Overview
“Geography is one of the oldest academic disciplines.” Put simply, it is to write [-graphy] of the earth [geo-]. Geography 201: Introductory Human Geography will help you understand where people are located across the world and their relationship to these places. This course introduces you to the field of human geography by showing its breadth, its history, its “tool kit,” and its importance as an integrative means of studying the human experience. Geography is important because it provides a means for understanding problems facing humanity in the twenty-first century, be they problems at the neighbourhood, regional, national, or global scales.
The course is designed for students with little or no previous university experience.
Outline
GEOG 201 is divided into twelve units:
- Unit 1: What Is Human Geography?
- Unit 2: Population and Health Geography
- Unit 3: Uneven Development and Global Inequalities
- Unit 4: Geographies of Culture and Religion
- Unit 5: Geographies of Identity and Difference
- Unit 6: Political Geography
- Unit 7: An Urban World
- Unit 8: Urban Form and the Social Geography of the City
- Unit 9: Geographies of Food and Agriculture
- Unit 10: Geographies of Energy, Industry, and Services
- Unit 11: Geographies of Globalization
- Unit 12: Humans and the Environment
Evaluation
To receive credit for GEOG 201, students must complete and submit all of the assignments and write the midterm and final examinations. Students must achieve a minimum grade of D (50 percent) on both the midterm and final examinations and an overall grade of at least D (50 percent) for the course.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Mapping | 25% |
| Assignment 2: Media Analysis of Popular Culture | 15% |
| Assignment 3: Comparison of Two Locations | 30% |
| Midterm Exam | 15% |
| Final Exam | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
The midterm and final examinations for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Michael Mercier and William Norton. Human Geography, 10th edition. Oxford University Press, 2019.
Other Materials
All other materials are available online.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the GEOG 201 challenge registration, you must achieve an overall course grade of D (50 percent) or greater to pass. The challenge evaluation is a take-home assignment and an online exam.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 33% |
| Online Exam | 66% |
| Total | 100% |
Challenge for credit course registration form