GEOGRAPHY COURSES

Courses offered this semester

In the Social Sciences programme you must take the introductory course in each disciple before going on to any of the other courses. In Geography that first course is The World: Land and People which explores some of the main issues and approaches of the subject by looking at conditions and events in different parts of the world. Having taken that course, you may go on and take any of the other 200 and 300 level Geography courses in any order All of our courses may also be taken as complementaries by students in other programmes, and many of them are designated as part of Majors programmes. 320-100-VA THE WORLD: LAND AND PEOPLE Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, globalization, cultural survival, city life, coral reefs, landscape, tourism, languages and more - the field of geography is very wide. Our world is a place of infinite beauty, variety and interest. This introductory course in Geography integrates the social and earth sciences to explore our relationship with our home - the Earth - and lays a foundation for further geography courses. 320-200-VA PLANET EARTH The Earth - the blue planet- is unique in the solar system. This course explores the total bio-physical environment of the earth. Its moderate temperatures and abundance of water ensure that, uniquely in the solar system, the earth teems with life. We study the atmosphere, oceans, rocky surface and living things which interact in a dynamic, ever-changing system and form the home of human-kind. 320-201-VA GLOBAL CHALLENGE Human activities have become potent agents of environmental change throughout the world.. The challenge which we face today is that of protecting the earth's life-support systems to ensure the continued well-being of all the world's peoples. Course content covers resource management, demographic change, technological innovation, globalization and human rights. The world can be changed for the better - if we all cooperate. In this course we will discuss how individual action can help us create a better future. 320-202-VA THE MEDITERRANEAN: GEOGRAPHY OF A REGION The Mediterranean region is the birth-place of the western world - its geography and history are woven into our earliest myths and legends. A seductively beautiful but violent environment has seen major innovations, brilliant empires, and both great wealth and great poverty. Today the region is enjoying a great economic revitalization and is the world's premier tourist destination but it is also the scene of ethnic conflict, massive migration and difficult environmental problems. 320-204-VA GEOGRAPHY OF RECREATION Course content includes an introduction to recreation in society - its history, variety and current demand. Planning for and management of recreational services in urban and rural contexts, the environmental, economic and social impacts of recreation, including second-home ownership, and the vulnerability of wilderness will be covered.. Geographical case studies will illustrate these themes. 320-205-VA CULTURE, POLITICS AND GEOGRAPHY Human societies exist in a myriad of different cultural forms. This course covers the cultural elements of language, religion, diet, ethnicity, social organisation, settlements and government. It explores human cultural adaptability in a wide range of environments, the emergence of cultural regions, the development of nationalism and the question of cultural survival in a globalizing world 320-300-VA THE CITY: URBAN GEOGRAPHY This course explores the socio-economic, demographic and environmental challenges of urbanization. We examine pressing urban issues in developed and developing countries relating to sustainability, housing, employment, gentrification and the social construction of ‘race', ethnicity, gender and sexuality. We learn to think critically about these perceptions and the social values behind the geographical patterns that we observe on the ground. Field trips to select neighborhoods in Montreal offer students the opportunity to explore our city and put geographical field methods into practice 320-301-VA GEOGRAPHY OF TOURISM Tourism has recently grown to be the world's second largest industry, after oil, as it moves 500 million people globally each year. Increasingly, tourism extends to every region of the planet and brings tremendous hopes of economic gain with it. Here, we will examine how far these hopes are fulfilled. Socially and culturally tourism brings changes which are not always desirable. We are also increasingly becoming aware of the consequences it has on the environment and on the local population. .Through practical exercises, the implications of this growing industry will be investigated from both the tourists' place of origin and their actual destination covering socio-economic, cultural and environmental aspect of tourism 320-302-VA MAPS AND MAPPING Maps offer us a picture of the world and reveal how things are related to each other in three dimensions. They are prime geographical documents, uniquely suited to display spatial patterns across the earth's surface but are often also things of beauty. Course content includes an overview of special-purpose maps and their conventions; simple surveying; the collection of data and basic drafting techniques. Students will design and draw their own thematic maps. Maps and air-photographs will be used to analyse social science issues .