Successful completion of this course will provide the following learning outcomes:

Understanding the fundamental concepts and processes of human geography as they are
applied to the United States. 

Exposure to the diversity of American peoples and places as they are expressed
through the landscape.

Thinking critically about the social processes (race, immigration, power, economics)
that create the varying cultural landscapes of a diverse country. 

Consider the ways in which Americans have historically viewed and utilized their
environment and its sustainability.

A greater cognizance of the importance of geography in the everyday functioning of
our country, and its crucial role in informing economic and political policy
decision-making.

The ability to effectively communicate the concepts of geography through writing,
public speaking, and cooperative work. 

This course meets the following General Education Abilities by accomplishing the
specific learning objectives listed below:

Communicate effectively through writing.  This is met by a series of writing 
assignments associated with laboratory exercises.

Communicate effectively through speech.  This is met by oral presentations, 
discussion leading, and classroom participation.

Critical Thinking is central to the learning objectives of this class, and includes 
the following elements, which are accomplished through laboratory activities and 
assignments, lecture, classroom discussion/inquiry-based learning efforts:
       Consider and engage opposing points of view  
       Support a consistent purpose and point of view  
       Assimilate, analyze, and present a body of information  
       Analyze arguments  

Moral Reasoning (Ethics) is an important element of this course, as it seeks to 
link an understanding of the diversity of human cultures and languages with 
fundamental resource inequalities.  Moral reasoning is developed through lectures, 
critical writing assignments, classroom discussion, and inquiry-based learning 
activities.

Introduction to Geography 
Landscape and The American Scene
Concepts in Human Geography 
Critical Cultural Geography 
Micropolitics of Space and Place: Race, Class, Gender
National Political Culture
10 Versions of the Same Scene 
Colonial Geographies
Frontier Geographies
Case Study: Spanish Americans
Language
Do You Speak American? Up North
Do You Speak American? Down South
Religion
Case Study: The Mormon Culture Region
Homelands: Introduction and Setup Debates
Race: The African-American Experience
Video: The Promised Land, Vol. 2 and 3
Environmental Interactions
Video: An American Nile
The Rediscovery of North America
Memory
Labor
Agriculture and Foodways
Urban-Industrial Development
Suburbanization
20 Objects of the Kitchen 
College Towns
Exurbanization
Video: Mulholland’s Dream
Presentations