COURSE OUTLINE

Places and Landscapes in the Changing World

Chapter I World Regions in Global Context

1. Thinking Like a Geographer
 Place and the Making of Regions
 Maps and Mapping
 Globalization and Regionalization
 A World of Regions
 Organizing and Exploring the World’s Regions
2. Environment, Society, and Sustainability
 Climate and Climate Change
 Regional Climate
 Climate Change and a Warming World
 Visualizing Geography: The Causes and Consequences of Climate Change
 Geological Resources, Risks, and Water
 Resources and Risks
 River Formation and Water Management
 Ecology, Land, and Environmental Management
 Ecosystems and Biodiversity Decline
 Human-Influenced Ecologies

3. History, Economy and Territory

 Historical Legacies and Landscapes
 European Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Industrial Revolution
 The Process of Decolonization
 Communism and the Cold War
 Future World Regional Systems
 Economy, Accumulation, and the Production of Inequality
 Economic Sectors and Regional Economies
 Measuring Economic Development
 Patterns of Social Well-Being
 Explaining and Practicing “Development”
 Territory and Politics
 States and Nations
 Political Globalization
4. Culture and Populations
 Culture, Religion, and Language
 Geographies of Religion
 Geographies of Language
 Cultural Practices, Social Differences, and Identity
 Culture and Identity
 Demography and Urbanization
 Modeling Demographic Change
 The Demographic Transition
 Faces of the Region: Demographic Change and the Experience of Place
5. Future Geographies
 Population Boom or Bust?
 Emerging Resource Regions
 Economic Globalization and Challenges to Regional Governance
 New Regions of Insecurity and Crime
 Future Environmental Threats and Global Sustainability

Chapter II Europe
1. Environment, Society, and Sustainability
 Climate and Climate Change
 Europe and Climate Change
 Geological Resources, Risk, and Water
 Northwestern Uplands
 Alpine Europe
 Central Plateaus
 North European Lowlands
 Ecology, Land, and Environmental Management
 Roman Land Improvement
 Medieval Settlement
 Emergence of the Modern Landscape

2. History, Economy, and Territory

 Geographies of indulgence, Desire, and addiction: Beer and Wine
 sustainability in the anthropocene: Planning for Green Cities
 Historical Legacies and Landscapes
 Trade and the Age of Discovery
 Colonialism
 Industrialization
 Imperialism and War
 Eastern Europe’s Interlude of State Socialism
 The Reintegration of Eastern Europe
 Economy, Accumulation, and the Production of Inequality
 The European Union: Coping with Uneven Development
 Regional Development: Europe’s Core Regions
 High-Speed Rail
 Territory and Politics
 Regionalism and Boundary Disputes
 Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans

3. Culture and Populations

 Culture, Religion, and Language
 Language Families
 Religious Diversity
 Islam in Europe
 Regional Cultures
 Cultural Practices, Social Differences, and Identity
 The Concept of Modernity
 Social Critique and the European Dream
 A “European” Identity?
  Women in European Society
 Demography and Urbanization
 Demographic Change
 Visualizing geography: Europe’s Muslims
 Faces of the Region
 The European Diaspora
 Migration within Europe
 Recent Migration Streams
 Europe’s Towns and Cities
4. Future Geographies
 Coping with Aging Populations
 Coping with Immigration
 The EU: Costs of Expansion
 The EU: Problems of Indebtedness

Chapter III The Russian Federation, Central Asia, and the

Transcaucasus
1. Environment, Society, and Sustainability
 Climate and Climate Change
 Adapting to a Warming Continent and Melting Sea Ice
 Geological Resources, Risk, and Water
 Mountains and Plains 95 Emerging Regions: The Arctic
 Rivers and Seas
 Ecology, Land, and Environmental Management
 The Tundra
 The Taiga
 Mixed Forest
 The Steppe
 Semidesert and Desert
 Challenges to Sustainability in the Region

2. History, Economy, and Territory

 Historical Legacies and Landscapes
 Sustainability in the Anthropocene: Environmental Social Movements in the Russian
Federation
 The Rise of the Russian Empire
 Revolution and the Rise of the Soviet Union
 Geographies of Indulgence, desire, and Addiction: Furs, fashion, and Animal rights
Legacy
 Economic Growth and the Cold war
 Economic Stagnation and the decline of the soviet Union
 Economy, Accumulation, and the Production of Inequality
 Building a Market Economy
 Regional Development and Inequalities
 Territory and Politics
 Chenchen Independence
 Ethnonationalism in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia
 Geopolitical Shifts and Ongoing Regional Tensions
 Russia on the World stage
3. Culture and Populations
 Religion and Language
 Religion
 Language
 Cultural Practices, Social Differences, and Identity
 High Culture
 Popular Culture
 Social Stratification and Conspicuous Consumption
 Faces of the Region: Changing Fortunes for Central Asian Migrants to Russia
 Gender and Inequality
 Demography Change
 Global and regional Migration Streams
 The Russian Diaspora and Post-Soviet Migration

4. Future Geographies
 Can Russia Conquer Its Energy Dependency?
 Democracy or Plutocracy?
 Will Russia’s Pacific Rim Be an Economic Boom?
 Demographic Challenge-Implosion and Decline?

