GEOG 102: Cultural Geography

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2022
Credits: 3
Total Contact Hours: 54
Lecture Hours : 54
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 108
Strongly Recommended: ENGL 101.
District General Education: D1. History and Political Science
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: Yes - Approved
Grading Method: Standard Letter, Pass/No Pass

Catalog Course Description

A study of the patterns of human occupation and land use over the earth's surface and their co-relation with the natural environment. Particular emphasis will be given to language, religion, ethnicity, agricultural and industrial economics, settlement patterns and population studies. 54 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • Critically examine whether any given landscape is natural or cultural
  • Analyze how far the ecological balance of the natural landscape has been disturbed by human intervention and evaluate whether such intervention is justified
  • Examine the origin, diffusion and distribution of elements of cultural such as language, religion and ethnicity
  • Synthesize such world problems as economic and social inequality, environmental pollution, over-exploitation of the soils, over-population, the problems faced by underdeveloped countries, and urban growth

Major Course Content

  1. The Students will be Developing and Practicing Certain "Geographical Skills", viz:
    1. The interpretive perception and understanding of pictorial, diagrammatic, statistical and graphic materials
    2. The ability to use and correlate information given in atlas, wall maps and textbook maps (all students are strongly recommended to possess an atlas)
    3. The ability to locate key facts of physical and human geography on a world outline map
    4. The use and understanding of a wide vocabulary in the field of geography
    5. The intelligent use of textual materials, both in the set text and in reference and other texts in the library
    6. The practice of the geographer's eye in habitats outside the classroom
  2. The Agricultural World
    1. Subsistence agriculture: hunting and gathering, shift-cultivation, nomadic pastoralism, sedentary cultivation including paddy rice farming
    2. Peasant agriculture
    3. Plantation agriculture
    4. Collective farming
    5. Commercial agriculture: market gardening (truck farming), agribusiness, livestock farming
    6. Agricultural landscapes
  3. Political Patterns
    1. Political culture regions
    2. Nationhood, boundaries, capital cities
    3. Multi-national political groupings
    4. Political landscapes
  4. The Babel of Languages
    1. Linguistic culture regions
    2. Languages and dialects
    3. Environment and vocabulary
    4. Linguistic landscapes
  5. Religious Realms
    1. Religious culture regions
    2. Religious beliefs and environmental attitudes
    3. Religious landscapes
  6. The Geography of Folk Culture
    1. Popular culture regions
    2. Diffusion of popular culture
    3. Landscape of popular culture
  7. Ethnic Culture
    1. Ethnic culture regions
    2. Diffusion of ethnic traits
    3. Ethnic landscapes
  8. The City in Time and Space
    1. The origin of the city: city types
    2. Urban landscapes, past and present
    3. Urban locational patterns
  9. The Urban Mosaic
    1. Intra-urban patterns, past and present
    2. Suburbanization
    3. Urban ecologies
    4. Urban landscapes
  10. Industry and the Web of Transportation
    1. Industrial regions
    2. Factors of industrialization
    3. Industrial landscapes
  11. Cultural Geography and Global Patterns
    1. Contemporary case studies
    2. Global resources
  12. The world's future?

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

Related websites and journal articles

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Example: Student will choose a culture of interest, or a culture in which they have ancestry (According to the approved list). They will research this chosen culture extensively and submit a detailed report on the history of the culture, the migration patterns, homeland (landscape, geography), ethnic enclaves, language, traditions, customs, beliefs, religions, art, and sources of revenue. Paint a literary portrait of the chosen culture and give insight into the people as individuals. Students will present their findings in class and teach the class about the culture on an assigned presentation day.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Student will choose a culture of interest, or a culture in which they have ancestry (According to the approved list). They will research this chosen culture extensively and submit a detailed report on the history of the culture, the migration patterns, homeland (landscape, geography), ethnic enclaves, language, traditions, customs, beliefs, religions, art, and sources of revenue. Paint a literary portrait of the chosen culture and give insight into the people as individuals. Students will present their findings in class and teach the class about the culture on an assigned presentation day.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture

IGETC Area 4: Social and Behavioral Sciences

4E. Geography