Human Geography Courses
The new global economy has become integrated across national boundaries, profoundly altering the fortunes of countries, regions, and cities. This course addresses questions that stem from these changes: for example, why do industries locate where they do? what is the impact of foreign investment on local and regional economies? why are rates of international migration increasing? what can workers and communities do after disinvestment and deindustrialization has occurred? Particular attention is devoted to the United States and the effects on minorities and labor of differential regional economic expansion, renewal, and decline. Dist: SOC. Francis (99F), Wright (00F).
- 21. The North American City (Identical to Sociology
21)
- 00X: 10A
For generations of immigrants America's cities were representative of the American Dream. While its streets may not have been 'paved with gold,' they led to factories and jobs and the opportunity to rise up the socioeconomic ladder. The city was America's vehicle for advancement and assimilation--the classic melting pot. Today, most Americans live and work in the suburbs that stretch for miles away from the central city. For that portion of the population denied this opportunity (the poor, minorities), the American Dream remains unrealized. This course will examine the North American city, from its poorest and most violent inner city neighborhoods to its most affluent suburbs. Special emphasis will be placed upon the impact that demographic, economic, and technological changes have had upon its spatial and social structure. Dist: SOC; WCult: NA. Satisfies the Interdisciplinary requirement. Lindgren (Geography) and Hall (Sociology).
This course examines such spatial variables as distance, location, and access and their relationship to the political process. The examination is conducted at various levels of political organization (local, national, and international) and examines such topics as the origins of nations and states, political redistricting, secessionist movements, multinational corporations, and the political partitioning of the world's oceans. Dist: SOC. Forest.
This course examines the role of law and the legal system in the creation, maintenance, and transformation of racial identity in the United States and Canada. As one of the most powerful institutions in American society, law exerts a pervasive influence on our conceptions and practices of identity. Yet how has a legal system purportedly based on the recognition and protection of individual rights been implicated in the creation of racial categories and inequality? The class explores this question by examining debates over two important legal controversies: segregation and affirmative action. In both instances, legal disputes over the allocation of resources, rights, and priveleges have been articulated both in terms of race and geography. Legal precedents and the legacies of racial segregation are both extremely resistant to change, and can affect social and geographic interactions in unexpected ways for long periods of time. In addition to addressing these substantive issues, the class provides an introduction to legal research, the Federal court system, and Constitional law. Dist. SOC. Forest.
- 28. (formerly 16) Immigration,
Race, and Ethnicity (Identical to Latino Studies 40 and
Sociology 37)
- 99F, 00F: 10
This course examines 20th century immigration to the United States and pays special attention to issues of race and ethnicity. The course begins with a brief history of US immigration and then thematically covers specific topics such as economic impacts and costs, social mobility, citizenship, transnationalism, assimilation, and religioius issues and their relationship to the immigrant experience. We feature nativist reactions to immigration and highlight differences within and between Latino, Asian, and European groups throughout the course. Dist. SOC. WCult: NA. Satisifies Interdisciplinary requirement. Wright (Geography), Gomez (Latino Studies).