Professor Wendy Wolford

Teaching Assistant, Adrian Wilson

M/W/F 11:00-11:50 a.m

Room 220, Saunders Hall

Professor Wolford’s office and office hours: M/W 2 – 3:30 a.m.

Saunders 325

Or by appointment

Email: wwolford@email.unc.edu

Phone: 843-4762

Teaching Assistant: Adrian Wilson:
Office hours: Thursday, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Saunders 324
Or by appointment
Email: adrianw@email.unc.edu

“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take? she asked. Where do you want to go? was his response. I don't know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter.”

                                                                                                (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland)

Human Geography is the study of location.  It sounds simple, but location is much more than the study of where we are.   Before the world’s features were well-known, Geographers were important links between new worlds and old: between the Greek explorers and the hinterland, between the Chinese and Eastern Africa, between the Europeans and the Americas.  As more of the earth’s surface was traversed, plotted and colored in, Geographers developed theories about the relationship between people and their environments.  Some of these theories continue to characterize Geography, as well as other disciplines, today.  Increasingly, however, Geography has been forced to become the study of everything – because all social life is located, and that location matters.  Chapel Hill, NC, may seem far removed from the events going on in the world, but global communications, trade, travel, financial flows, environmental concerns – and more - are changing the way that people around the world relate to each other and to their environment.  Thinking geographically means examining how differences between people and places get constructed and how some places end up “meaning” a whole lot more to us than other places.  In other words, when human geographers look at a state capitol they do more than memorize its name and position on the map: they think about the political and economic discussions that went into deciding where the state capitol would be located, who paid for it, and how effective a political space it is (and for whom).

In this class, we will study the following aspects of geography:

• Place, a sense of place and an appreciation for how places are constituted/constructed
• Relative location, or scale (local, regional, national, global and more)
• The many and varying relationships between people and their environment
• The importance of spatial distance, difference and differentiation in development
• The multiplicity of locations and exclusions
• The dynamic of globalization as a new set of relationships between people and their environments

Course Objectives:

The objectives of this introductory course in human geography are simple. 

First, and foremost, you are here to learn.  This means more than just my teaching you – it means each of you getting involved in your own education, participating in class and sharing what you know.  I will provide all of the tools you need in order to do well in this class (the readings, the assignments, most of the information), it will be up to you to use them wisely.  Participation will be a significant part of your grade, so if you feel uncomfortable about raising your hand and speaking up in class or in discussion sections, come see me or Adrian early on!

The second objective of this course is more specific – you are here to learn something about the way the world works.  This is no mean task – the world is pretty big, and there are many different perspectives on how it “works.”   We will begin the semester with a theoretical and empirical overview of the contemporary world system.  Then we will explore some of the main issues in the human geography of globalization, including: development, industrialization, population, agriculture, nationalism, the semiotics of new spaces and cultural expressions.  We will develop a "geographer’s point of view,” and always keep in mind how these issues are shaped by the relationship between human and physical environments and by the relationships between people in different places around the world.  The attempt to cover so much material may make the class seem very broad, but the material we cover will provide a road-map for understanding these issues, and you can always return later to the issues that interest you the most.

The third objective of this course is to get each of you to become experts in making informed arguments and marshaling the necessary evidence to support those arguments in conversation with other people.  This sounds easy, but it often isn’t.  We will be dealing with controversial material sometimes, and everyone needs to be able to simultaneously keep an open mind and defend their positions.  Note: positions should be defended with well-constructed arguments, not simply opinions!  This means that if we are debating an issue, the answer “I just think it’s not right” will not be accepted.  The answer “I think it’s not right because most of the people who work in sweatshops are under the age of 15 and don’t have the experience needed to organize in defense of their rights” will be.  In other words, there are no wrong answers, just poorly formulated ones.

The objective of making informed arguments will require everyone working together.  This classroom is a place where we can all bring up new points, ask questions, and make suggestions.  Every one in this class should respect their fellow students – believe me, you will learn as much from them in your time at Carolina as you will from your teachers.

Lectures are a key part of class.  I will often refer to the textbook and other readings as I lecture, but I will not follow the same outline.  Often I will expand on a particular case study relevant to the material presented in the reading, or I will even argue against it.  So come to class!  Feel free to ask questions, disagree, or make a point.  Please do not use your computers or cell phones for anything other than note-taking or hip decoration.  If you are going to miss a class, there is no need to tell me, but do your best to find someone in class who will lend you their notes. 

