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Revision 2 closed, replaced by current version.
Delivery mode: Individualized study with video component*.
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.
Credits: 3 - Social Science
Prerequisite: None.
Centre: Centre for Global and Social Analysis
GEOG 201 has a Challenge for Credit option.
Geography 201: Introductory Human Geography is a junior-level, three-credit course. It is a foundation course for students enrolled in geography, global studies, and environmental studies programs, and is also suitable for those who wish simply to further their understanding of the fundamentals of human geography. Human geographers investigate the location of people and activities throughout the world and seek to understand the reasons for their distribution. They ask questions about where things are, why they are there, and what the geographic significance of their distribution is. In this course you will examine a number of subject areas, including: population, migration, social customs, language, religion, ethnicity, political geography, development, agriculture, industry, settlement and urban patterns, globalization, resource problems, and human impacts on the natural environment.
Unit 1: The Geographical Imagination: Concepts and Tools
Unit 2: Population
Unit 3: Migration
Unit 4: Traditional Cultures and Globalization
Unit 5: Language and Religion
Unit 6: Ethnicity and Political Frontiers
Unit 7: The Third World: Underdevelopment and Tourism
Unit 8: Agriculture
Unit 9: Industry
Unit 10: Services
Unit 11: Cities
Unit 12: The Use and Abuse of Nature
To receive credit for GEOG 201, you must submit all the course assignments and complete them to the satisfaction of your tutor. You must achieve a grade of at least 50 per cent on the final examination and a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent).
| Assign 1 (Maps) | Assign 2 (Demography) | Assign 3 (Essay) | Final Exam | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15% | 20% | 30% | 35% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2005.
Nunley, Robert E., George W. Ulbrick, and Bernard O. Williams, Study Guide for The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2005.
Bell, Thomas L. Study Guide for Human Geography: People, Places, and Change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997.
The course materials also include a student manual and forms.
The course also uses a television series, made for the Annenberg/CPB project by the BBC, People, Places, and Change. Students can also borrow videotapes from Athabasca University Library or view the television programs on ACCESS, The Education Station.