The fundamentals of human geography including the meanings of place, the impacts of globalization, multiculturalism, population change and movement, environmental history and politics, cultural geography, issues of uneven resource distribution, the role of colonialism in the modern shape of the world, agricultural geography, and urban geography.
Upon completion of this course students will be able to:
This course takes a spatial approach to social problems widely considered important including energy, economy, the environment, urbanism, social division, public space, racism, geopolitics, migration. Probably the two largest problems faced by the world today are environmental degradation and regional, national and global inequality. Taking a spatial approach to these problems grounds and focuses them on the human and human-non-human relationships that shape the problems, making them at once more real and more personal to you. In this class you will discover that these very large issues are personal in another way: what you do matters. You make the world. In the way we move from place to place, in the way we heat our homes, in the way we choose to communicate with each other and consume, for example, we have an impact on the environment and on other people both near and far from us. Living responsibly is, in part being aware of our choices and their impacts. But of course, it is not quite that simple: the world has been made and unmade and is being made and unmade by you and others all the time. In this class we will work to understand the forces that make the world we live in and remake by our actions. In this course, through the relatively simple concepts of location and distance and the much more freighted concepts of space and especially place we will consider how economic development, city design, geopolitics and geo-commerce, policies on migration and population movement shape a landscape of inequality and desire.
6% - Review of Academic Article (5-paragraph paper)
8% - Quizzes (x8)
9% - Discussion Forum Questions (x3)
15% - Thesis Statement and Sources for Poster + Peer Review
5% - Different Kinds of Source
20% - Midterm
37%% - Final Poster + Peer Review
There will be no final exam for this course.
**Evaluation Subject to Change**
CDS reserves the right to make changes to the required material list as received by the instructor before the course starts. Please refer to the Campus Bookstore website at http://www.campusbookstore.com/Textbooks/Search-Engine to obtain the most up-to-date list of required materials for this course before purchasing them.
The following materials are available from the Queen's Campus Bookstore.
This course will use the custom text made for GPHY 101 at Queen’s and based on the 5th edition of Knox, Marston and Nash. Human Geography. Places and Regions in Global Context and Wermuth's Global Inequality and Human Needs. So, it is a combination of excerpts from two texts. Do not just purchase the Knox text: the pages will not line up and chapters will be missing. Each lecture will be accompanied by assigned reading in the text. The mid-term exam (week 9) will be based on the lectures and readings.
In addition, through their assignments and projects you will choose articles to read under guidance from the instructors as part of the research process. The instructor and TAs will lead you to key articles and monographs by geographers and geographic theorists. But you will also be encouraged to engage in interdisciplinary reading.
Students can expect to spend approximately 10 - 15 hours a week in assignments for GHPY 101. This course is structured around a series of small hand-in tasks and quizzes that are designed to keep you on track and prepare you for the final assignment.
SOLUS is Queen’s Student On-Line University System. You’ll have access to a SOLUS account once you become a Queen’s student. You’ll use SOLUS to register for courses, add and drop courses, update your contact information, view financial and academic information, and pay your tuition.
onQ is Queen's online learning platform. You'll log into onQ to access your course. All materials related to your course—notes, readings, videos, recordings, discussion forums, assignments, quizzes, groupwork, tutorials, and help—will be on the onQ site.
Queen’s courses are weighted in credit units. A typical one-term course is worth 3.0 units, and a typical two-term course is worth 6.0 units. You combine these units to create your degree. A general (three-year) BA or BSc requires a total of 90 credit units.
To take an online course, you’ll need a high speed internet connection as well as a microphone and speakers to be able to watch videos, hear sounds, and participate in interactive online activities. A webcam is recommended but not necessary.
System Requirements:
See also Getting Started.
The deadlines for new applications to Queen’s Arts and Science Online courses are in our Upcoming Application Dates section.
Tuition fees vary depending when you start, your year, faculty, and program. Fees for Summer Term 2018 first-year Distance Career Arts & Science Domestic students are as follows: for a 3.0-unit course, $685.90; for a 6.0-unit course, $1371.80 See also Tuition and Fees.
The information below is intended for undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Academic Regulations in other Faculties may differ.
| Letter Grade | Grade Point |
| A+ | 4.30 |
| A | 4.00 |
| A- | 3.70 |
| B+ | 3.30 |
| B | 3.00 |
| B- | 2.70 |
| C+ | 2.30 |
| C | 2.00 |
| C- | 1.70 |
| D+ | 1.30 |
| D | 1.00 |
| D- | 0.70 |
| F | 0.00 |
GPA Calculators
Have your SOLUS grade report handy and then follow the link to the Arts and Science GPA calculators.
How does this affect my academics?
See the GPA and Academic Standing page.
Follow the link above for an explanation of how the GPA system affects such things as the Dean’s Honour List, requirements to graduate, and academic progression.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Grading Scheme
Please follow this link to the FAQ's
All textbooks can be purchased at Queen’s Campus Bookstore.
All Queen’s Arts and Science Online courses are open to students at other universities. Before applying as a visiting student, request a Letter of Permission from your home university that states that you have permission to take the course and apply it to your degree. See also Apply.
Please see Queen’s policy statement on academic integrity for information on how to complete an online course honestly.
Call us at 613.533.3322 or email us.
