A survey of the world's primary regions and the human and physical geography that shape
them. Interactions between natural environment, cultural geography, geopolitics, history,
land use, and economic geography are highlighted.
This course examines the processes that shape our environment and the resulting patterns
of landforms, biomes, climates, and water resources. Students will analyze interactions
among dynamic systems in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere using
basic scientific principles and methods, with an emphasis on spatial relationships.
Students will also consider the relationship between humans and the environment, including
the distribution of resources and adaptation to and modification of environments.
The course will be lecture with integrated lab.
The systematic subdivisions of human geography are surveyed, including urban, cultural,
political, economic, historical, agricultural, and population geography. Within each
subdiscipline, applications of geographic concepts and processes are emphasized.
This course is an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), with a focus
on both the conceptual foundations and applications of GIS software. Topics covered
include spatial data models; cartographic design; coordinate systems and map projections;
address geocoding and GPS data; spatial analysis; Internet GIS applications; and GIS
modeling. Laboratory assignments give students experience using GIS in thematic areas
such as demographic analysis, market research, and urban environmental change.
Data literacy is essential to success in many professional fields. In this course,
students will gain experience acquiring, manipulating, and analyzing data, and will
learn how to effectively communicate their findings with static and interactive visualizations.
Students will learn how to work with data using the Python programming language, one
of the most popular tools for performing data analysis.
Prerequisites:GEOG 30313, or instructor consent. In this course, students gain experience with advanced applications
of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. Topics covered include GIS modeling;
web GIS applications and distributed GIS services; open-source GIS; developing geoprocessing
scripts using the Python programming language; and the current state of the GIS profession.
Students will also complete a semester-long course project in which they apply GIS
techniques to a topic of their interest.
Prerequisites:GEOG 30313; another introductory GIS course; or instructor consent. This advanced GIS course
gives students experience applying GIS to solve real-world urban and business problems.
Topics covered include demographic analysis; remote sensing of urban areas; network
analysis; 3D urban modeling; spatial statistics; time and GIS; geodemographic classification;
market area analysis; and web GIS services. Students will also complete a semester-long
group project that applies GIS to assist an organization or business in the Fort Worth
area.
Regional Courses
An analysis of the human and physical geography of a specific region. Examples of
regions include Texas, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe. Regional characteristics
investigated may include economic, political, historical, and cultural components
as well as topography, climate, and natural resources. May be repeated for credit
provided the specified region changes.
An exploration of the human and physical geography of the United States. Areas of
the country, such as the Pacific Northwest and New England, will be surveyed, analyzing
the physical, historic, cultural, and economic characteristics that embody their unique
regional identities.
An exploration of the human and physical geography of Latin America. This course analyzes
Latin America from a geographical perspective and addresses topics such as landforms,
climate, environmental hazards, indigenous peoples, culture, ethnicity, religion,
agriculture, political geography, population, cities, and economic production.
An exploration of the human and physical geography of Western Europe. Countries and
regions of the realm will be surveyed, analyzing their economic, political, language
and religious characteristics as well as topography, climate, and natural resources.
Themes may include the impact of population trends, environmental problems, trade
and economic development, interactions between ethnic groups, and geopolitical change.
Systematic Courses
Concepts, principles, patterns, and processes associated with a specific subdiscipline
in geography. Examples of topics include Economic Geography, Geopolitics, Medical
Geography, and Physical Geography. May be repeated for credit provided the specified
subdiscipline changes.
Urban Geography is the geographical study of cities. Examples of topics include: urban
ecosystems; the role of physical geography in the origins and growth of cities; theoretical
models of urban size, location, and land use structure; the internal geography of
urban economic and social activity; and international and historical variation in
the form, functions, and degree of urbanization.
Cultural Geography is the study of human culture from the perspectives of its five
geographic themes: culture region, diffusion and migration, cultural ecology, cultural
landscape, and cultural integration. Each theme is applied to a variety of topics,
which may include religion, language, cultural conflict, folk culture, popular culture,
and demography.
The Geography of Religion is the study of religion from the spatial perspective, utilizing
the five themes of cultural geography: region, diffusion, culture-environment interaction,
landscapes, and integration. Our most important topics cover the relationship between
physical geography and religion and from this context we will analyze religions, past
and present.
Problem-solving by application of geographic concepts, methodologies, and techniques.
Examples are drawn from physical and human geography.
In this course, students engage with contemporary debates around world population
growth and change. Course topics include demographic data and methods; the history
and future of world population growth; fertility and population control in the developing
world; aging in the developed world; global trends in mortality and disease; internal
migration and immigration; and population, climate change, and environmental sustainability.
Economic Geography is the study of how elements within the economy are spatially arranged,
as well as the ways that space, place and spatial scales shape economic activities
in different parts of the world. Through a series of readings, discussions, and research
assignments, this course examines the distribution of economic activities on the earth's
surface; market resource and transportation factors in location theory, and the role
of state, market and civil society's agents in management of the economy. Students
are further introduced to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) through content-focused
lab assignments, though no previous experience with GIS is required for this course.
This course uses beer (and wine) as a lens to examine the intersections of historical,
environmental, cultural, legal, and economic geography. Students are introduced to
the major systematic fields of Geographic inquiry: Historical Geography, Cultural
Geography, Economic Geography, etc through focused lessons examining the role of beer
production in the establishment of historical civilizations, how climate change affects
barley and hop production, and the locational characteristics required for a brewery
or brewpub to be successful.
This course covers the study of sport through the lens of social science. It introduces
students to social scientific theory and analytic methods in the context of historical
and contemporary sports topics. Course topics include sports and cultural geography;
sports and nationalism; race, gender, politics, and sports; sports business and economics;
and sports analytics.
This course examines relationships between people and the environment from multiple
perspectives, providing a context for thinking about the causes and consequences of
environmental change and their spatial patterns around the world. Of particular interest
are the cultural, ethical, economic, technological, and population considerations
that make humans want to use, protect, destroy, or adapt to environmental systems
and their components. This course will also address the function of specific environmental
systems themselves, including how they influence and respond to human actions.
