Department of Geography
JOHN PICKLES, Chair
Professors
Lawrence E. Band, Stephen S. Birdsall, Michael E. Emch, John Pickles, Stephen J. Walsh.
Associate Professors
Altha J. Cravey, Martin Doyle, Scott Kirsch, Charles E. Konrad, Aaron Moody, Conghe Song.
Assistant Professors
Banu P. Gokariksel, Clark Gray, Elizabeth Havice, Nina Martin, Sara Smith, Gabriel Valdivia, Erika Wise.
Professors Emeriti
John D. Eyre, John W. Florin, Wilbert M. Gesler, Melinda S. Meade, Peter J. Robinson.
Introduction
Geography focuses on the evolving character and organization of the earth’s surface, on the ways in which the interactions of biophysical and human phenomena in space create distinctive places and regions, and on the influence those places and regions have on a wide range of natural and human events and processes. Within this broad vision, geographers study many issues, including the geography of human activity, the geography of the earth’s environmental systems, and the sciences of geographic information, analysis, and visualization.
Human geographers are concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence: how people and their activities are distributed across the globe, how humans use and perceive space, place, regions, and landscapes, and how they create and sustain the places that make up the planet’s surface. Students trained in human geography work in many fields, including urban and regional planning, environmental policy, international business, community development, nongovernmental organizations, and education, among others. Human geography at UNC–Chapel Hill has particular strengths in the study of globalization and development, culture and economy, political economy and political ecology, and social movements in Latin America. Interest in human geography is well represented in the department by Professors Birdsall, Cravey, Emch, Gokariksel, Gray, Havice, Kirsch, Martin, Pickles, Smith, and Valdivia.
Biophysical and environmental geography is the study of the spatial distributions of biophysical phenomena such as the vegetation, soil, landforms, and weather of an area, and the systems that link them to create the environment at and near the surface of the earth. Environmental geographers are active in the study of climate change, climate and health, drought and flood hazard, deforestation, biodiversity, and water resources. They forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. Students trained in biophysical and environmental geography work in many fields, including environmental policy, regional planning, sustainability and remediation, nongovernmental organizations, and education, among others. UNC–Chapel Hill’s Department of Geography has particular strengths in the study of water, climate and health, land-cover/land-use change, and biodiversity, particularly in the Galapagos. Interest in environmental geography is well represented in the department by Professors Band, Doyle, Konrad, Moody, Song, Valdivia, Walsh, and Wise. Faculty members in the department also direct the Institute for the Environment, the Center for Galapagos Studies, the Southeast Regional Climate Center, and the Center for Landscape Change and Health.
Both human and biophysical geographers study the interaction of humans and their environment. Indeed, geographers were among the first scientists to note and study human-induced changes to the environment. This domain of human societal and environmental interactions is also well represented by Professors Band, Doyle, Emch, Gray, Havice, Kirsch, Moody, Valdivia, Walsh, and Wise.
Geographers have long been at the forefront of the use satellite and other digital images (remote sensing), as well as a range of other digital spatial data in their research and teaching. These images frequently form the basis for geographic information science (GISci), which is used to analyze and display geo-referenced and other spatial information about human and environmental systems. UNC–Chapel Hill has particular strengths in the use of geographic information systems and GISci to study land use change, human and environmental health, and global change. Geographers with these skills are employed in a wide variety of fields, including governmental agencies, environmental policy, urban and regional planning, business, and research and educational institutions. The key concern for techniques of data collection, analysis, and spatial representation (remote sensing and GISci) cuts across the topical specialties and is a strength of Drs. Band, Emch, Liang, Moody, Song, Valdivia, Walsh, and Wise.
Programs of Study
The degree offered is the bachelor of arts with a major in geography. A minor in geography is also available.
