“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
Michael Mercier and William Norton. Human Geography, 10th edition. Oxford University Press, 2019. (eText)
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.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.