Geography of North America
Academic Responsibility: Dan Donoghue
Course Aims
The emphasis is on the contemporary geography of the USA and deals with a number of themes and regions to illustrate variations in regional equality and regional economic development. The USA is an exciting country and the course intends to reflect this, together with the enormous geographical diversity which characterises this country.
By the end of the course students should be able to:
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understand the spatial organisation of American society and the nature of change operating on societies and environments.
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identify policy issues and conflicts concerning regional economic development, resource management and environmental impacts.
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demonstrate a detailed knowledge of regional variations in population, ethnicity, poverty and economy together with explanations and implications of these variations for people and places.
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locate and use a variety of published materials, including maps and statistical sources. The internet is a particularly valuable source of information and this will be fully explored.
Course Content
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The nature and causes of regional diversity in the USA. One America, or a Nation of Regions?
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Early immigration and the westward moving frontier. Has the frontier created a distinctive American Society?
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Population change and the role of immigration. What has been the socio-economic impact of immigration to the USA?
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Inequality and the geography of poverty. Social groupings in the USA and the changing pattern of ethnic distributions.
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The American economy and the location characteristics of manufacturing and service industries.
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Urban America. The relationship between sub urbanisation and central city decline. Case studies of New York and Los Angeles.
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The use of resources and the environmental impact of resource use. This is illustrated in relation to agricultural land use, water use and management in Western USA, and impact of outdoor recreation on fragile environments and the geography of energy production.
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Environmental problems which will be examined in relation to threatened locations and there is an assessment of the effectiveness of environmental controls in relation to air pollution, landscape change etc.
Assessment
Assessment consists of three course work assignments. There is no examination.