Majoring in Geography: Bachelor of Arts
Core Requirements
• GEOG 110, 111, or 112
• GEOG 120, 121, or 130
• GEOG 370 and 420
• Three courses from one of the following concentrations:
• Earth Environmental Systems (EES) Concentration: GEOG 391 Quantitative Methods in Geography and at least two 400-level or above EES courses (GEOG 410, 412, 414, 416, 419, 440, 441, 442, 444, or 595)
• Geographic Information Sciences (GISci) Concentration: GEOG 391 Quantitative Methods in Geography and at least two 400-level or above GISci courses (GEOG 477, 491, 541, 577, 591, 593, 594, or 595)
• Geography of Human Activity (GHA) Concentration: One regional course (GEOG 259, 260, 261, 262, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 457, 458, or 464) and at least two 200-, 400-, or 500-level GHA courses (GEOG 225, 228, 232, 237, 423, 428, 434, 435, 445, 446, 447, 448, 450, 452, 453, 454, or 542)
• At least two additional elective courses for a total minimum of nine geography courses. Elective courses may be any on the departmental list, but additional courses in the student’s concentration and from among the regional/integrative courses are recommended.
Additional Requirements
All General Education requirements apply. A maximum of 15 geography courses, or 45 hours, can count toward the 120 hours required for graduation. Students wishing more information should consult the director of undergraduate studies.
Minoring in Geography
To minor in geography a student must pass a minimum of five courses in geography. These consist of any two core courses (GEOG 110, 111, 112, 120, 121, 130, 370, 420) and three elective courses. Elective courses may be any on the departmental list, but students are encouraged to pursue elective courses focused in one of geography’s major concentrations and from among the regional courses. Students wishing more information should consult a geography advisor.
Honors in Geography
Qualifying students are strongly encouraged to pursue an honors degree. To gain admission to the honors program students need a minimum grade point average of 3.2. Honors students take GEOG 691H and 692H (honors readings and research and theses hours) with their honors thesis chair in their senior year. Honors study involves the completion of a substantial piece of original research and the formal presentation of the results in an honors thesis and oral defense. Those who successfully complete the program are awarded their B.A. with either honors or highest honors in geography.
Special Opportunities in Geography
Departmental Involvement
SWIG (Supporting Women in Geography), now established at a number of universities, was founded at UNC–Chapel Hill. The department also sponsors the Geographical Society. The department has a peer advising program.
Experiential Education
The department offers three experiential education courses: GEOG 293 Internship, 419 Field Methods in Physical Geography, and 452 Mobile Geographies.
Independent Study
Opportunities for independent study and research are available with many of the department’s faculty. Students interested in these opportunities take GEOG 296 with the faculty member of their choice. For more information, contact the individual faculty member or the director of undergraduate studies.
Study Abroad
Experience with other cultures and environments is important to a sound background in geography, and thus the department strongly encourages a study abroad experience. Geography is one of five departments offering a joint degree in conjunction with the National University of Singapore (NUS). Students in that program will spend one or two years studying geography at NUS, and their diploma will be jointly granted by both universities. The department also participates in a junior-year exchange program with Kings College London and coordinates the Oaxaca Summer Abroad Program.
Undergraduate Awards
The Andrew McNally Award is given each spring to the outstanding senior major in geography as chosen by a committee of the faculty.
Undergraduate Research
Opportunities for research are available with many of the department’s faculty. Students interested in these opportunities take GEOG 296 with the faculty member of their choice.
Facilities
The department houses a dedicated PC laboratory for geography student use.
Graduate School and Career Opportunities
There are a variety of job opportunities for geographers in government, business industry, and the non-profit sector, particularly for human and environmental geographers with skills in GISci, remote sensing, and cartography. Private firms, governmental agencies, and environmental organizations also hire geographers for field investigations, locational analysis, land use planning, recreation and tourism planning, and foreign area expertise, among many others. Many geographers pursue teaching at all levels. For more career information see geography’s Web site at www.unc.edu/depts/geog.
Students with a B.A. with a major in geography are well trained to go on to graduate programs in geography or other disciplines. Majors have entered graduate programs as diverse as city and regional planning, business, medicine, and ecology. For more information about careers in geography, the UNC–Chapel Hill Department of Geography, degree requirements, and connections to other sites of interest, visit the department’s Web site at www.unc.edu/depts/geog.
Contact Information
For additional information, consult the geography undergraduate curriculum chair or an academic advisor in Saunders Hall, CB# 3220, (919) 962-8901. Web site: geography.unc.edu.
