URBAN GEOGRAPHY
Bluefield State
College
GEOG 402—FALL 2012
CRN: 10650
Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D. Course Room No.: B103
Class MW: 16:00-17:15 INTERNET:
ccavell@bluefieldstate.edu
Office Hours: MWF 11:00-13:00, 14:00-16:00 Office No.: B120
VOICE: 304.327.4034 (W) 512-924-2364 (M)
A survey course which examines the
geographer’s, as well as the layman’s, interests in, and contribution to, the
study of cities. Human geography as the
study of spatial organizations of human activity will be emphasized. The major concerns are with theories and
generalizations about the locations of people and their activities, the
interaction between them, processes at work, and behavior in urban and regional
space with key issues, problems, policies, relating to human consequences of
urbanization. PR: GEOG 150.
Grading
Policy: 25% for Attendance*; 25% for the In-Class
Presentation; 25% for the Midterm Exam; and 25% for the Final Exam. A
Guidelines sheet will be distributed outlining the requirements for your In-Class
Presentation.
Grading
Scale: 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69=D; 0-59=F. These numerical scores correspond to the
following evaluations: “A” = Excellent;
“B” = Good; “C” = Satisfactory (NOTE: A
grade of “C” or better is required in major courses); “D” = Poor (passing,
except in major courses); “F” = Earned Failure (removed only by repeating the
course; upon successfully passing the course, the first grade is “excluded”
from grade point average. The second
grade is “included” in the recalculation of the grade point average); and “I” =
Incomplete.
Learning
Outcomes: Upon completion of GEOG 402, students should
be able to read and provide an immanent critique of texts; to articulate
arguments and examine their flaws; be familiar with the basics of logical,
ethical, and dialectical reasoning; be familiar with essays, both pro and con,
regarding spatial design and usage, the built environment, as well as issues
regarding the so-called “Right to the City”.
Academic
Integrity Policy: Academic
integrity is expected of all students. This means that all work for this class
must be undertaken and completed by you alone without collaboration from
others. Any dishonesty in the performance of course work, such as plagiarism or
cheating in other forms, will be reported. In the event the student is charged
with some form of dishonesty, the Student Discipline Policy will be followed.
The full text of the BSC Academic Honesty Policy can be found at: http://www.bluefieldstate.edu/academics/academic-honesty-and-proctoring.
In addition, students should be aware that research paper assignments may be
submitted to Turnitin by the instructor for the purpose of checking for
possible plagiarism. Submitted assignments will be included in the BSC
dedicated database of assignments at Turnitin and will be used solely for the
purpose of checking for possible plagiarism during the grading process during
this term and in the future.
Attendance
Policy*: Attendance in class is mandatory. It is the student’s responsibility to sign
the attendance sheet each day of class; failure to sign the attendance
sheet—even if in attendance—will be counted as an absence. “When the number of clock hours of willful
absences exceeds the number of semester
hours of credit, the instructor will notify the Registrar that the student has
exceeded the permissible number of absences and should be withdrawn from class”
(Bluefield State College Academic Catalog
2010-2012). As well, you are expected to follow the
syllabus and accordingly be prepared for each day’s class. This means that you must read the
pre-assigned readings before class so that you will be prepared to discuss and
debate in class the subject matter scheduled for that day and answer questions
related to the issues being covered. NOTE: TURN OFF all cell phones during class.
* Absence from class may be made up by preparing a two-page, typed (i.e. using maximum 12 point font size and maximum
double-spaced text with one-inch margin on all sides), summary on the missed material scheduled to be covered the
day(s) of your absence. The summary must
be in your own words and must not be copied material from the text(s),
the internet, or any other source(s). All
summaries must be turned in to me by the last day of classes if you want
credit for your absences.
Withdrawal
Policy: Academic
Withdrawal from the course prior to the deadline date for withdrawal as
published within the academic calendar is accomplished by securing a change in
schedule form and having it signed by appropriate persons. Blank copies of the change in schedule form
are available in the offices of the Registrar, the Vice President for Academic
Affairs, the Dean and the advisor. After
obtaining the required signatures, the student must submit, prior to the
deadline date, the change in schedule form to the Office of the Registrar.
Disability
Services Statement: BSC is committed to full inclusion of all
students. Students who, by nature of a documented disability, require
classroom, equipment, testing or assignment accommodations should contact the
Student Support Services at 304.327.4227 to request accommodations before the
start of the semester. Your immediate attention to these arrangements is
necessary to assure a positive learning experience.
Free Tutoring Services Available: BSC offers free
online tutoring for all BSC students in the following subjects: Math; Accounting, Managerial; Accounting,
Financial; Writing (all subjects); Grammar; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics;
Statistics; Spanish. Chemistry, etc. This service is free and available 24
hours a day to all BSC students. Go to http://www.smarthinking.com/ and
follow these instructions.
Required Texts:
“Creative Destruction.” From Wikipedia. Available online at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_destruction
>.
“Geography.”
From Wikipedia. Available online
at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography>.
Harvey,
David. Sept./Oct. 2008. “The Right to the City.” London:
New Left Review, No. 53. Available online at: <http://newleftreview.org/II/53/david-harvey-the-right-to-the-city>.
