Syllabus

GEOG 30N: Environment and Society in a Changing World (Spring 2024)

Welcome to GEOG 30N! We look forward to getting to know you this semester. Please take the time to read the entire syllabus. We share critical information here that will help you succeed in the course, especially regarding assignment expectations and due dates.

Instructor

Elise Quinn
Graduate Student (Ph.D.), Department of Geography | Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
Email: eaq10@psu.edu

This course takes place entirely online, so please correspond via email. I will do my best to reply to emails within 2-3 business days. Before emailing with an administrative question, kindly check the course syllabus and any announcements made in Canvas. As many students tend to have the same questions, you may find it more convenient to use the course Q&A discussion board in Canvas (under Discussions). I will reply to these posts regularly (excluding weekends).

Also, when sending an email or Canvas message, please be sure to include "GEOG 30N" in the subject line, a salutation addressing me, and your name so I know who is contacting me.

Office Hours: I will also be available for virtual office hours by appointment. Please email me to set up a time.

Class Support Services

Penn State Learning offers online tutoring to World Campus students in math, writing, and some business classes. Penn State World Campus partners with Tutor.com to provide tutoring to Penn State World Campus students in supported courses. Tutoring and guided study groups for residential students are available through Penn State Learning.

Course Overview

GEOG 30N: Environment and Society in a Changing World (3 credits) GEOG 30N is an integrative study, inter-domain general education course. Students who started at Penn State prior to summer 2018 can apply these credits to either GS or GN requirements. The course also covers U.S. or international cultures requirements.

GEOG 30N can be applied toward Penn State's General Education "Social and Behavioral Sciences" (GS), "Natural Sciences" (GN), "United States Cultures," or "International Cultures" (IL) requirements.

Prerequisites: None

This course introduces the study of sustainability and human-environment interactions from a geographic perspective. We examine both the influence of humanity on the environment and the influence of the environment on humanity, with attention to the sustainability of current human activities. We take a complex systems perspective on major environmental and societal challenges and examine linked human-environment issues in a variety of contexts. We emphasize the major individual and societal decisions which impact the environment and the ethical views implicit in the decisions. We explore key concepts such as scale, systems analysis, and individual and collective action, as well as various topical issues related to climate change, agriculture, biodiversity, and development. The key concepts above are cross-cutting and applicable to several topical issues; in turn, topical issues are strongly interrelated. By introducing cross-cutting key concepts and asking students to apply them across topical issues in human-environment systems familiar to them, this course encourages students to think both within and beyond the main topic of each unit, thereby integrating previous and new knowledge. Course assignments highlight both major themes in human-environment geography and the experience of what it is like to perform human-environment geography.

Where Is This Class Held/When Does It Meet?

All components of GEOG 30N will be conducted online. You do not have to be present at University Park campus at any point during the course, so long as you have reliable access to the Internet. There will be no set class meeting times, so students are responsible for setting aside time to complete the course work.

How Is The Course Structured? 

There are 10 modules spread over three units that will be completed over the course of the 15-week semester. Each module contains readings, videos, and other material covered in the course. Each of the three units includes two written assignments and will conclude with an open book, online assessment. There is no final exam for this course.

Written assignments are due approximately every two or three weeks. You should plan ahead as these assignments require a deep grasp of the module material as well as independent research to complete. We recommend beginning work on them at least one week prior to the due date. Please check Canvas regularly to ensure that you are completing all written assignments and quizzes on time. Modules will be graded with feedback in a timely manner, generally within two weeks following their submission. Due dates for the assignments must be strictly followed. 

What Do We Expect of You?

We expect that you will treat this course in the same manner you would a face-to-face section of an introductory level course. You should expect to spend the same amount of time on this course that you would spend in and out of class in your other courses. On average, that may be about eight hours per week. However, you will find your workload depends on your familiarity with the technology needed to take an online course and any past experience you have with the subject matter.

In our experience, the students who reach their goals in online courses are those that are able to motivate themselves to keep up with the coursework and those that take the opportunity to communicate with the instructor and their peers. We encourage you to ask as many questions as you would in a face-to-face class. If you are struggling with any aspect of the course, we can only help you if you ask.

Specific learning objectives for each module and assignment are detailed within each module.

Course Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes

Through completion of course modules, learning activities, and quizzes successful students will:

• understand foundational principles of nature-society geography;
• build a toolkit of key concepts and theories for analyzing human-environment systems;
• evaluate how biophysical and social environments are intertwined and shape one another;
• critique specific nature-society problems across a range of geographic contexts;
• develop possible solutions for addressing contemporary sustainability challenges.

Required Course Materials

All (other) materials needed for this course are presented online through our course website and in Canvas. In order to access the online materials, you need to have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password (used to access the online course resources). If you have any questions about obtaining or activating your Penn State Access Account, please contact  Penn State IT Service Desk for World Campus students or  Penn State IT Get Support (for students at all other campus locations).