GEOG
50 First-Year Seminar: Mountain Environments (3). This course is on understanding the physical geography of mountain environments and the processes that have created them, shaped them, and sustained them.
53 First-Year Seminar: Battle Park: Carolina’s Urban Forest (3). An introduction to the study of urban forest landscapes through a series of field experiences in Carolina’s Battle Park.
54 First-Year Seminar: Global Change and the Carolinas (3). An examination of the ways in which change in the global physical environment, human induced and natural, might impact the Carolinas.
55 First-Year Seminar: Landscape in Science and Art (3). Explores viewing landscape from the perspective of science and of art, and investigates how an integration of both leads of a better understanding and appreciation of a landscape.
56 First-Year Seminar: Local Places in a Globalizing World (3). An examination of the relationship between globalization and localization in order to think about how we, as individuals and groups, can make a difference in the world.
57 First-Year Seminar: Dogs and People: From Prehistory to the Urbanized Future (3). People developed dogs as a living tool that is being modified to current urban social and demographic needs.
58 First-Year Seminar: Making Myth-Leading Memories: Landscapes of Remembrance (3). This course considers memorial landscapes created to reinforce values symbolized by the person, group, or event memorialized. It looks at how disagreements and cultural changes affect memorial landscape interpretation.
59 First-Year Seminar: Space, Identity, and Power in the Middle East (3). This seminar examines the role traditional and modern spaces play in representations of the Middle East and how Middle Easterners engage these contested spaces to construct their cultural and political identities.
60 First-Year Seminar: What Is Health Care? (3). This course will examine a variety of aspects of health care, including the biomedical system, health care in non-Western countries, alternative practitioners, beliefs about health, health policies, the role of various media, and healthy places. The emphasis is on the social sciences (geography, anthropology, sociology, mainly) of health.
61 First-Year Seminar: Climate Change in the American Southeast (3). Seminar participants, working in small groups, will run climate models and investigate current climate trends, combining the results to create scenarios of future climate for the southeast United States.
62 First-Year Seminar: The Culture of Technology (3). This first-year seminar uses the lens of culture to explore systems of meaning and values, and relations of social power, that are invested in technologies.
89 First-Year Seminar: Special Topics (3). Special topics course. Content will vary each semester.
110 Geography of Environmental Systems (3). The laboratory and its parent course focus on the geomorphic, hydrologic, and biogeographical aspects of environmental systems with attention to local examples. No laboratory. (Core)
111 Weather and Climate (3). An introduction to the nature and causes of weather variability and climate change and their impact on human activity. No laboratory. (Core)
112 Environmental Conservation (3). Survey of environmental change as driven by physical processes and human activity. Problem-solving methods are explored. Focus on issues such as global warming, ozone depletion, deforestation, extinction, pollution, wetland loss. Course provides significant background in physical geography in the context of today’s most pressing environmental concerns. No laboratory. (Core)
115 Maps: Geographic Information from Babylon to Google (3). Introduces the science and art of map making and will lay the conceptual foundation necessary to understand how and why maps are made and used.
120 World Regional Geography (PWAD 120) (3). A survey of the geographic structure of human activity in major world regions and nations. Emphasizes current developments related to population, urbanization, and economic activity. (Core)
121 People and Places (3). This course examines places and the connections between places to build critical understandings of the role of human geographies in global economic, political, social, and cultural systems. (Core)
123 Cultural Geography (3). How population, environment, and human culture is expressed in technology and organization interact over space and time. (GHA)
125 Cultural Landscapes (3). Explores how everyday culture helps create the landscapes and places in which we live and what these landscapes tell us about ourselves.
