GEO 466/566: The Profession of Geography
Course Description and Overview
Course Description
In this course, the nature of geography as a professional field of endeavor is treated through
readings, papers, presentations, and discussions. Topics covered include the history of the
discipline, the variety of geographic subfields, the growth of GIS and computer applications, the
proliferation of geographic resources on the Internet, and the overall state of the art.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing or consent of the instructor.
About the Course
Few academic disciplines are more diverse than geography. Unfortunately, there are also few that are less understood, especially in a professional context. The goal of this course is to improve the student's understanding of geography by considering its history, traditions, concepts, branches, practitioners, and changing technology. Besides offering an overview of the discipline and what might be called the current "state of the art," this course also focuses on the professional dimensions of being a geographer, including those opportunities relevant to public/private sector employment and to graduate school.
Topics of interest include:
-the history of geography and geographic thought
-the role of professional organizations and associations
-job and graduate school searches
-resumes and applications
-geographic fieldwork
-effective oral presentations and writing
-geographic resources on the Internet and WWW
-internships and co-ops
-computer applications in geography
To meet its objectives, this course employs a variety of teaching modes. Lectures provide much of the history of the field and other fundamental information, while student projects and presentations, discussions, writing assignments, and Internet searches build on this base. A truly unique aspect of the course will be the activities linked to the joint
West Lakes/East Lakes AAG divisional meeting to be held at Valparaiso University on October 24-26, 1996. Specifically, the class will observe first-hand and critique a variety of paper/poster presentations, sit in on discussion groups, and survey some of the breadth of geography. Since it has been nearly twenty years since V.U. last hosted an AAG divisional meeting, this will be a truly unique component of the Profession of Geography.
Basis of Grading
Your grade in this course will be determined as follows:
| 15% |
Class Participation/Attendance |
10% |
Midterm Exam |
| 15% |
Biographic Sketch |
10% |
Geographic Traditions Paper |
| 15% |
Paper Presentation |
10% |
Internet Search |
| 15% |
Final Exam |
5% |
Presentation Evaluations |
| |
|
5% |
Resumé Assignment |
You will have one opportunity for extra credit. To earn this extra credit, you must present a paper at the AAG meeting on campus in October. For presenting a paper at the conference, you will earn five bonus points towards your final average in the course. There will be no other extra credit during the semester.
Graduate Credit
Students enrolled in GEO 566 are completing this course for graduate credit. Accordingly, you will have to fulfill requirements in addition to those of the undergraduate students. These additional requirements are as follows.
1. For the oral presentation at the end of the semester, each graduate student will prepare a 15-20
minute oral presentation and submit a typed version (10-12 pages) of the paper being presented.
2. For the Internet search, each graduate student will submit summaries of 15-20 URLs.
3. For the final exam, each graduate student will write three long essays instead of only two.
Authorized Aid and the Honor Code
The Honor Code will be upheld in this course. Put simply, authorized aid for this course is as follows: your own personal knowledge on the exams and your own work on all other assignments.
To Course Topics and Readings
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Last revised October 2, 1996, by JTK.