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Geography Courses
(All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise noted.) 100 Global Environmental Change (PS) (2nd sem) With lab. The interrelationships among the earth's major physical and biological systems and past and potential future global environmental changes. The role of humans in propagating and mitigating global change. Changes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, and the impacts of human actions. Includes aspects of the forecasted global warming. 102 The Human Landscape (SBD) Regions of the world-cultures, economies, and settlement patterns. Individual regions in depth; the web of interaction that binds the developed world and the Third World into one world system. 150 New England Region (SB) The history, culture, and environment of New England. Themes from human geography illustrated through readings, lecture, and field trip. 250 Natural Disasters (I) (1st sem) Introduction to catastrophic natural hazards and their effects on humans and their environment: volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, droughts, hurricanes, catastrophic landslides. Management and relief of disasters; the damage they cause; prevention and prediction. 314 Writing in Geography (2nd sem) Readings, lecture, group and individual tutorial, exercises, and peer review focusing on critical thinking and geographic writing. 320 Latin America (SBD) (2nd sem) Survey of spatial and environmental changes of both cultural/human landscapes and physical/social regions. Emphasis on case studies of selected rural and urban communities and landscapes. Population-resource balance, environmental perception and behavior, migration, urban growth, rural marketing systems, and environmental hazards. 330 East Asia (2nd sem) Geographic exploration of the historical evolution and contemporary development of social, cultural, and economic patterns and processes in East Asia focusing on China and Japan. Contemporary issues such as urbanization, population, economic development, and cultural change and continuity. 332 Southeast Asia (SBD) (both sem) The historic and contemporary foundations of Southeast Asian human landscapes and society. How geopolitical, economic and social processes have fostered diasporic movements and redefined the local and global meanings of place, identity, and economy. These themes also examined through the processes of globalization, transnationalism, and trans-culturalism which connect Southeast Asia to Asian American communities in the U.S. Readings, discussions, video, and community-based projects in western Massachusetts enable students to study and experience the growing interconnect-edness of people and places on both sides of the Pacific Rim. 340 Quantitative Methods (R2) (1st sem) Methods of data analysis and visualization useful in geographic research. Descriptive and inferential statistics through linear regression and analysis of variance, with applications of quantitative methods to spatial data. Examples drawn from both human and physical geography. Extensive use of microcomputers. 352 Computer Mapping (2nd sem) Desktop mapping through the use of MapInfo and other software packages including 3D Mapper, Map Viewer, Verticle Mapper. Students select their own final projects. 354 Climatology (1st sem) Fundamentals of the atmospheric heat balance, heat transfer, atmospheric motion, global wind systems, and the general circulation of the atmosphere. The climates of selected regions. How climate affects various aspects of people's activities and how people influence climate. Prerequisite: introductory course in weather and climate (e.g., GEO 100 or ASTRON 105). 360 Economic Geography (SBD) Economic activity around the world, from world market factories in Asia to industrial co-ops in Spain to households in the U.S. and Australia. Paid and unpaid labor, market and nonmarket transactions, capitalist and noncapitalist enterprises. Emphasis on economic diversity and agency. 362 Land Use and Society (SB) (1st sem) The meaning of land in past and present societies, and the evolution of public involvement in land use management. Land use data and concepts; review of historical emergence of land use controls in response to social needs; current methods and issues of land use management in the U.S. 364 Development Examines the geographic structure and process of social, economic, and environmental change associated with development' in the Third World'. Issues addressed at a global and local scale include population, food production, and the Green Revolution, gender, population mobility and urbanization, and environmental costs of growth. 370 Urban Geography (SBD) (1st sem) Survey of urban geographical analysis and the development of the world's cities. Theoretical and methodological approaches of urban geography used to explore cities as they shape and are shaped by their social, cultural, economic, and physical contexts. Topics include pre-industrial cities, industrial cities, the evolution of American cities, and contemporary urban issues in both developed and developing countries. 372 Urban Issues (2nd sem) Contemporary urban issues in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Survey of the cities of Asia, Africa and Latin America as they have developed from traditional forms to modern metropolises housing three out of every five of the world's urban dwellers. The role of culture, society, economy, and politics in shaping urban landscapes. Special topics include the persistence of traditional forms (both physical and social) in contemporary cities, the role of economic globalization in urbanization, and the impacts of contemporary urban planning and development strategies on urban form and functions. 