Readings have been assigned for each class and should be read for the day on which they are listed.  One of the most important things to think about as you sit down to read, is how to read.  You may think you are already very good at this (and you probably are), but here are some things to keep in mind:

The textbook will be both easier and harder to read than the supplemental readings.  It will be harder because it covers a lot of information, but it will be easier because the main points are highlighted and the information presented is more straightforward.  This doesn’t mean that there aren’t arguments to be deconstructed, it just means that they stick more often to agreed-upon research rather than to research supported primarily by strong opinions.  My suggestions are to write down the main ideas as you read, and keep a set of note cards with the key terms written down and defined.  Come see me if you have any questions.

The in-class mid-term will include material from lectures and the readings - material that has been covered in the reading but not in class will be on the exam.  There will be no official study session for this exam, although you are encouraged to form study groups on your own.  The mid-term exam will include: identifications, short answer questions, and essay questions.

The class project actually consists of several small projects spread out throughout the semester.  It will involve research, writing, and creative thinking.  I will detail the project goals and components extensively in class, but it involves playing The Amazing Race together.  You will be asked to achieve certain tasks, such as getting from Antigua, Guatemala to New York City with no more than 20UUS$ and no official documents.  Everybody will be completing the same tasks, and I will announce the “winners,” as well as the actual statistics on such tasks, in class.  During the semester you will be asked to hand in written reports on your progress, but the actual final project will be a poster presentation of your race course.  These posters will be on public display, and we will discuss them during the final week of classes.

The New York Times tracking assignment will be ongoing throughout the semester.  During the first two weeks of class, you will be asked to choose a country or a topic (from the syllabus) that particularly interests you.  You will need to sign up for the New York Times on the web (it’s free) and ask for the tracking service, which will let you know whenever there is a news item related to the country or topic you have chosen.  Every Friday you should email your TA to let him know what interesting stories came up in relation to your topic.  Also, at the beginning of each Friday discussion we will have a few minutes for students to summarize whatever news stories came up in relation to their country or topic since our last class.  Countries and topics will need to be ok’d with me or Adrian by September 14.

The final exam will be a cumulative exam with the same format as the mid-term.

Honor Code and Policy

Listen, just don’t cheat, ok?  There is no reason that you shouldn’t do well in this class; I do not grade along a curve, and if you work hard you should be able to get a good grade.  If at any point you are having problems, come and see me or the TA.  We will spend extra time on the readings together or go over points from class.  Cheating rarely works (you would be amazed at how easy it is to spot), and it causes huge headaches for you, me, your parents, etc. 

What is cheating?  A rough outline would include the following:

Copying answers from someone else when that is not specifically allowed;

Copying anything longer than two words from a source without attributing ownership to that source – this goes for books, newspaper articles, web pages, etc.;

Using a source that is not properly cited and included in your bibliography;

Handing in a paper that someone else wrote for you.

For a look at UNC’s honor code, please see:  http://honor.unc.edu/students/welcome.html

Miscellaneous Policies:
 a) All athletes who will miss class for their sport should see me the first week of classes.
 b) Please feel free to come and discuss your grades with me.  I will always take the time to review your work – but I   reserve the right to change the grade in any way that seems fitting.
 c) Because there are so many different assignments and exams that go into your grade, there will not be any opportunities for extra credit.
 d) Late assignments will be accepted, but they will be marked down a full letter grade for every day they are late.
 e) I will do my best to accommodate make-up exams for people who have legitimate excuses (over-sleeping does not count, sorry!).  Please let me know at least a week in advance if you will need to reschedule your exam.

Human Geography: Course Readings and Lecture Outline

Required text:

Human Geography (second edition).  Daniels, Peter et al. 2004.  This textbook is available at the UNC bookstore.  This textbook was written by four very good British Geographers; we will be adapting it for use in an American Geography context.

*** All additional readings will be available on the course web site.

Lecture 5, September 12 (M): Globalization: Everyone’s talking about it, but what is it?

Lecture 6, September 14 (W): Free Market Capitalism: The Rising Hegemony

Reading: Chapter 14, “The Global Production System: From Fordism to Post-Fordism,” in textbook

Discussion 2, September 16 (F): Colonization to Globalization: A White Man's Burden?

Discussion 4, September 30 (F): Informal Economies, Labors of Love and Gifts we Give: Alternative economies and alternative “monies”

Reading: read through the Ithaca Hours website

Lecture 13, October 10 (M): The Population Explosion – what happened to all those babies?

**** FALL BREAK (so, no class) ****