GEOG/LAST
357.72
Lands
and Peoples of Latin America
Syllabus
Spring 2019 Dr.
Scott Brady
Office:
523 Butte Hall
Location: Cyberspace Phone:
898-5588
Office Hours: MWF
Geography Computer Lab: Butte
501
Writing Center http://online.csuchico.edu/public/Writing_Center/
Men
are so inclined to content themselves with what is commonest; the spirit and
the senses so easily grow dead to the impressions of the
beautiful and perfect, that every one should study, by all methods, to nourish
in his mind the faculty of feeling these things. ...For this reason, one ought every day at least, to hear
a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable
words.
Goethe, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. Bk. v, ch. 1 (Carlyle, tr.) [source:
Stevenson]
Accessibility
Resource Center:
If you
have a documented disability that may require reasonable accommodations, please
contact me privately to discuss your specific needs and also contact
Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) for coordination of your academic
accommodations. ARC is located across from the Meriam
Library in the Student Services Center building (Student Services Center 170;
898-5959; http://www.csuchico.edu/arc/).
Description:
Study of the physical
environment, human settlement, development, and modern problems of the nations
of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. This course is designed to be a
component of the Upper-Division Theme on Mexico and Central America. This is an
approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course.
This course is the same as LAST 357.
How the
course fits the Global Development Pathway: This course presents fundamental geographic concepts in the
context of Latin America. Initial emphasis is placed on the regionÕs physical
environments and its diverse peoples. Students then explore the
relationships that have emerged between Latin AmericaÕs peoples and
environments. The course concludes by considering different paths to
socio-economic development that have been pursued in the region. The
course supports the pathwayÕs emphasis on development. The course has been
proposed for the Global Cultures designation.
Course
Student Learning Objectives Associated GE
Student Learning Objectives
|
¥
Students
can formulate, investigate and answer geographic research questions. |
¥
Written
Communication ¥
Active
Inquiry |
|
¥
Students
can understand how natural resources and the physical environment influence
land and life in Latin America. |
¥
Sustainability |
|
¥
Students
can analyze information from different physical or social sciences from a
geographic perspective. |
¥
Active
Inquiry |
How
Course will Meet GE SLOs: This
course will meet three GE SLOs, as noted in the table above. Written
communication and Active Inquiry will be met by the research assignment. The
course will study sustainability as a concept and challenge for Latin American
peoples as they interact with its diverse physical environments. Students will
further practice active inquiry in weekly question sets that focus critically
on the assigned readings. Student learning of sustainability and practice
of active inquiry will be assessed by means of quizzes and exams that will
include short essay questions.
How
Course will Assess GE SLOs: Assessment of GE SLOs is based on the Collegiate Learning
Assessment, the gold standard in the assessment of value-added learning. Instructors
of GEOG 357 utilize pre- and post-tests to effectively measure learning.
The test consists of open-ended questions related to sustainability. The same
test will be administered twice during the semester: once during the first week
and once during the final week of classes. Comparison of pre- and post-tests
scores will indicate the level of student learning.
Course
Objectives:
¥
To
increase students understanding of the geographical context of Mexico, Central
America and the Caribbean.
¥
To
develop students' knowledge of the region's connections to, and
interdependencies with, other people and places around the world.
¥
To
develop students' skills in synthesizing and analyzing information, including
Internet-based information.
¥
To
develop students' skills in writing and discussing their ideas.
¥
To help
students read, listen, observe, and reason critically.
Required
Materials:
Online readings.
Readings will be found online.
Grading
Academic Policies and Regulations: http://catalog.csuchico.edu/viewer/18/ACAREGS.html
Final
grades are based on % of 200 or 250 total
points, earned from the categories below.
A=92-100%;
B= 80-91%; C=68-79%; D=50-67%; and F= less than 50%.
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If you choose not to complete
the research project, your grade will be based on 4 exams. See below
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Exam 1 |
50 points |
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Exam 2 |
50 points |
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Exam 3 |
50 points |
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Exam 4 |
50 points |
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Total |
200 points |
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Web-site: I will regularly update the course
website. Students must visit the site to be aware of changes and
additions. You Course
website: I regularly update the course
website. Students must frequentlyvisit the site to be
aware of changes and additions. I do not use Bb.
Course Format: This is an online readings course. We
never meet. We read, do exercises, take 4 exams and write a paper. Students
may utilize the chat room feature on our Blackboard site. I will not
monitor chats and they will not be graded. Students should utilize the
chat room as a support tool. You can exchange questions, information and
helpful hints in the chat room.
Email: Students should utilize the email feature on
our Blackboard site for all communication with me. Sometimes students ask
questions that are shared by other students. In such cases, I'll post my
answer as an announcement on the Blackboard site.
Office Hours: I also
will use office hours to answer emails. This will require patience. Students
should not expect immediate responses to emails. I will respond primarily
during office hours.
Readings: A fundamental element of a liberal education
is the development of the ability to read critically. Hence, your success in
this course largely depends on the amount of time and effort you devote to the
assigned readings.
Question Sets: To ensure that students keep
up with the assigned readings, students must complete question sets that guide
them through assigned textbook readings. You do not turn in question sets to be
graded. You simply complete them to prepare yourself for the exams.
I post question set keys every week or so, so that you may check your answers
against mine.
Exams: There are 4 exams. They are open book
exams that include information from the readings, question sets,
atlas exercises other materials that I direct you to through the
web-site. Exams contain 20-25 multiple choice/short answer
questions. I will make exams available for a 2-day period. Students will
have ~60 minutes to complete exams.
Make-up Exams: I do not allow students to make-up missed
exams.
Optional Research Project: The research project is an
annotated bibliography of at least 1500 words. It has two parts: a proposal and
the final project. The instructions for the proposal are at this link. The instructions for the final project are
at this link.
Here's a past example of an annotated bibliography: link.
Students will turn in this
project in the body of an email, not as an email attachment. You can do
that if your email program allows you to send the message/paper to me in the
"rich text" format. Proposals must be submitted to my
Blackboard email account in the body of an email, not as an attachment.
Plagiarism: Unfortunately, students have committed
plagiarism on their annotated bibliographies during past semesters. They
copied work from an online source and presented it as their own. I
referred these students to judicial affairs and asked that they receive the
most severe penalty. I will continue to do so.
The University catalogue http://www.csuchico.edu/catalog/cat05/
includes an overly general description of activities that constitute
plagiarism. I have included it below.
"Plagiarism: Copying
homework answers from your text to hand in for a grade; failing to give credit
for ideas, statement of facts, or conclusions derived from another source;
submitting a paper downloaded from the Internet or submitting a friend's paper
as your own; claiming credit for artistic work (such as a music composition,
photo, painting, drawing, sculpture, or design) done by someone else."
Please review the detailed
explanation of plagiarism found at this site: http://www.collegeboard.com/article/0,3868,2-10-0-10314,00.html.
Please use in-text citations to give credit to your sources. If you
have any questions about plagiarism, please contact me.
Tentative Schedule:
Week 4: 2/12 – 2/16
Week 5: 2/19 – 9/23
Week 6: 2/26 – 3/2
Week 7: 3/5 – 3/9
Week 8: 3/12 – 3/16
Week 9: 3/19 – 3/23
Spring Break
Week 10: 3/26 – 3/30
Friday, March 30, Cesar Chavez Day
Week 11: 4/2 – 4/6
Week 12: 4/9 – 4/13
Week 13: 4/16-4/20
Week 14: 4/23 – 4/27
Week 15: 4/30 – 5/4
Week 16: 5/7 – 5/11
Preparation
Week
Week 17: 5/12 – 5/18
Final
Exam Week