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1. Geography 340: Core Concepts-Economic Geography: MWF 9:05am-9:55am, BGB 301
This course investigates the location, spatial distribution and spatial interaction of economic activities, development and trade at different scales such as local, regional and global. Besides, this course will also expose students to regional changes and global challenges through geographic research and technical writing. This will help you understand better how the economics and the productions systems across the regions, sub-regions, cities, MSAs, etc. are interconnected and intertwined that are dependent on each other for the sustainable running of the whole system. Upon completion of the course you should be able to understand and appreciate patterns in the world’s economic landscapes, the relationships between the organization of the local, regional, national and global economy and spatial change(s) and be able to raise critical questions about patterns and processes in economic landscapes around us.
Required Textbook: Economic Geography: A Contemporary Introduction by Neil M Coe, Philip F. Kelly, and Henry W.C. Yeung, 20012
2. Geography 442: Urban Social Geography: MWF: 11:15am-12:05 pm, BGB 301
Urban Social Geography is the study of social relations and the complex ways in which various elements of human diversity such as race/ethnicity, nationality, culture, class, gender, sexuality, age and education interact with and within the built environments to produces spaces and opportunities of difference. Through lectures and class discussions, this course will introduce students to basic concepts of Urban Social Geography, beginning with the origin of cities and theoretical foundations to contemporary issues surrounding urban restructuring and redevelopment, gentrification, access to and (re)creation of public and private space. We will start with important conceptual frameworks on analyzing urban-social/economic patterns, from the Chicago School to the Los Angeles School of Postmodernism and the Market-Led Pluralism. Major concepts/topics discussed in the class will include modernism and post-modernism, post-colonial theory, social ramifications of restructuring of the city under capitalism, suburbanization, socio-economic polarization, urban renewal, segregation, urban poverty and uneven development, environmental racism, racial/gender differences in work opportunities, gender perspectives on households, sexuality, etc. We may also read and discuss some recent work on sustainable urban development, nexus of economic development and residential/commercial communities.
Textbook/Materials Required: Jan Lin and Christopher Mele. 2012. The Urban Sociology Reader. Routledge: New York