130 Geographical Issues in the Developing World (3). Population and ecological aspects of problems in the urban, industrial, and agricultural development of developing nations from a geographical perspective. (Core)
210 Global Issues in the 20th Century (ANTH 210, HIST 210, INTS 210, POLI 210) (3). See INTS 210 for description.
212 Environmental Conservation and Global Change (3). Survey of environmental change as driven by physical processes and human activity. Problem-solving methods are explored. Focus on issues such as global warming, ozone depletion, deforestation, extinction, pollution, wetland loss. This course will provide significant background in physical geography in the context of today's most pressing environmental concerns and with reference to the societal implications and management strategies. (No lab.) (Core)
225 Space, Place, and Difference (WMST 225) (3). Gender, race, and class are examined in terms of the spatial patterns of everyday life, regional patterns, and global patterns. (GHA)
228 Urban Geography (3). Explores the evolution, patterns, and processes of urbanization and development of cities and city systems. Emphasis on the origin, growth, and spatial distribution of cities and on the internal spatial organization of activities within cities. (GHA)
232 Agriculture, Food, and Society (3). A study of environmental parameters, cultural preferences, technological developments, and spatial economic infrastructure that result in world patterns of food consumption, production, and distribution. (GHA)
237 Natural Resources (3). An analysis of selected biological and mineral resources of the world with particular emphasis on their distribution, utilization, and management policies and on their social and economic implications. (GHA)
253 Introduction to Atmospheric Processes (ENST 253) (4). Prerequisites, MATH 231 and either CHEM 102 or PHYS 104. Includes one-hour laboratory. Atmospheric processes including radiation, dynamics, and thermodynamics are emphasized. Circulations across a range of temporal and spatial scales are described. Links between environmental problems and the atmosphere are explored.
259 Geography of Latin America (3). An introduction to Latin American geography through an examination of how the region came to be distinct and how social, political, and economic processes continue to define it. (Regional)
260 North America’s Landscapes (3). A survey of the cultural and physical landscapes of the United States and Canada. Emphasis on landscape evolution, present distributions, and interactions between people and their environment. (Regional)
261 The South (3). Present-day Southern United States, approached historically through a study of its physical, economic, and cultural environment. (Regional)
262 Geography of North Carolina (3). A survey of the cultural, economic, and physical diversity of North Carolina. Emphasizes regional patterns, historical changes, and the appearance of the landscape. (Regional)
263 Environmental Field Studies in Siberia (ENST 263, INTS 263) (4). See ENST 263 for description.
264 Conservation of Biodiversity in Theory and Practice (ENST 261, INTS 261) (3). See ENST 261 for description.
265 Eastern Asia (ASIA 265) (3). Spatial structure of population, urbanization, agriculture, industrialization, and regional links in China, Japan, and Korea. (Regional)
266 People and Environment in Southeast Asia (3). Sociological, biophysical, and geographical elements are integrated to examine interactions of population and environment in Thailand and neighboring countries. Diverse data sources and perspectives will be used to examine local to global issues. (Regional)
267 South Asia (ASIA 267) (3). Introduces students to the geography of South Asia, including an overview of the physical environment, cultural practices, and economic development. Emphasizes the political geography of South Asia and political and social processes such as nationalism and colonialism that have played a formative role in the region. (Regional)
268 Africa (3). Primary emphasis on the dynamic spatial organization of Africa south of the Sahara. Individual countries will be studied in view of their geographic characteristics and problems. (Regional)
269 Human-Environment Interactions in the Galapagos Islands (3). The social and ecological implications of resource conservation and economic development in a World Heritage Site are examined in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.
293 Internship (3). Open to junior and senior geography majors. Geography internships combine substantive geographic work experience with an academic project designed to integrate theory and practice. Field work is included.
295 Undergraduate Research in Geography (3). Permission of the instructor. For students who wish to participate in departmental research programs. May be taken twice.
296 Independent Study (1–21). Permission of the instructor. Special reading and research in geography under the supervision of a selected instructor. Course may not be taken more than twice.
370 Introduction to Geographic Information (3). A survey of geographic data sources including maps, photos, digital images, Census information, and others. Emphasis is on appropriate uses, limitations, and skilled interpretation in physical and human geography applications. (Core)
391 Quantitative Methods in Geography (3). This course provides an introduction to the application of statistical methods to geographic problems and to statistical packages in their solution. Attention given to spatial data analysis and sampling methods.
