Instructor Information:

Instructor: Dr. C.M. Rodrigue

E-mail Address: rodrigue@csulb.edu

Home Page: https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/

Telephones: (526) 985-4895 or -4977

Office: LA4 206D

Mailbox: LA4 106

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 5-6:30 p.m.

Course Description:

Course Objectives:

• to develop an understanding of the scientific method in geography
• to enhance student awareness of the context and importance of economic activities, especially as they manifest themselves in spatial and regional patterns
• to develop an awareness of the economic problems of the developing world and the links between these problems and our own communities' experiences
• to instill something of the geographer's world view: a spatial sense, a sensitivity to the human-environment connection, and a tendency to integrate information on a regional basis
• to develop proficiency in tools used by geographers, such as map interpretation and construction, statistics in spatial analysis, field observation, and Internet functions

Grading:

Grading will be on the basis of a midterm, final, several labs, and two papers on personal local experiences of spatial location theory and of global economic restructuring. The exams comprise a mix of objective questions and subjective problems. The spatial location paper will be on how your neighborhood or home town fits or contradicts spatial location models. The global restructuring paper will involve some original research on how your life or those of people close to you have been impacted, positively or negatively, by local impacts of global economic re-alignment. The labs will include Internet assignments, mapping projects, and spreadsheet problems.

The allocation of grade points is as follows:

20% = midterm

20% = final

20% = spatial location theory paper

20% = global restructuring paper

20% = labs, attendance, and participation

Tentative List of Topics:

Introduction

• Nature of Geography
• Nature of Science
  • Goals and Methods
  • Abstraction and its Functions

• Land Use
  • Agricultural
  • Urban
• Industrial Location
• Retailing, Services, and Urban Systems
• Applied Spatial Location Theory

Midterm

Uneven Development and Global Restructuring

• Characteristics of the Developed and Underdeveloped World
• Differences within the Developing(?) World
• Processes of Underdevelopment
• Processes of Contemporary Restructuring

Final

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