Syllabus, GEOG 4463, Geography of Africa, Spring 2000, NSU, Ziehr

GEOG 4463 GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA NSU Spring 2000

Instructor: Dr. Chuck Ziehr (pronounced "Z-ear"), Professor of Geography

Office: Seminary Hall 313

Phone: (918) 456-5511 ext. 3525; if no answer, you may leave a phone message after five rings

E-Mail: ziehr@cherokee.nsuok.edu

WWW: http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/

Office Hours: 11:00 - 12:00 MWF, 2:00 - 3:00 MW, 8:30 - 9:30 TTh, 11:00-12:00 TTh, or by appointment (I'm around a lot)

"...it is time for the United States to put Africa back near the top as an urgent priority."

Harm de Blij; geographer, news analyst & author; Boston; November 3, 1999

Course Objectives: This course will be a geographic analysis of Africa including topics in both physical geography and human geography. The most fundamental question in any geographic analysis is: "Why are things where they are?" That fundamental question assumes that one has already answered the prerequisite question of: "Where are things?" The course will provide a general overview of the location of major physical and human features of Africa, but, more importantly, it will examine the processes and interactions within and among the human and environmental systems influencing the physical and human geography of Africa. The course will also place prominent African current events into a locational context in an attempt to develop insight into the interrelationships that exist among people, cultures, countries, economies, and the environment not only within Africa but between Africa and the rest of the world. Critical or analytical thinking is stressed; the student will need to master factual information, and apply these concepts to analyzing and solving problems.

Required Textbook and Supplies:

1. Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa edited by Samuel Aryeetey-Attoh. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997.

2. Any recent, world atlas. Maps available on the Worldwide Web will likely be sufficient if you don't already have an atlas. I suggest maps available at the web sites of the CIA and the National Geographic Society.

3. Three SCANTRON Form 882 grading forms (answer sheets) and a #2 lead pencil.

4. An excellent on-line resource will be a significant contribution to this class. It is The Africa Library which can be found on the WWW at http://www.africalibrary.org/.

Class Attendance: Class attendance and participation are ESSENTIAL to your success in this course. Attendance will be determined on 10 random days by turning in a short written summary of the day's class. On these attendance days students will be given five minutes at the end of the class period to answer two questions. Each question should be answered in two or three complete, legible sentences. The questions are: (1) what is one thing that you learned in class today (explain briefly)? (2) What is one question you still have about something covered in today's class, or what is something that you'd like to know more about? By turning in the answers to these questions you will earn one attendance point on five of those days. On the other five days one of the questions (determined randomly) will be graded for a possible total of 10 points on each day. If you miss one of these attendance days, you MUST contact me within one week via E-MAIL to explain your absence; you will then be given the one attendance point for that day. If it was a graded attendance day, you will be allowed to turn in a current event analysis to make up for the day's written summary (see "Extra Credit Opportunity" on the WWW site for this class for details).If you miss a class, borrow a classmate's notes and review the material on the detailed outline with annotated links in the "Lecture Outline" on the WWW.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: If any member of the class feels that he/she has a disability and needs special accommodations of any nature whatsoever, the instructor will work with you and the university Office of Student Affairs to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in this class. Please advise the instructor of such disability and the desired accommodations at the first class attended.

Evaluation Procedures: There will be two exams (a take-home midterm exam and the final which is NOT comprehensive), two location quizzes (one quiz on physical geography features and one on political/human geography locations), an e-mail assignment, a written research report and an oral research report. Exams will cover material from class lectures/discussions, the textbook, and assigned readings from the WWW. Following instructions carefully on each evaluation instrument is very important; points will be deducted for not following instructions. Exams, quizzes, reports, and the e-mail assignment must be completed at the scheduled times unless you have an excusable absence. If you miss an assignment you MUST provide me with a note via E-MAIL explaining your absence. You must send me the note within one week of your absence; otherwise you will NOT be permitted to make-up the assignment. ALL MAKE-UP EXAMS AND LOCATION QUIZZES MUST BE TAKEN AT 3:30PM ON THURSDAY, APRIL 27.

Grades: The two exams are worth 100 points each. The two reports are worth 50 points each. The two location quizzes are worth 25 points each. Written attendance summaries are worth 55 points. Completing a student information form via electronic mail (the e-mail assignment) is worth 15 points. This gives a total of 420 points possible. Your grade on the two exams will be "scaled or curved" according to the highest score on each exam (but in no case will the scale be based on a score lower than 85). For example, if you scored 72 on an exam and the highest score was 90, then 72/90 = 80 would be your grade on that exam. There is no "curve" on location quizzes, reports, or make-up exams.

Grading Scale: 90-100% = A, 80-89.99% = B, 70-79.99% = C, 60-69.99% = D, 0-59.99% = F. NO ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE MADE TO ANYONE'S GRADE AFTER THE FINAL EXAM HAS BEEN TAKEN. THE GRADING SCALE NOTED HERE IS RIGID AND WILL BE USED FOR EVERYONE. YOU MUST MEET THESE STANDARDS.

