Undergraduate Classes

GEA2210 United States & Canada (3) is a regional geography of the two Anglo countries in North America, examining their colonial history, economic development, physical resources, cultural diversity and political debates. Contrasts are made between their social welfare, race relations, military investments, and international trade.

GEA3563 The Mediterranean (3) analyzes the Mediterranean region as a unified totality (southern Europe and North Africa), focusing on historical changes that underpin current geography. Today the region is active with political upheavals, religious tensions, and illegal immigration but still shares commonality in food, culture, climate, and tourism.

GEA4405 Latin America (3) is a regional geography course exploring South, Central and North America bound by the common languages of Spanish and Portuguese. Fragile ecosystems, colonial legacies, land reform, trade, conflict, inequality and political stability–and its international standing–both within the western hemisphere and its relationship with the US, and globally within other economically developing regions. No textbook is required. Quizzes. Projects, Exam. Approved for Liberal Studies Area III and Diversity in Western Experience (Y).

GEA4500 Europe (3) tours the European continent’s many nationalities, examining social and cultural diversity, as well as their economic union. History of colonial power, internal conflict, race relations, religious tension, and physical resources.

GEO1330 Environmental Science (3) explores the causes of local and global environmental problems and their impacts, including resource use, pollution, ecosystems, climate change, and population growth. Contrasted against reversal policies of recycling, renewable energy, and sustainability. Example text: Friedland, Relyea, & Courard-Hauri (2011) Environmental Science: Foundations & Applications (W.H. Freeman). Quizzes. Current event article. Term Paper. No exam. Approved for Liberal Studies III.

GEO1400 Human Geography (3) is an introductory survey of geographic theories, issues and applications from the human perspective. How people interact with each other politically, economically, culturally and socially across distances, scales, and across the natural environment. Global contrasts between urban and rural habitation, local versus transnational trade, and regional uneven economic development. Example text: Rubenstein (2013) The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography, (11th Edition) (Prentice Hall). Quizzes. Essays. Project. Exam. Approved for Liberal Studies III and Cross-Cultural Studies (X).

GEO2200C Physical Geography (3) is an overview of earth-sun relations, weather, climate, landforms, water systems, soils, ecosystems, and human disturbance of nature. Example text: Christopherson (2015) Elemental Geosystems (8th edition) (Pearson). Assignments. Project. Exam.

GEO3423 Sports Geography (3) focuses on how space and geography demarcates and represents recreational and professional physical activity. Topophilia (love of place) and loyalty define sporting tribalism for fans, recruiting patterns of players, locational strategies of franchises, and cost/benefits of hosting sporting events. No textbook.  Quizzes. Project. No exam.

GEO3502 Economic Geography (3) examines the geography of economic activity at local, national, and global scales: historical development of capitalism, regional development, spatial structure of agriculture, manufacturing and services, the global economy, third world poverty, and population growth. No textbook. Tests. Exams.

GEO4162C Spatial Data Analysis (3) is an introduction to the quantitative analysis of geographic data using basic descriptive statistics, spatial pattern analysis, and intrinsic linear relationships between geographic variables. Example text: McGrew, Lembo & Monroe (2014) An Introduction to Statistical Problem Solving in Geography (3rd edition) (Waveland Press). Quizzes. Statistics project. Exam.

GEO4210 Landforms & Landscapes (3) explores individual geomorphic landforms which create large-scale landscapes: how they form, how they change over time, and how we describe them. Emphasis is given to how humans interact with these landscapes and how these landscapes can impact human habitation. Example text: Huggett (2011) Fundamentals of Geomorphology (3rd edition) (Routledge). Assignments. Tests. Exam.

GEO4251 Climate Change & Storms (3) is an investigation of severe storms (including hurricanes and tornadoes), and how they form, where they move, and how humans are changing climates to make them more frequent and stronger. Tests, and term project. No textbook.

GEO4280 Geography of Water Resources (3) is an overview of the natural processes associated with water occurrence and its flow across the Earth’s environment. Its impacts on human habitation, management, reclamation, and long-term sustainability. No Textbook. Test. Term project. No exam.

GEO4300 Biogeography (3) examines the spatial distributions of flora and fauna, ecosystem changes and human interventions such as logging, introducing invasive species, and policies on wilderness preservation. Understanding controls on the spatial and temporal distribution of species and populations will help us to predict and manage how they will change in the future. Example text: MacDonald (2003) Biogeography: Time, Space and Life (Wiley & Sons). Quizzes. Labs. No exam.