Chapter IV: Middle East

1. Environment, Society, and Sustainability
 Climate and Climate Change
 Arid Lands and Mountain Landscapes
 Adaptation to Aridity
 Climate Change
 Geological Resources, Risk, and Water
 Mountain Environments and Tectonic Activity
 Water Resources and River Systems
 Water Resources and Sustainable Environments
 Sustainability in the anthropocene: Water Scarcity and Quality
 Nonrenewable Resources: Petroleum and Natural Gas
 Geographies of indulgence, Desire, and addiction: Luxury Cars
 Ecology, Land, and Environmental Management
 Flora and Fauna
 Environmental Challenges

2. History, Economy, and Territory

 Historical Legacies and Landscapes
 Plant and Animal Domestication
 Birthplace of World Religions
 Urbanization
 The Ottoman Empire
 The Mandate System
 Economy, Accumulation, and the Production of Inequality
 Independence and Economic Challenges
 The Oil States
 The Eastern Mediterranean Crescent
 The Maghreb
  Social Inequalities Across the Region
 Territory and Politics
 Intra-Regional Conflict and Tension
 Visualizing geography: Political Protest, Change, and Repression
 The Israeli–Palestinian and Israeli–Lebanese Conflicts
 Israel and Lebanon
 The U.S. War in Iraq
 The Rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
 Nuclear Tensions
 Regional Alliances

3. Culture and Populations

 Religion and Language
 Islam
 Christianity, Judaism, and Other Middle Eastern and North African Religions
 Regional Languages
 Cultural Practices, Social Differences, and Identity
 Cultural Practices
 Kinship, Family, and Social Order
 Gender
 Sexuality
 Demography and Urbanization
 Demographic Change
 Pull Factors
 Faces of the Region: Refugees Flee the Violence of the Syrian Civil War
 Push Factors
 Cities and Human Settlement

4. Future Geographies
 Oil
 Water
 Peace and Stability

Chapter 5 Sub-Saharan Africa

1. Environment, Society, and Sustainability
 Climate and Climate Change
 Adaptation to Climate
 Climate Change
 Geological Resources, Risk, and Water
 Plate Tectonics
 Water Resources and Dams
 Soils, Minerals, and Mining
 Ecology, Land, and Environmental Management
 Major Ecosystems
 Diseases and Pests
 Geographies of indulgence, Desire, and addiction: Diamonds
 Land Use and Agriculture
 Conservation and Africa’s Wildlife
 Sustainability
2. History, Economy, and Territory
 Sustainability in the Anthropocene: Energy in Kenya
 Historical Legacies and Landscapes
 Human Origins and Early African History
 The Colonial Era in Africa
 Slavery and the Slave Trade
 European Settlement in Southern Africa
 European Exploration and the Scramble for Africa
 The Legacy of Colonialism
 Independence
 Economy, Debt, and the Production of Inequality
 Dependency, Debt, and African Economies
 Contemporary African Agriculture
 Agricultural Challenges and Opportunities
 Manufacturing and Services
 China, and the African Economy
 Social and Economic Inequality
 Regional Organizations
 Territory and Politics
 South Africa and Apartheid
 The Cold War and Africa
 Civil Wars and Internal Conflicts
 Visualizing geography: The Millennium Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa
 Peacekeeping

3. Culture and Populations

 Ethnicity
 Religion
 Language
 Cultural Practices, Social Differences, and Identity
 Kinship
 Land
 Reciprocity
 Music, Art, and Film
 Sport
 The Changing Roles of Women
 Faces of the Region: The Ongoing Struggles of South Africa’s Youth
 Demography and Urbanization
 Demographic Change
 Factors Affecting Fertility
 Population Impacts of HIV/AIDS and Other Health-Care Concerns
 African Cities
 The Sub-Saharan African Diaspora
 Migration Within Africa
 Refugees and Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs)
4. Future Geographies
 Sustaining Representative and Effective Governments
 Economic Opportunities
 Food, Water, Health, and Energy for All