Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Instructor: Tuba Kayaarasi | PCC

Course Description: Human geography is the study of diverse and complex relationships between the spatial organization of human activities and people’s relationship with their environments. The study of human geography covers a wide variety of phenomena including, for example, agricultural production and food security, population change and migration, urbanization, and the symbolism of places and landscapes. Human geography understands places and regions as components of a constantly changing global system. 

This course introduces key geographic themes of location, place, region, human-environment interaction, and mobility. Includes an examination of spatial patterns of topics such as language, religion, culture, population, cooperation and conflict, natural resources, migration, and political organization. All of these are addressed at varying scales and with respect to their influence on the global landscape. Special attention is given to current issues and events. 

This course is more than knowing where China and Timbuktu are located on the map. It will help you to start thinking like a human geographer. 

Course Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion students will be able to:

• Explain the concepts and ideas that form the basis for the study of human geography.
• Discuss historical and current maps as tools for viewing the world.
• Analyze current human-environment interactions to respond to global issues.
• Analyze historical and current religious, linguistic, and political landscapes to guide and influence engagement in increasingly diverse local, national, and international societies.
• Demonstrate geographical way of thinking about space and place.
• Examine your own lives and connection to other places and people.

This course is arranged chronologically and employs a modular design. Each week, students should complete all assignments listed in that week's lesson module. Students in this course are expected to enter the course at least 3 times a week to work on the modules, check email, and participate in discussions. For this course, I will generally play the role of facilitator and expect that you'll drive discussions, interact with your peers, and provide feedback to your peers.  I will not be standing in front of you every class but will make sure that you are provided with the materials you need to be successful in the course.  It is ultimately your responsibility to 'get' the materials by coming to the course site and accessing, reading, watching, responding, interacting, etc. to the materials.  Main point - this course requires that you take responsibility.

This is an online (web) class that will not require you to attend live ZOOM meetings. 

The technical requirement for most online classes includes access to a computer with a modern operating system and a supported web browser. 

Software/ Hardware / Equipment / Technical skill expectations

• Microsoft Office or equivalent (Google Docs, iWork, etc). You must be able to save files in doc, docx, rtf, or pdf format.
• Calculator
• Firefox, Chrome, or Safari browser
• You must be able to work with documents and upload to Assignments in D2L. 

The Student Help Desk provides technical support for online classes at PCC. If you need help, you can call, chat online or email them.

Phone: 971-722-8222
Email: shd@pcc.edu

If you are ever concerned that D2L Brightspace or another PCC technology is not working, check the Student Help Desk website for updates for system status.

If you cannot access MyPCC to log in to your online courses, you can use this direct address to log in to D2L Brightspace with your MyPCC username and password. It is a good idea to bookmark this page.
https://online.pcc.edu

Please click on the link below to be prepared, to have it available in case you can't reach the PCC site.

https://www.pcc.edu/online/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/2015/04/Be_Prepared.pdf [pdf]