392E Earth System Science (2nd sem) A look at the Earth system as a whole. Emphasis on the relationships among biological, geological, climatological, and human systems on continental and global scales. The links between these systems illustrated by present-day processes and the geologic record of selected events in Earth system history. Includes computer-based exercises and relies heavily on Internet resources. Prerequisites: previous upper-level courses in biological, geological, physical, or social sciences. 410 Seminar on Arctic Regions Physical environment of arctic regions, the native peoples, problems of development and of minimizing environmental impacts. Considerable student participation based on assigned readings expected. 420 The Human Impact on the Natural Environment (2nd sem) Geographical approach to environmental problems: human transformation of the land and our influence on living species and eosystems. Growth of environmental consciousness. Environmental impact of war and conflict. Pollution and modification of the atmosphere, surface waters, groundwater, and land surface. Loss of biological and genetic diversity, habitat destruction, deforestation. Land transformation; irrigation and drainage. Environmental impact of agriculture, mining, nuclear power, and radioactive wastes. Human impact on the geography of different biomes. Environmentalism; environmental organizations and conventions; bioassay, environmental auditing, Internet and environment. 458 Climatic Change (2nd sem) Change of climate on a local, regional, and global scale. Known paleoclimatic fluctuations and variations in the historical period. In considering instrumentally documented fluctuations in climate (i.e., recent changes), attention to the human role in modifying the atmosphere in the past and the future. Some of the principal hypotheses of climatic change. 466 Rural Development and Change Theory, ideology, and strategy for rural development in the less industrialized world since 1950. Topics include changing priorities for rural development; spatial planning; sectoral, basic needs, and systems approaches to rural development; and contrasts between growth, integrated, and participatory models of rural development. Examples from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 491A Geographic Films (2nd sem) How film and video are used in geography to illustrate and analyze such topics as how individuals and cultures perceive and interact with the natural environment, form world views, and are attracted to particular kinds of environments; how environmental hazards such as drought, desertification, earthquakes, and tornadoes have an impact on human settlement, and how human migration has an environmental impact on new places ranging from frontier rain forests to the ecology of cities throughout the world. 498A Exploring the New England Landscape (1st sem) 6-9 cr Helps students to gain a "sense of place" from the New England landscape. Emphasis on combining an experiential learning and discovery of "places" with an intellectual understanding of the forces-both physical and human-that shape those places. The development of attachments to places and nature, and an appreciation of those complex layers of the past superimposed over them: the invisible landscapes of human history, folklore, and ecology. 510 Natural Hazards (1st sem) Natural hazards as interaction of extreme geophysical events and the spatial organization of human activities. Topics include earthquakes, floods, drought, landslides, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Policy and economic implications of hazards, risk assessment, hazard mapping. Some prior experience of scientific subjects recommended. 530 Population and Environment (1st sem) Population-resource relationships in context of social science theory and debates over sustainability, theories of population change, political economy of resource degradation, institutional factors in resource management, and carrying capacity concepts applied to conditions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 560 Geomorphology (1st sem) Earth surface processes and resulting landforms including physical and chemical weathering, hillslope, fluvial, eolian, coastal, glacial, and periglacial processes and their relationships to landforms. Term paper or project. Field trips by arrangement. Prerequisites: at least 12 credits in geology, physical geography, or related fields; first-year courses in physics and chemistry recommended. 591R Remote Sensing and Image Analysis Hands-on introduction to applications of satellite remote sensing in the geosciences. Emphasis on image processing and analysis: georeferencing, radiometric and geometric enhancement, classification, multispectral, multitemporal, and Fourier methods. 594A Introduction to GIS Hands-on introduction to fundamental concepts and methods of spatial information and analysis. Emphasis on developing skills using geographic information systems to solve typical spatial problems in the geosciences through regular exercises and a larger, final group project. 595A Advanced GIS Project-based, intensive study of concepts and methods of spatial information, statistics, and analysis using ARC/INFO GIS. Emphasis on applying spatial analysis to complex problems in the geosciences using vector and raster data. Prerequisite: introductory GIS course or consent of instructor. 626A Spirit of Place (2nd sem) The meaning of place in our lives. Why different people are attracted to different kinds of places. What roles early childhood exploration of the environment and mental maps' etc. play in shaping our views of ideal places and environments. How those who describe and analyze places-ranging from the sacred to the profane-attempted to capture or describe a sense' or spirit of place' in their writings. Prerequisite: consent of instructor for undergraduates.
Geography
| Geography Courses | Geosciences
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