Geography Courses

110. Cultural Geography (Fusch)
The character and development of the world's major culture regions and cultural landscapes (e.g. the United States, Africa, etc.). Three themes are emphasized: 1) the development of culture regions and associated cultural landscapes such as agricultural and urban settlement; 2) humankind's impact on the natural environment; and 3) human population growth and change and its relationship to environmental impact. Students explore these themes through lecture and discussion copiously illustrated with maps, slides, and videotapes; short writing projects; the analysis of maps and other data; and the reading of specialized materials. No prerequisites; freshmen & sophomores only; diversity course.

110. Cultural Geography (Walker)
Description TBA. No prerequisites; freshmen & sophomores only; diversity course.

111. Physical Geography (Hickcox)
The world's landform types are the focus of the course. These include rivers and fluvial systems, glacial topography, desert landforms, and coastlines. Topographic maps, slides, and videotapes are used to illustrate landform types and the processes that create them. No prerequisites; freshmen & sophomores only.

111. Introduction to Physical and Environmental Geography (Krygier)
Our environment is dynamic and ever-changing, constantly modified by natural processes and human activities. Geography 111 is a hybrid course with two interconnected foci: First, the course reviews important natural environmental processes, and the visible effects these processes have on the landscape: the purview of Physical Geography. Second, this course reviews related human induced changes in the environment, modifications of natural processes, and the results: the purview of Environmental Geography. Taken together, Physical and Environmental Geography help us to understand how natural and human processes drive constant changes in the environments we live in. No prerequisites; freshmen & sophomores only.

222. The Power of Maps and GIS (Krygier)
Maps are essential and powerful tools. Digital maps on the World Wide Web and in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow more and more people to make and use maps to analyze data in sophisticated ways. GIS applications are found in business, the natural sciences, the social sciences, urban planning and management, and scores of other fields. Geography 222 is an introduction to maps and cartography, with an emphasis on their role in GIS and on the WWW. Major topics include data sources, the map abstraction process, "map infrastructure" (scale, projections, reference systems, accuracy), map types, use, and interpretation. Course material covers technical and social issues as well as applications. Students will make many different kinds of maps over the semester using WWW map-making sites. No prerequisites; open to all students.

235. Energy Resources (Hickcox)
Resource utilization and management, focusing on the Earth's renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Each type of energy resource is analyzed and future use is postulated.

270. Cultural Geography of the Middle East (staff)
This course focuses on the landscapes of he Middle East as they have been shaped by human occupancy. The course explores the many layers of civilization in the Middle East, including the enormous cultural and ethnic diversity of the region, the evolution of political states, the role of religion in politics and culture, the differing experiences of men and women, the social and environmental consequences of rapid urbanization and the growth of the tourism industry. Includes discussions of the physical environment and natural resource endowments of the region, especially water and oil. No prerequisites. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors only. No prerequisites; sophomores, juniors, & seniors only; diversity course.

330. Geography of Europe (staff)
The cultural geography of Europe. Emphasis in the course is placed on the historical geography and evolution of Europe as a culture region, the development of European regional geographies (e.g. Mediterranean Europe, Eastern Europe); the growth and development of villages, towns, and cities throughout European history; the country and city architecture of Europe; and the growth and development of industrial, economic, and political regions and organizations (e.g., the Ruhr of Germany, the EEC, NATO, etc.).

332. Cultural Geography of the United States (staff)
The cultural impress of man on the environment and regions of the U.S. Origin and diffusion of culture groups; population growth and dynamics; history and organization of resource development, settlement and land use. The cultural ecology of American society. The formation and development of regional cultural landscapes and economic regions, and the analysis of regional interaction, change, and disparity.

334. Cultural Geography of Africa (staff)
The human (cultural) geography of Africa. Origin and diffusion of cultural groups; resource development, settlement history, and land use. The cultural ecology and environmental impact of African peoples; colonial influence of economic and cultural change. Development of present cultural and economic activities of the various political divisions. Emphasis in the last third of the course focuses of problems of African development including Apartheid (S. Africa), agriculture, urbanization, and political economy.

345. Economic Geography (Walker)
Description TBA. No prerequisites; sophomores, juniors, & seniors only; diversity course

345. Economic Geography (Fusch)
General principles and theories regarding the operation of economic systems among various world regions. The evolution, organization, and impact of the world's major economic systems (e.g. Industrial Capitalism, Socialism) within various culture regions (e.g. Western Europe) is examined. The relationships between macroeconomic systems, their geographical impact and geographical systems is explored. Population growth and problems related to resource analysis and use are studied. The development of trade centers, industrial locations, and urban systems, and the spatial allocation of finite natural resources are important themes. The roles of resource distribution, population distribution, and urban and industrial centers with respect to economic system development and regional economic development are also examined. The course is divided into two halves: the first half examines the economic geography of the developed world with emphasis on the U.S.; the second half examines the economic geography of the developing world (Third World) with an emphasis on Latin America and Africa. No prerequisites; sophomores, juniors, & seniors only; diversity course

347. Environmental Alteration (Hickcox)
Examination and analysis of the interaction of major world culture systems with the natural environment. Environmental alterations are examined historically (e.g. the early hydrologic societies) but with emphasis on contemporary human impacts on natural landscape (e.g. the impact of strip-mining on natural landscapes and on the hydrologic cycle-groundwater system; the greenhouse effect and human induced climatic change). Long-term environmental impacts on cultural change are explored. No prerequisites; sophomores, juniors, & seniors only.