399 Contemporary Topics in Geography (1–21). Exploration of topics in contemporary geography.
404 Atmospheric Processes II (ENST 406) (4). See ENST 406 for description.
410 Modeling of Environmental Sciences (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 110. Use of systems theory and computer modeling to understand general issues in climate, vegetation, geomorphology, soils, and hydrology such as crossing time and space scales and linear and dynamical systems. No laboratory. (GISci)
412 Synoptic Meteorology (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 110 or 111. An analysis of synoptic weather patterns and the processes responsible for them. Climatological aspects of these weather patterns are emphasized. (EES)
414 Climate Change (3). An investigation of the physical processes that produce and change climates across space and time. Emphasis is placed on recent and predicted patterns of climate change.
416 Applied Climatology (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 412 or 414. An investigation of the ways climatic information and techniques can be applied to societal problems, such as energy production, food production, and health. (EES)
419 Field Methods in Physical Geography (3). Involves evaluation of landscapes by examining nature and biophysical elements influencing landscape form and function. Course emphasizes data collection, analysis, and interpretation using GIS and field methods. (EES)
420 Fundamental Concepts of Human Geography (3). A systematic study of the approaches, key concepts, and methods of human geography. Emphasizes the cultural landscape and location analysis within a thematic rather than a regional framework. (Core)
423 Social Geography (3). A study of the spatial components of current social problems, such as poverty, race relations, environmental deterioration and pollution, and crime. (GHA)
428 Urban Social Geography (3). Studies the changing landscapes of contemporary urbanism. Emphasis on patterns of economic development, housing, and infrastructure in cities in a global context. (GHA)
430 Global Migrations, Local Impacts: Urbanization and Migration in the United States (3). This course explores the relationship between patterns of urban development in the United States and migration, in both historical and contemporary contexts.
434 Cultural Ecology of Agriculture, Urbanization, and Disease (3). Examines the role of the interactions of cultures, environments, and human diseases in the quest for sustainable agriculture by examining the cultural ecology of agriculture systems and their human diseases. (GHA)
435 Environmental Politics (3). This course brings geographical perspectives on place, space, scale, and environmental change to the study of environmental politics. In lectures, texts, and student research, students examine topics including environmental health risks, globalization and urban environments, and the role of science in environmental politics. (GHA)
440 Earth Surface Processes (GEOL 502) (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 101 or 110. This course will focus on the processes of soil formation, erosion, and landform evolution with an emphasis on the interaction of geomorphic processes with surface hydrology and ecosystems. (EES)
441 Introduction to Watershed Systems (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 110. Introduction to the hydrologic and geomorphic processes and forms in watersheds as applied to problems in flood analysis, water quality, and interactions with ecosystem processes. Course will cover the structure of drainage networks, nested catchments, and distribution and controls of precipitation, evaporation, runoff, soil, and groundwater flow. (EES)
442 River Processes (3). Introduction to landforms and processes associated with flowing water at the earth’s surface. Hydrology, sedimentology, and theories of channel formation and drainage basin evolution. (ESS)
444 Landscape Biogeography (3). This course is concerned with the application of biogeographical principles and techniques to the study of natural and human-modified landscapes. It includes local and extraregional case studies. (EES)
445 Medical Geography (3). The human ecology of health is studied by analyzing the cultural/environmental interactions that lie behind world patterns of disease distribution, diffusion, and treatment, and the ways these are being altered by development. (GHA)
446 Geography of Health Care Delivery (3). This course covers basics, including personnel and facility distributions, accessibility, regionalization, and location/allocation modeling; spatial analysis and GIS; and the cultural geography of health care, including humanist and political-economic perspectives. (GHA)
447 Gender in the Middle East (ASIA 447, INTS 447) (3). Examines gender, space, and place relationships in the modern Middle East. Investigates shifting gender geographies of colonialism, nationalism, modernization, and globalization in this region. (GHA)
448 Transnational Geographies of Muslim Societies (INTS 448) (3). Examines modern Muslim geographies that are created by transnational flows, connections, and imaginaries that cross national and regional boundaries across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
450 Population Geography (3). A study of the spatial dimensions of population growth, density, and movement and of the shifts in these patterns as they relate to changes in selected socioeconomic and cultural phenomena. (GHA)
452 Mobile Geographies: The Political Economy of Migration (3). This course explores the contemporary experience of migrants. Various theoretical approaches are introduced, with the emphasis on a political-economic approach. (GHA)
453 Political Geography (PWAD 453) (3). The geography of politics is explored at the global, the nation-state, and the local scale in separate course units, but the interconnections between these geographical scales are emphasized throughout. (GHA)
454 Historical Geography of the United States (FOLK 454) (3). A study of selected past geographies of the United States with emphasis on the significant geographic changes in population, cultural, and economic conditions through time. (GHA)
457 Rural Latin America: Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 259. Permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite. This course explores a systems and cultural-ecological view of agriculture, environment, natural resource, and rural development issues in Latin America. It serves as a complement to GEOG 458 Urban Latin America. (Regional)
458 Urban Latin America: Politics, Economy, and Society (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 259. Permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite. This course examines urban social issues in contemporary Latin America. Cities and their residents will be considered in relation to each other and to North American examples. (Regional)
460 Geographies of Economic Change (3). This course is designed to explore changing geographies of production and consumption in theory and in practice.
