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World Regional Geography: People, Places and Globalization

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Course Outcomes

This course will help to gain a working knowledge of our physical environment and its impact on our history and lifestyles, thus allowing us to better understand the nature of the world and the events that take place in it. You will also have a general understanding of the various theoretical and methodological approaches in both physical and human geography and be able to develop research questions and critically analyse both qualitative and quantitative data to answer those questions.

Assessment of Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• Demonstrate a knowledge of location, physical geography, and cultural geography of different regions around the world
• Analyse the importance of human environmental interaction and its impact on current events
• Demonstrate knowledge of varied concepts within geography and how each are interrelated

1. Introduction to Geography

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapter 1

Questions to consider

• What did you learn about the way we study the world?

• What is the relationship between the people of a territory and the territory itself?

2. Europe and the Former USSR

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapters 2 and 3

Questions to consider

• What did you learn about the different regions of Europe?

• What did you learn about the regions of Russia and the rest of the former USSR?

3. North America

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapter 4

Questions to consider

• What did you learn about the different regions of North America?

• How are Canada and the U.S. alike, and how do they differ?

4. Middle America and the West Indies

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapter 5

Questions to consider

• How different are the different small countries in the Caribbean from their larger neighbours?

• How do extreme weather events like hurricanes affect this region?

5. South America

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapter 6

Questions to consider

• How does Brazil differ from its Spanish-speaking neighbours?

• How are the regions of South America alike, and how do they differ?

6. Sub-Saharan Africa

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapter 7

Questions to consider

• How are the different regions of Sub-Saharan Africa alike and how do they differ?

• What are some of the lasting effects of imperialism on the people of Sub-Saharan Africa?

7. North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapters 8 and 9

Questions to consider

• How has the history of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism affected these regions of the world?

• How does the availability of natural resources like oil and fresh water impact these regions?

8. East and Southeast Asia

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapters 10 and 11

Questions to consider

• How does the present government of China relate to its close neighbours?

• How are the mainland and insular countries of Southeast Asia similar and how do they differ?

9. Oceania and Antarctica

Read World Regional Geography: People, Places, and Globalization, Chapters 12 and 13

Questions to consider

• How does the geography of Australia and New Zealand lead them to differ from other economically developed countries?

• How do the small island developing states in the Pacific compare to those in other regions of the world, such as the West Indies?

10. Review and Assessment

Review previous topics. Are you ready to sit the assessment and earn credit for this course? If so, and you haven’t already done so, join our community!