353. Cartography and GIS (Krygier)
Geography 353 reviews essential elements of cartography and mapping in the context of geographic information systems (GIS). The core of this course is the laboratory project: students will locate data on the world wide web (WWW), process the data so it can be mapped in ArcGIS (GIS and mapping software), and design and produce a series of maps based on the data. Students will learn to construct HTML pages, containing the project maps, which will be placed on the internet at the end of the semester. Lab work is informed by lectures that focus on the concepts, frameworks, and technical issues of cartographic design and visualization. No prerequisites; GEOG 222: The Power of Maps and GIS, should be taken before this course if possible.

355. Geographic Information Systems (Krygier)
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an integrative set of concepts and technologies, including data capture (scanning, digitizing, GPS), data analysis, and visualization / display / output (mapping & cartography). This course consists of an overview of the concepts, functions, and use of GIS software and hardware combined with a service-learning/community/regional project that engages the students in an actual GIS application. The project focuses on an application where students work with people in other departments at OWU or from outside of the university. No prerequisites; GEOG 222: The Power of Maps and GIS, or GEOG 353 Cartography and GIS, should be taken before this course if possible.

360. Environmental Geography Seminar (Krygier)
Environmental Geography, one of the most traditional components of the discipline of Geography, encompasses natural science, social science, and humanistic understandings of the Earth’s environment. Environmental Geographers study the complex relationships between humans and the natural environment over time and through space. Geography 360 is conducted as a seminar focused on social science and humanistic approaches to the environment. This course will provide a historical, geographical, and humanistic foundation for understanding the environment and the plethora of environmental issues that confront us at the beginning of this century. As a group, we will discuss current environmental issues and read and discuss a series of key books on the environment. Students will also examine a particular environmental topic in depth, culminating in a presentation and annotated bibliography of relevant sources at the end of the semester. No prerequisites; juniors, & seniors only.

370. The World's Cities (Fusch)
The development of towns, cities, and urban regions. An examination of the urbanization process; the historical development of cities and systems of cities; the internal spatial interrelationships of urban functions and systems. Architecture and architectural history are examined as they relate to various periods of urban growth in various culture regions (e.g. Europe). The course emphasizes an examination of the historical evolution of cities from around the world, general concepts of urban planning, architectural history, cross-cultural comparisons of cities, and the human consequences of urbanization. The first third of the course focuses on urban development in Europe; the second third on the U.S. The last third of focuses on urban development in developing countries. Open to juniors and seniors only, or by permission of instructor. No prerequisites; sophomores, juniors, & seniors only.

370. The World's Cities (Walker)
Description TBA. No prerequisites; sophomores, juniors, & seniors only.

375. Weather and Climate (Hickcox)
The elements of meteorology, emphasizing types of weather experienced during the course of a year. Content includes cloud types, warm and cold fronts, and severe weather phenomena such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. A classification of world climates is presented. No prerequisites; juniors, & seniors only.

380. Contemporary American Landscape Problems (staff)
Examination and analysis of processes and mechanisms leading to the recent and current changes in the spatial and historical organization of natural, regional, and local cultural landscapes of the U.S. Emphasis is on current land use and development problems facing America, especially in urban areas. Several field trips are taken. Students develop mapping, observational, and analytic techniques in the field. Students complete several short research papers and a term project. Prerequisite: minimum of three upper-level courses in geography or instructor consent.

400.1. The Role of the City in the History of Western Civilization (Fusch)
An examination of the role of cities on shaping, guiding, and influencing the course of Western civilization. Urbanization has been a central aspect of the history of Western civilization since its beginnings more than 10,000 years ago, and cities for the most part have served as both the control points in which Western civilization was shaped and the control points from which Western civilization was diffused. Cities are Western civilization's largest cultural artifact. The purpose of this course is twofold: 1) to understand the evolution of the role and purpose of cities in Western society; and 2) to understand the processes used by Western civilization to create and transform the physical fabric/structure - the morphology - of those cities. Prerequisite: honors course open to honors students only.

490. Independent Study (staff)
Faculty supervised investigation of original research problem, including literature search, research, and final completed project (paper or documentation of project). Prerequisite: consent of instructor prior to registration.

491. Directed Readings (staff)
Faculty supervised readings on focused geographic subject. Prerequisite: consent of instructor prior to registration.

495. Apprenticeship
Description. Prerequisite: consent of instructor prior to registration.