464 Europe Today: Transnationalism, Globalisms, and the Geographies of Pan-Europe (INTS 464) (3). A survey by topic and country of Europe west of Russia. Those features that make Europe a distinct and important region today are emphasized. (Regional)
470 Political Ecology: Geographical Perspectives (3). Examines foundational concepts and methods and their relevance for understanding nature-society relationships. Discussions on environmental change and conflict and how nature is bound up with relations of power and constructions of identity.
477 Introduction to Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 370. Emphasizes methods of data analysis that offer an automated approach to spatial and nonspatial data synthesis, which combines a system of data capture, storage, management, retrieval, analysis, and display. (GISci)
480 Liberation Geographies: The Place, Politics, and Practice of Resistance (3). An examination of the theory and history of resistance in the modern world, including instances of contestation from “foot dragging” to the formation of social movements, and exploring the relationship between place and protest.
481 Ethnographies of Globalization: An Upper-Level Research Design Class (3). Examines critical perspectives on globalization through research interviews conducted by social scientists working on topics ranging from land reform in Brazil to international banking.
491 Introduction to GIS (PLAN 491) (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 370. Stresses the spatial analysis and modeling capabilities of organizing data within a geographic information system. (GISci)
541 GIS in Public Health (3). Explores theory and application of geographic information systems (GIS) for public health. The course includes an overview of the principles of GIS in public health and practical experience in its use. (GISci)
542 Neighborhoods and Health (3). This course explores how neighborhood context influences the health of the populations living in them. It includes a survey of neighborhoods and health theory and empirical examples. (GHA)
577 Advanced Remote Sensing (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 370 or 477. Acquisition, processing, and analysis of satellite digital data for the mapping and characterization of land cover types. (GISci)
591 Applied Issues in Geographic Information Systems (PLAN 591) (3). See PLAN 591 for description.
593 Geographic Information Science Programming (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 370 or 491. This course will teach students the elements of GISci software development using major GIS platforms. Students will modularly build a series of applications through the term, culminating in an integrated GIS applications program.
594 Global Positioning Systems and Applications (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 370. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) fundamental theory, application design, post processing, integration of GPS data into GIS and GPS application examples (such as public health, business, etc.) will be introduced.
595 Ecological Modeling (3). Prerequisite, BIOL 561 or STOR 355. Permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite. This course focuses on modeling the terrestrial forest ecosystems processes, including population dynamics, energy, water, nutrients, and carbon flow through the ecosystem. (GISci)
650 Technology and Democracy Workshop (3). Are technological choices open to democratic participation? Through a novel research workshop format, this graduate and undergraduate course explores political and geographical dimensions of technological change around key environmental issues—energy, water, and waste.
691H Honors (3). Permission of the department. Required of all students aspiring to honors in geography. Directed readings, research, and writing.
692H Honors (3). Prerequisite, GEOG 691H. Required of all students aspiring to honors in geography. Preparation of a senior thesis.