Lefebvre, Henri.
1974/1984/1991. The Production
of Space. Translated by
Donald Nicholson-
Smith. Maiden, MA, Oxford,
UK, Victoria, Australia: Blackwell
Publishing. Available online at: <http://cast.ap.buffalo.edu/courses/s10/media_urbanism/wp-content/readings/Lefebvre.pdf>.
Levy, Caren.
Summer 2009. “Urbanisation without social justice is not sustainable.” ‘palette’. Berkeley, CA:
UCLA. Available online at: <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable-cities/results/gcsc-reports/levy.pdf>.
Population Distribution,
Urbanization, Internal Migration and Development: An International Perspective. 2011. United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. New York, NY:
United Nations. <http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/PopDistribUrbanization/PopulationDistributionUrbanization.pdf>.
Videos:
Video (in class): Smith, Neil, Moderator with Peter
Marcuse, Margit Mayer, Susan Fainstein, and David Harvey, “Radical Urbanism, The Right to the City, concluding panel”
Video (in class): Harvey,
David. September 29, 2010. “Neoliberalism and the City”
Sept. 17: Introduction – What is
Urban Geography?
Sept. 19: Geography:
Human & Physical
Readings: Geography, from Wikipedia (handout)
Sept. 24: Geography &
Geographers, Past and Present
Readings: Geography,
from Wikipedia (handout)
Sept. 26: The
Right to the City
Readings: Harvey, David, “The Right to the City”
Oct. 1: The Right to the City (cont’d.)
Readings: Harvey, David, “The Right to the City”
Oct. 3: MIDTERM EXAM
Oct. 8: Mid-Semester grades due to Registrar
Oct. 8: The
Right to the City (cont’d.)
Video (in class): Smith,
Neil, Moderator with Peter Marcuse, Margit Mayer, Susan Fainstein, and David
Harvey, “Radical Urbanism, The Right to the City, concluding panel”
Oct. 10: The
Production of Space
Readings: Lefebvre,
Henri, The Production of Space
Oct. 12: Faculty Workshop
(No Classes)
Oct. 15: The Production of Space (cont’d.)
Readings: Lefebvre,
Henri, The Production of Space
Oct. 17: Urbanization
and Social Justice
Readings:
Levy, Caren,
“Urbanisation without social justice is not sustainable
Oct. 22-Nov. 2:
Pre-Registration for Spring Semester for Currently Enrolled Students
Oct. 22: Urbanization
and Social Justice (cont’d.)
Readings:
Levy, Caren, “Urbanisation
without social justice is not sustainable
Oct. 24: Schumpeter’s
gale
Readings:
“Creative Destruction”
Oct. 29: The
Accumulation and Annihilation of Wealth Under Capitalism
Readings:
“Creative
Destruction”
Oct. 31: Part
One. Urban growth: global trends and challenges
Readings: Population
Distribution, Urbanization, Preface, Introduction; George Martine, “Preparing for sustainable urban growth in developing
areas”
Nov. 5: Part One. Urban growth: global trends and
challenges (cont’d.)
Readings: Population
Distribution, Urbanization, Preface, Introduction; George Martine, “Preparing
for sustainable urban growth in developing areas”
Nov. 7: Part
One. Urban growth: global trends and challenges (cont’d.)
Readings: Population Distribution, Urbanization, Eduardo López Moreno, “Living with shelter deprivations: Slum dwellers in the
world”
Nov. 9: Last Day to Withdraw with "W" for
Full Semester Classes
Nov. 12: Part
One. Urban growth: global trends and challenges (cont’d.)
Readings: Population Distribution, Urbanization, Eduardo López Moreno, “Living with shelter deprivations: Slum dwellers in the
world”
Nov. 14: Part
Two. Internal migration, population distribution and development
Readings: Population
Distribution, Urbanization, Jorge Rodríguez, “The spatial distribution of the
population, internal migration and development in Latin America and the
Caribbean”
Nov. 19-23:
Thanksgiving Day Holidays – College closed
Nov. 26: Part
Two. Internal migration, population distribution and development (cont’d.)
Readings:
Population Distribution, Urbanization, Jorge Rodríguez, “The spatial
distribution of the population, internal migration and development in Latin
America and the Caribbean”
Nov. 28: Part Three. Rural and urban
development: linkages and disparities
Readings: Population
Distribution, Urbanization, Cecilia Tacoli, “Links between rural and urban
development in Africa and Asia”
Dec. 3: Part
Three. Rural and urban development: linkages and disparities (cont’d.)
Readings: Population
Distribution, Urbanization, Cecilia Tacoli, “Links between rural and urban
development in Africa and Asia”
Dec. 5: Part
Six. Urban planning and governance
Readings: Population Distribution, Urbanization, David
Satterthwaite, “Climate change and urbanization: Effects and implications for
urban governance”
Dec. 7:
Last day of classes. Part Six.
Urban planning and governance (cont’d.)
Video (in
class): David Harvey,
“Neoliberalism and the City”
Dec. 10: FINAL EXAM
Dec. 17: Final
grades due to Registrar electronically