Fall 2013
Course Syllabus for Geography 100
On Becoming a Geographer
An introduction to geographic themes and methods of inquiry. Emphasis will be placed on practical skills
including literature searches, field observation, scholarly debate, and professional writing.
Meeting Times and Place: Classes are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 12:30-1:20 MC-4059
Locations may vary – details in Weekly Schedule on ‘Learn’.
Instructors: Dr. Alexander Brenning (Environment1, Room 232), [email protected]
Office Hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 2pm – 3pm or by appointment
Co-instructor: Erin Joakim, (Environment 2, Room 2004) [email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00 - 3:00 or by appointment
Required Text: Northey, M., Knight, D. B. & Draper, D. (2012). Making Sense: A Student’s Guide to
Research and Writing. 5th edition. Don Mills: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-5445824.
Learning Objectives:
· Develop an appreciation for the variety of approaches to geographic inquiry;
· Learn key geographic facts and terms;
· Understand some of the concepts that unify geography as a discipline—place, spatial relationships,
landscape interpretation, environmental change, and environmental management;
· Hone academic reading, writing and referencing skills;
· Appreciate the diversity of human and physical landscapes of the region of Waterloo while
developing geographic field research skills;
· Know how to create an individualized study plan that links with career objectives.
Student Evaluation:
· Field Trip Reports (Report #1 due Oct. 2nd; Report #2 due Oct. 28th; Report #3 due Nov. 11th; Report
#4 due Nov. 29th) (2x5% for Report #1 and #4, 2x10% for #2 and #3; 5% x 2 + 10% x 2 = 30%)
· Class Participation: 13% (5% for group presentation; 4x2% for activity participation. Note that
there are five activities, so students are allowed to miss one of these without a grade penalty)
· In-Class Test on ‘101 Things’ and Lectures, Nov. 18th (27%)
· Argumentative Essay on Geographic Topic of Choice (10%, print copy due in class Oct. 18th)
· One-on-one Discussion about Essay with Course Instructor (5%, Oct. 21th – Nov. 1st by
appointment)
· Revised Argumentative Essay (15%, print copy due in class Nov. 29th)
· Policy for late submissions: Assignment submitted after the announced deadline will be reduced by
two units per day (on a 0-100 grade scale).
· All field trips and the group presentation require the collaboration among students; all other elements
of student evaluation in this course require independent work by each student.
· All sources used in the preparation of student work in this course must be acknowledged in an
appropriate way. Full detail will be given in class.
· Submission of student work will be in paper form, unless otherwise indicated in the individual
assignment instructions. Submissions will only be accepted in the format requested in assignment
instructions.
Class Schedule:
· A “Weekly Schedule” will be made available on the online learning platform ‘Learn’ at the
beginning of the term (http://learn.uwaterloo.ca/).
Fall 2013
Administrative Matters
Academic Integrity: To create and promote a culture of academic integrity, the behaviour of all members of the
University of Waterloo is based on honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.
Students are strongly encouraged to review the material provided by the University’s Office of Academic Integrity:
http://www.uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/. Students who are unsure what constitutes an academic offence are
requested to visit the on-line tutorial at: http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/ait/
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or
unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section
4, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm. When in doubt, please contact your Undergraduate
Advisor for details.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offenses,
and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who
needs help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration
should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When
misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student
Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student
Discipline, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm . For typical penalties, check Guidelines for
Assessment of Penalties, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/guidelines/penaltyguidelines.htm
Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and
Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be
established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals,
http://secretariat.uwaterloo.ca/Policies/policy72.htm
Research Ethics: Please also note that the ‘University of Waterloo requires all research conducted by its students, staff,
and faculty which involves humans as participants to undergo prior ethics review and clearance through the Director,
Office of Human Research and Animal Care (Office). The ethics review and clearance processes are intended to ensure
that projects comply with the Office’s Guidelines for Research with Human Participants (Guidelines) as well as those of
provincial and federal agencies, and that the safety, rights and welfare of participants are adequately protected. The
Guidelines inform researchers about ethical issues and procedures which are of concern when conducting research with
humans (e.g. confidentiality, risks and benefits, informed consent process, etc.). If the development of your research
proposal consists of research that involves humans as participants, the please contact the course instructor for guidance
and see: http://www.research.uwaterloo.ca/ethics/human/
Note for students with disabilities: The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room
1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities
without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the
impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each academic term.
Religious Observances: Please inform the instructor at the beginning of term if special accommodation needs to be
made for religious observances that are not otherwise accounted for in the scheduling of classes and assignments.
Turnitin Software: Plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) will NOT be used to screen assignments on this course.
Unclaimed assignments: Unclaimed assignments will be retained until one month after term grades become official in
Quest. After that time, they will be destroyed in compliance with UW’s confidential shredding procedures.
Annotated bibliography: For advice on how to prepare an annotated bibliography, see:
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/annotated-bibliography