Assignments and Grading

GEOG 30N will rely upon a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:

• Written Assignments provide you with an opportunity to synthesize the course concepts and supporting information you’ve learned in the class. These assignments will allow you to communicate your understanding of the material, demonstrate your critical thinking skills, and showcase your ability to analyze information. Each written assignment should be approximately 500-750 words in length, engage a minimum of three course concepts in bolded font, demonstrate quality academic writing skills, and include compelling arguments with supporting evidence. Rubrics are provided for each writing assignment to ensure the expectations for these assessments are clearly articulated to you.
• Automated Quizzes will allow you to practice your mastery of the concepts presented in the course readings and supporting materials. There are three quizzes you will be required to participate in throughout the semester. Each quiz consists of approximately 25 questions, is open book, and has a time limit of 60 minutes. These assessments are auto-graded by Canvas, so you will receive your scores immediately upon submission of your quiz.
• Citation Training Assignments will help you learn more about the basics of APA in-text citations and how to cite sources you use in your work appropriately. There are a total of three assignments associated with the training, two short quizzes and a discussion that requires a brief response.

You will earn a grade that reflects the extent to which you achieve the course learning objectives listed above. Below is a breakdown of each assignment's value as a percentage of the total course grade.

Make-up Quiz Policy

We expect students to plan for and to take all quizzes during the open period for each. In exceptional circumstances, make-up quizzes will only be granted through the approval of the course instructor for legitimate and excused absences. Prior notification and approval for a make-up quiz must be obtained by the student at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled quiz. Special circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Curve

There is no grading curve in this course.

Late Policy

Late Written Assignments will be penalized at 10% per day. Assignments submitted more than seven days late automatically receive zero points. All assignments have precise (to the minute) deadlines that are understood in terms of Eastern Standard Time (EST) as applied in Penn State's resident campuses in Pennsylvania. Anything past the deadline is automatically late, even if it is just one minute late. Every 24 hours (to the minute) after the deadline, another day of late penalty is incurred.

Grades

We will use the Canvas gradebook to keep track of your grades. The minimum scores for course grades are as follows.

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GEOG 30N Course Schedule

Printable Schedule

Course length: 15 weeks

Below, you will find a list of topics covered and assignments due each week of the semester. Each week begins Monday and concludes Sunday. All assignments are due by the due dates listed in Canvas. Please check the Syllabus link in Canvas regularly to make sure you are not missing any due dates.

Course Assignments and Activities

Week	Topic	Assignments due
Week 1	Course Orientation	Course Information Quiz (required but not graded) Initial Course Survey (required but not graded)
Week 2	Module 1 - Geographic Perspectives	Citation Training (Part 1) Check Your Knowledge (quiz)
Week 3	Module 2 - Human-Environment Systems	Citation Training (Part 2) Connecting In-text to Reference List (quiz) Reflect and Share with your Peers (discussion post)
Week 4	Module 3 - Environmental Ethics	Written Assignment 1: Understanding the Role of Ethics
Week 5	Module 4 - Individual and Collective Action
Week 6	Unit 1 (Modules 1-4) Review	Written Assignment 2: Carbon Footprints and Individual and Collective Action
Week 7	Module 5 - Development	Unit 1 Quiz
Week 8	Module 6 - Food and Agriculture	Written Assignment 3: Development and Agriculture
Week 9	Module 7 - Urban Planning
Week 10	Unit 2 (Modules 5-7) Review	Written Assignment 4: Sustainable Cities
Week 11	Module 8 - Natural Hazards	Unit 2 Quiz
Week 12	Module 9 - Climate Change	Written Assignment 5: Vulnerability Reduction
Week 13	Module 10 - Biodiversity
Week 14	Module 10 Biodiversity, Continued	Written Assignment 6: Biodiversity
Week 15	Unit 3 (Modules 8-10) Review	Quiz 3

Tips for Success in GEOG 30N

Pay extra attention to course announcements

Read all the email announcements and read the whole announcement when you do. Unlike face-to-face courses where instructors have more diverse means to get your attention, online courses typically have email as the only channel through which you can get news and reminders. Not paying full attention to the emails may result in your missing deadlines and opportunities, which will be detrimental to your grade.

Participate

In order to make the most out of this opportunity, you will need to be actively involved in this course. 

Do the work on time

I see my role in this course as lead facilitator; that is, it is my job to help you achieve your educational objectives. I set deadlines to keep everyone on track to reach those goals. I think that if you do your best to adhere to those deadlines (for example, setting up a routine schedule when you work on the course), you will succeed. I strongly suggest setting a personal deadline that is earlier than the class deadline, which will help you avoid most issues that tend to cause delays. As described earlier in this syllabus, I am firm on deadlines. However, I do understand that emergencies may arise, and I am willing to work with you if I am informed (preferably ahead of time) and the reason was unavoidable.

Struggling? Get help!

There could be a case where you are paying full attention to the announcements and working hard for this course, but still somehow struggling. If this is you, please ask for help! The instructor can be a source of help. Let me know of your concerns (e.g., ways to improve your upcoming assignment) and the situations you want us to take into consideration when instructing and grading. Also, in case you didn't know, you can go to Penn State to get institutional yet individualized help! If you would like advice on writing, please go to Penn State Learning website for more resources (The Writing Center @ Penn State Learning). They give you a range of tutoring options from online tutoring to in-person meetings by appointment.

Additional Course Policies

Netiquette

The term "Netiquette" refers to the etiquette guidelines for electronic communications, such as email and bulletin board postings. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions, but also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. Please review Virginia Shea's "The Core Rules of Netiquette" for general guidelines that should be followed when communicating in this course. Most importantly, do not use slang, informal language, or text messaging jargon when communicating via email or when posting to the discussion board. Emails and posts should never begin with "Hey" or similarly informal language.