Geography 260-01

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Instructor: Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue; Butte Hall 539; 898-4953 or -5285

Instructor's E-Mail: rodrigue@csulb.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Prerequisites: GEOG 001 or equivalent.

Identification, study, and understanding of the major natural hazard systems affecting human land use, settlement, and effective natural resource management.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. to develop an understanding of hazardousness as a naturally given and socially constructed attribute of place
2. to review the physical dynamics of a variety of hazards (e.g., earthquakes, floods, drought, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms, avalanches, and Near Earth Object impacts)
3. to outline the spatial patterns of risk to these hazards at a variety of scales from the global through the regional to the local
4. to analyze spatial and social variations in human vulnerability to hazardous situations
5. to read between the lines of media represention of hazards for invisible victims and unheard voices, sensationalized or trivialized risks, and sound-bite science
6. to review planning and policy options for managing hazards
7. to cultivate an appreciation for all four traditional approaches to geography as relevant to hazard studies: human-environment relations, regional, spatial, and physical geography
8. to develop an understanding of the scientific method
9. to become familiar with a variety of geographic and scientific tools and methods (e.g., spatial data, maps, computerized mapping, field methods)
10. to become very conversant with Internet tools of relevance to the study and communication of hazards

COURSE MATERIALS

Reading materials will be on reserve in the Geography and Planning Office (Butte 507)

GRADING

Grading will be on the basis of a midterm, a final, an interpretive essay, and a collaborative web project. The exams comprise a mix of objective questions and short essays. The interpretive essay will be a 5-8 page report on an assigned book, in which you draw out its relevance and implications to a study of hazards. The collaborative project will entail your collecting hazards-related information on particular disasters (from the Internet, planning offices, and USGS maps, for example). Each team will construct an informative web report for the Chico State web page.

The allocation of grade points is as follows:

25% = midterm

25% = final

25% = interpretive essay

25% = participation (web project, attendance, discussions)

[ GEOG 260 home ] [ Dr. Rodrigue home ] [ GEOP home ]

Document maintained by Dr. Rodrigue
Last revision: 10/01/99