
    4. Geopolitics and the global balance of power.
  7. Compare and contrast the nature of cities, the forces that shape them and urbanization patterns and problems.
    1. Examine examples from the developed countries of the world.
    2. Examine examples from the developing countries of the world.
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