Reports: One report must explore a problem or negative event in Africa, and one must cover a success or a positive event or potential. Each report is to be a geographic analysis of the selected topic; one topic must be from physical geography (ex. climate, landforms, natural resources, vegetation) and one from human geography (ex. culture, economy, health, politics). One report will be presented orally to the class (5 to 10 minutes), and the other will be written (3 to 6 typewritten pages, double-spaced). The reports must be based on at least three information sources in addition to the Aryeetey-Attoh text and The Africa Library web site; at least one of the sources must be in print form (not from the WWW); full citations must be given for each source. Students may select topics of his/her choice and may decide which report will be presented orally and which will be written. Students must supply the class with three multiple-choice and one short answer question for each report; these questions will be covered on the final exam. See due dates in the "Course Outline", and let the instructor know your topic and whether it will be oral or written at least one week before the due date.

Current Event Fridays: Several Friday class periods will be reserved for a discussion of current events related to Africa. Students should come to class each Friday prepared to enter into these discussions in an informed manner. Some good international new sources should be consulted each week; good examples are The Christian Science Monitor (weekly newspaper) and on the WWW there is Africa Online (http://www.africaonline.com/), OneWorld News Service (http://www.oneworld.org/), Africa News Online (http://www.africanews.org/), CNN.com (http://cnn.com/), and United Nations Foundation/UNWire (http://www.unfoundation.org/). The material covered in these current event discussions WILL be covered on the exams.

E-mail and World Wide Web Use: This course REQUIRES the use of both e-mail and the World Wide Web (WWW). Students are required to complete an information form via e-mail (worth 15 points), and they are encouraged to use e-mail to communicate with the instructor and with fellow students regarding questions pertaining to class materials. Several reading assignments can only be completed via the WWW. Most students will also choose to use the WWW to obtain some of the information for their reports. Computer labs are available in the NET building 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Obtaining an NSUnet userid and password: If you have not already obtained your personal userid and password for using the NSUnet (computer network),

Call EXCELS at 456-5511 extension 5580.
Select option 5 (computer access information) within EXCELS.
Follow the instructions that EXCELS will provide.
Please obtain your userid and password AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you have trouble obtaining your userid or password, contact Microcomputing Services Center on the third floor of the NET or call (x5555) or the Help Line (x5678).

Accessing the NSUnet: You may access the NSUnet in any of the following computer labs on campus:

NET 212 and 213 * This is the recommended lab for this class. Use the password that EXCELS gives you in order to log-on to the NT-NSU network.
Practical Arts 126, 128 and 129
Leoser Center (for dorm residents only)
Hastings Hall (for dorm residents only)
Education 116 (may be limited to Education majors)
Science 105

You may use e-mail and the WWW from a home computer if you have a modem and Internet service.

Computer Use Demonstration: If you're new to using computers in general or to using the Internet or World Wide Web, you

will probably benefit from some assistance; therefore, I will be available in thelab in NET 213 from 8:00-8:45 a.m. on

Wednesday, January 12 and 8:30-9:15 a.m. on Thursday, January 13 to give you individualized attention while you use the lab computers. Be sure you have obtained your userid and password using EXCELS before coming to the lab.

Accessing the WWW: To access the World Wide Web, go to any of the above mentioned computer labs and do the following:

In the NET computer labs follow the "How to Log On to NET Lab Computers"; see attached.
Double click on the Netscape Communicator icon (if on your screen) or choose Start -- Program --Netscape Communicator. You will now be in the Netscape Navigator or Netscape Communicator browser. A browser is your "window" to the Web; it displays information that you access at various sites on the WWW.

WWW material for this class will be on my homepage at the following URL (Universal Resource Locator):

http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ziehr/

Within Netscape move the mouse cursor to the dialog box next to the word "Location:" and press the left mouse button. Enter my URL exactly as given above (lower-case letters with no spaces between characters; that's a tilde before the word ziehr; it's found in the upper lefthand corner of the keyboard) and press enter. OR from NSU's homepage click on "Directory" then click on Z and then on my name "ZIEHR, Charles."
Once you have arrived at "Chuck Ziehr's Home Page" move to the area entitled "Ziehr's Courses at NSU" then go to the GEOG 4463 section.
Here you'll find a number of essential items for this class listed under three categories "Assignments," "Communication," and "Study Suggestions." I encourage you to browse these items early in the first week of the semester.

If you have trouble using the NSUnet or the WWW, please ask for help. Contact the lab assistant at the desk in the front center of NET 212 or 213 or check with the instructor (I'll be glad to help).

Using E-Mail: You may contact me via E-mail with any questions or comments that you may have, and you MUST use E-mail to complete the student information assignment (see "E-Mail Assignment" on the WWW for instructions).