GEO4355 Geography of Food & Environment (3) explores food production, distribution and consumption as either intensive global agro-food or local organic farm operations. Investigation into the ecology and biodiversity of food, concept of terroir (connection of place and taste), GMO debate and impacts on environmental sustainability. Example readings: Pollan (2007) The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Penguin Press); and Robbins, Hintz & Moore (2010) Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction (Wiley-Blackwell). Debates. Test. Project. No exam.

GEO4376 Landscape Ecology (3) explores ecological conservation, natural resource management, landscape and urban planning, human-environmental interactions and their implications. Familiarity with environmental science, physical geography and ArcGIS is expected. Example text: Turner, Gardner & O’Neill (2003) Landscape Ecology in Theory & Practice: Pattern & Process (Springer). Discussions. Labs. Term project. No exam.

GEO4392 Geography of Marine Conservation (3) outlines the major conservation issues in coastal and marine systems worldwide, including the science, management and policy dimensions of marine conservation. It will explore critical conservation problems facing marine ecosystems, including biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and altered ecosystems; and at the same time explore their causes and threats from climate change, overfishing, and other types of natural resource extraction and management failures. Example text: Ray & McCormick-Ray (2014) Marine Conservation: Science, Policy, and Management (Wiley). Quizzes. Midterm exam, Writing Assignment. Exam.

GEO4404 Black Geographies (3) addresses the historical, political, and spatial contexts in which geographies of black populations emerge throughout the United States and beyond. At its core, the course seeks to investigate ways in which black communities throughout the African Diaspora are spatially marginalized, and the ways in which black communities produce space. Therefore, the class will discuss race, racism, alongside conversations of spatial marginalization (e.g. segregation). This course is cross listed with the program in African American Studies. No textbook. Writing Assignments. No Exam.

GEO4421 Cultural Geography (3) explores how the development of society, its customs, language, beliefs, traditions, and political ideologies vary in cohesiveness at local, national, and international scales.  No textbook. Approved for Liberal Studies III and Cross-Cultural Studies (X). Tests. Projects. Exam.

GEO4450 Medical Geography (3) applies geographical concepts and techniques to health-related problems, including the ecology of health, disease diffusion, medical cartography, and health care access. Human ecology of disease, epidemiology, transmissible disease systems, pandemic outbreaks, and environmental pollution. Example text: Meade & Emch (2010) Medical Geography (3rd edition) (Guilford Press). Assignments. Test. Term paper. No exam.

GEO4471 Political Geography (3) focuses on the spatial dimensions of political processes from the local to the global level, including nation-states, elections and geopolitics of the world system. No textbook. Test. Exam.

GEO4503 Globalization (3) explores the concepts and processes that define world system connectivity that includes commodity production, labor costs, market exchange, and cultural contradictions. No textbook. Test. Exam.

GEO4602 Urban Geography (3) explores the historical growth of cities, and their spatial structure of commercial, industrial, and public facilities, residential segregation, urban poverty, and fiscal distress. How planners, governments and activists modify cities, as well as a history of American cities over the past 150 years. Example text: LeGates & Stout (2011) City Reader (5th edition) (Routledge). Reaction papers. Term paper. No exam.

GEO4700 Transport Geography (3) offers a review of the literature and techniques for the spatial impacts of transportation systems, including functionality, and their role on society, the economy, energy, the environment, and sustainability. Critical concerns with energy consumption, highway congestion, automobile emissions, and transportation security. Example text: Rodrigue, Comtois & Slack (2013) The Geography of Transport Systems (third edition) (Routledge). Assignments. Presentation. Exam.

GEO4905 Directed Individual Study (1–5) may be repeated to a maximum of NINE (9) semester hours. This course is for students who have basic or well-defined research ideas and want to investigate them further with the supervision of individual faculty. Please contact faculty member to set up a DIS course.

GEO4930 Special Topics in Geography (1–3) may be repeated to a maximum of NINE (9) semester hours. These are new courses that have yet to be assigned class numbers. They represent new ideas and methodologies in geography.

GEO4932 Honors Work (1–6) may be repeated to a maximum of NINE (9) semester hours. Students interested in pursuing this course should contact the undergraduate program director.

GEO4941 Internship (3–6) provides students with an opportunity to apply skills in supervised situations off-campus. Course may be repeated to a maximum of SIX (6) semester hours, but only THREE (3) may be counted toward the major. Consult the undergraduate program director to set up this course.

GIS2040 Essentials of GIS (3) is a review of the basic principles and techniques of geographic information systems (GIS) for students with no or rudimentary knowledge of geographic concepts and practices. Grading is based on assignments and projects. No textbook. This course is NOT for geography or environment & society majors.

GIS3015 Map Analysis (3) is a survey of cartographic representation, how traditional and digital maps are used to navigate and communicate space, and how land is delineated by politics, conflict, society and economics. No Textbook. Exam.

