Academic Catalog

GEOG 5: INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2023
Units: 4
Hours: 4 lecture per week (48 total per quarter)
Advisory: Demonstrated proficiency in English by placement via multiple measures OR through an equivalent placement process OR completion of ESLL 125 & ESLL 249.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Area IV: Social & Behavioral Sciences
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Use maps, graphs and/or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze and interpret data and draw valid conclusions
  • Examine how society organizes its economic activities over space at both a local, regional and global scale.
  • Compare and contrast economic development and prosperity as they relate to human geography and the distribution of natural resources.

Description

Introduction to the geography of economic activity; the worldwide distribution and characteristics of agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacturing, transportation, high technology, and international trade.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Understand basic geographic concepts and spatial analysis
  2. Examine how society organizes its economic activities over space at both a local, regional, and global scale
  3. Compare and contrast economic development and prosperity as they relate to human geography and the distribution of natural resources

Course Content

  1. Understand basic geographic concepts and spatial analysis
    1. Reading and interpreting maps and graphs
    2. Describe the field of geography
    3. Utilize and explain the methodology through which geographers examine the world
    4. Define the location, distribution, and inter-relationship among economic resources on a global scale
    5. Analyze the relationship between natural and economic resources
    6. Evaluate land use for transportation and population settlements
  2. Examine how society organizes its economic activities over space at both a local, regional, and global scale
    1. Identify the principles of production, exchange, and consumption
    2. Evaluate land use for transportation and population settlements
    3. Interpret the impact of land and resource ownership on world economies
    4. Discuss local and regional land use planning
    5. Characterize the role of citizen participation
    6. Discuss historic development of global economic systems
  3. Compare and contrast economic development and prosperity as they relate to human geography and the distribution of natural resources
    1. Describe the relationship between natural and economic resources
    2. Discuss the distribution and characteristics of:
      1. Agriculture
      2. Forestry
      3. Fishing
      4. Mining
      5. Manufacturing and services
      6. Transportation and communication
    3. Discuss economic development and globalization and their impact on natural resources and the human population
      1. Population dynamics
      2. Urbanization
      3. Consumption patterns
      4. Energy production and use
      5. Renewable and non-renewable resource use
      6. Environmental degradation
      7. Environmental equity and sustainable development

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

When taught as an online distance learning section, students and faculty need ongoing and continuous internet and email access.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Quizzes
Papers and projects involving critical thinking and analytical oral and/or written skills, including consideration of events and ideas from multiple perspectives
Midterm(s) and final exam

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture
Discussion
Cooperative learning exercises
Oral presentations
Electronic discussions/chat

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Coe, N., P. Kelly, and H. Yeung. Economic Geography: A Contemporary Introduction, 3rd ed.. 2019.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Read assigned chapters in the text and answer end of chapter questions
  2. Papers and projects involving critical thinking and analytical oral and/or written skills, including consideration of events and ideas from multiple perspectives, utilizing tools relevant to the discipline, such as maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Discipline(s)

Geography