GEG 106 Cultural Geography

Lecture Hours: 4
Credits: 4

Introduces the cultural elements of geography worldwide, including the study of human population, migration, language, religion, cultural landscapes, and geopolitics. Special emphasis is placed on the unequal distribution of power in the U.S. with regard to religion, ethnicity, and language.

Prerequisite: Placement into WR 115 (or higher), or completion of WR 090 (or higher) with a grade of C or better; or consent of instructor.
Student Learning Outcomes:

Describe how culture influences human-environment interactions.
Interpret cultural landscapes through direct observation and interaction.
Describe the present pattern of population distribution and analyze how and why it is changing.
Identify factors that cause people to migrate and assess their relative importance.
Describe how the unequal distribution of power in the U.S. may affect individuals with different religious views, languages, or ethnicities.
Explain and provide examples of how bias can result in viewpoint discrimination.
Analyze current world events from a geographical perspective.
Assess how the globalization of culture is affecting the distinctive cultural traits of local areas around the world.
Utilize appropriate information literacy skills in written and oral communication.

Statewide General Education Outcomes:

Apply analytical skills to social phenomena in order to understand human behavior.
Apply knowledge and experience to foster personal growth and better appreciate the diverse social world in which we live.

Cultural Literacy Outcome:

Identify and analyze complex practices, values, and beliefs and the culturally and historically defined meanings of difference

Content Outline

Thinking Geographically
- Discipline of geography
  - Major geographic themes
  - Reading maps
- Subfield of cultural geography
- Globalization
Population
- Distribution and density
- Population growth
- Demographic transition
- Overpopulation
Migration
- Push and pull factors
- Types of migration
  - Forced versus voluntary
  - International, interregional, intraregional
Folk and Popular Culture
- Origin and diffusion of folk customs and popular culture
- Geographic patterns and landscapes of popular culture
  - Sports and recreation
  - House types
  - Food customs
  - Clothing preferences
Language
- Language families and their distribution
- English-global dominance, diffusion, and dialects
- Multilingual states
- Endangered languages
- French and Spanish in North America
Geography of Religion
- Types of religions
- Major world religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism)
  - Origin
  - Diffusion
  - Distribution
  - Beliefs
- Religious conflicts
  - Viewpoint discrimination
  - Fostering respectful discussions of controversial issues
Ethnicity
- U.S. ethnic distribution
- Racism and discrimination
- Cultural basis of discrimination
- Nation-states and multinational states
- Ethnic conflicts
Political Geography (Geopolitics)
- Definition, development, and shapes of states
- Boundaries between states
- Boundary conflicts
- Cooperation among states (supranationalism)