In the NET computer labs follow the "How to Log On to NET Lab Computers"; see attached.
Double click on the Netscape Communicator icon (globe on a stand).
Click on the "Inbox" button (looks like an envelope sticking out of a flat box) in the bottom right hand portion of the Netscape window-just to the right of the "Navigator" button (a ship's steering wheel icon). The Inbox button will probably have a yellow downward-pointing arrow by it when you first logon.
When prompted, enter your password (remember Windows NT is case-sensitive, so you must enter your password exactly). The system is designed to recognize you by your userid and have a profile already created for you including a folder for automatically saving your in-coming e-mail. If your password fails to work, contact a lab assistant or Microcomputing Services Center (third floor of NET).
If you're new to using e-mail, I suggest you click on the "Help" command (upper right hand end of the command line at the top of the screen), then choose "Help Contents" and then "Using Email". Scroll through and read about such topics as "Getting Started with Mail," "Reading Messages," "Sending Messages," "Using Attachments," "Deleting Messages," "Using an Address Book," and "Organizing your Mail."
To send a message click on the "New Msg" button.
At the "To:" prompt enter the e-mail address of the person to whom you want to send a message and press enter. In my case it is: ziehr@cherokee.nsuok.edu (actually the userid, ziehr, is enough for messages to other users on the NSUnet system; the full address is required for off-campus locations).
Next the computer responds with another "To" line. Enter another recipient's address or click on the word "To" and change to "Cc:" (courtesy copy) or "Bcc:" (blind courtesy copy) and put in your own userid. This will send a copy of your message to yourself. It's a very good idea to send yourself a copy of all your messages (especially class assignments) as a check and backup in case of errors.
Press the Tab key to go to the "Subject" line where you should enter a short title for your message.
Press Tab or Enter to go to the blank message area where you key in your message.
Click on the "Send" button when you want to send your message.
To read a message highlight (click on) its subject in the Inbox. It's a good idea to check your e-mail within a day of sending an important message to see if any error messages were returned to you.

If you have trouble using e-mail, please ask for help. Contact the lab assistant at the desk in the front center of NET 212 or 213 or check with the instructor (I'll be glad to help).

GEOG 4463 Geography of Africa

COURSE OUTLINE

Reading assignments are either in the Aryeetey-Attoh text (denoted A-A) or in "Readings" on The Africa Library web site (denoted TAL).

Topic or AssignmentReading AssignmentDue Date

Introduction "Introduction," TAL

Physical Environment Chapter 1, A-A

E-MAIL ASSIGNMENT Complete information form (see WWW for details) Mon., Jan. 31

Deforestation and Desertification "Environment," TAL; Chapter 2, A-A

AAHE CONFERENCE No Class - prepare for map quizzes Fri., Feb. 4

AFRICA MAP QUIZ #1 Physical Geography Features List (on WWW) Wed., Feb. 9

Historical & Cultural Background Chapters 3 & 4, A-A; "Arts & Culture" & "Politics," TAL

AFRICA MAP QUIZ#2 Human Geography Locations List (on WWW) Wed., Feb. 23

Population "Population" & "Countries," TAL; Chapter 5, A-A

MID-TERM EXAM -- Distributed Covers lectures/discussions, current events and reading assignments Mon., Feb. 28

Medical Geography Chapter 6, A-A; "Health," TAL

MID-TERM EXAM -- Due in class Mon., Mar. 6

Economy "Economy," "Education" & "Agriculture," TAL; Chapters 10 & 11, A-A

SPRING BREAK No Classes Sat., Mar. 11-Sun., Mar. 19

RESEARCH REPORT #1 -- Topic Due See syllabus and WWW for details Fri., Mar. 24

Urban Geography Chapter 7, A-A

RESEARCH REPORT #1 Oral or written report due in classs Fri., Mar. 31

RESEARCH REPORT #2 -- Topic Due See syllabus and WWW for details Fri., Apr. 14

Human Rights & Political Instability Chapters 9 & 12, A-A; "Refugees & Humanitarian," TAL

RESEARCH REPORT #2 Oral or written report due in classs Fri., Apr. 21

ALL MAKE-UP EXAMS AND QUIZZES TO BE TAKEN Thurs., Apr. 27, 3:30pm

FINAL EXAM Covers lectures and reading assignments since the midterm exam Mon., May 1, 11am-12:50am

Please feel free to come by my office (or phone or e-mail) at any time to discuss any questions or problems that you may have with the course material from lecture or the textbook, with the computer, e-mail, WWW, or any other matter that you'd like to discuss. I'll be glad to try to help you find answers and/or solutions. Please note that SMOKING, TOBACCO CHEWING, SNUFF, FOOD, and DRINKS are prohibited in ALL NSU classrooms. MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH A GREAT SEMESTER!!!!!!

Revised January 19, 2000.