GIS4035 Introduction to Remote Sensing (3) covers the foundations and use of remote sensing for environmental and urban applications. y, various sensing systems, applications, and digital image processing. Corequisite GIS4035L.

GIS4035L Introduction to Remote Sensing Lab (1) lab provides hands-on practice experience with equipment and computers to demonstrate the concepts and techniques used in the remote sensing class GIS4035. Corequisite GIS4035.

GIS4043 Geographic Information Systems (3) is an introduction to the expanding field of geospatial technology, how digital maps represent the world, locational measurements by GPS, spatial data structures, scenario-building, modeling/analysis, and decision support. Corequisite GIS4043L.

GIS4043L GIS Lab (1) lab is hands-on computer practice in using ArcGIS. Corequisite GIS4043.

GIS4330 Florida GIS Applications (3) evaluates of the breadth of environmental and social applications of geographic information systems specific to the State of Florida. It will allow students to explore GIS software functionality, evaluate spatial data quality, design GIS methodologies, generate maps and spatial reports, and critically evaluate the practicality, feasibility, and reliability of measuring and monitoring Florida applications that include, but are not limited to, the following: wetland management, severe storm impacts, and urban developments for tourism and retirement. Example text: Allen (2010) GIS Tutorial 2: Spatial Analysis Workbook (2nd Ed) (ESRI Press). Computer-based exercises. Project. No exam.

GIS4402 GIS Applications in Social Sciences (3) explores how GIS is used in many diverse applications of social science thought and methodologies. Special consideration is given to the data needs of such operations, the implementation of methods in a GIS environment, and understanding the spatial assumptions and issues that underpin analyses. The course emphasizes quantitative applications but also explores qualitative critiques of GIS applications. Attention will be given to measuring and interpreting social science processes, and the statistics behind analytical applications. The premise of this class is that cutting-edge GIS work often requires building upon the functionality of popular GIS packages, such as ArcGIS, but also the R statistical software and analysis package. The topic of many of the in-class assignments will be directly or indirectly related to public health, but also clearly relevant to other social science issues. The course is structured around lectures, tutorials, in-class exercises, presentations of results, and a final project. This course is cross listed with the program in Public Health. No textbook. Computer-based exercises. Project. No exam.

IFS2012 Sustainable Society (3) investigates sustainable practices using field studies that involve local organic farms, hydro-power stations, new urbanism communities, and recycling facilities by interaction with community-based programs. Engagement in critical thinking on the sustainability of human society and the environment from the perspective of producers, consumers, public-service sectors, and policy makers. The course makes use of the SPSS software package for statistical analysis.

IFS2029 Dead Cities (3) poses the question, how can we understand and respond to urban decay and decline? Examples from the U.S. and abroad exploring differences between “conventional” urban poverty (which may be a necessary part of successful cities), systematic urban decline, new suburban poverty, favelas and shantytowns, and recent strategies to “reclaim” failing cities. E-Series. Honors.

IFS2040 Putting Science into Action: Field Methods in Plant Ecology (3) addresses scientific research design and field data collection, drawing on principles from biogeography and ecology. Focus is on sampling design and survey methods for plants on three scales, populations, communities, and ecosystems, with insight into field-based inquiry and techniques to monitor and assess plant populations, communities, and ecosystems. On-campus field labs as well as trips to the Apalachicola National Forest to investigate long-leaf pine savannas, wetland habitats at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, and sand dune communities at St. George Island State Park. Lab assignments, project, and paper/presentation. Textbooks: Ruxton & Colegrave (2011) Experimental Design for the Life Science (3rd Edition) (Oxford University Press); and Krebs (1999) Ecological Methodology (2nd Edition) (Benjamin Cummings). E-Series Class. Honors.

IFS2077 Great Britain? Geography, Imperialism, Industry & Culture (3) investigates the regional geography of the island of Great Britain; its changing position from a “great” imperial and industrial power to a “great” financial and cultural leader. No Textbook. Quizzes. Writing Assignments. No Exam. Approved for Liberal Studies III and Diversity in Western Experience (Y). E-Series Class. Honors.

IFS2080 Glaciers, Geysers, and Glades: Exploring U.S. National Parks (3) explores the sustainability of the National Parks of the United States; their geographic distribution, physical structure, economic management, and cultural recreation. E-Series.

IFS2148 Sport: Place, Competition & Fairness (3) explores where sports are played, in which competitive capacity, and within which levels of fairness. It will investigate how sport and attitudes to sport are unevenly distributed around the world; where money drives competition, and where culture dictates ‘acceptable’ levels of competition. No Textbook. Quizzes and Writing Assignments. No Exam. E-Series. Ethics. Honors.