321 Syllabus
Course Information
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Course Name and Number: |
American Landscapes-Geography 321 |
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Instructor: |
Steve Graves |
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Class Room: |
GTM 135 |
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Scheduled Class Time: |
MWF 9:30-10:45 |
Contact Dr. Graves
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Office: |
GTM 127C |
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Office phone: |
257-2774 |
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E-Mail: |
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Office Hours: |
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Department Phone: |
257-3427 |
Web Page |
http://www.latech.edu/tech/liberal-arts/geography/courses/321/321home.htm
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Course Description:
Folk, vernacular and popular landscape items are
explored. Special attention is given to
developing the student's ability to "read" the American landscape as
text.
This course is an advanced
geography course; its primary purposes are to help students to:
1. To recognize various folk,
vernacular and popular architectural styles.
2. Develop a degree of “landscape literacy”, or in other words to be able to
‘read and interpret’ the built landscape.
3. Develop critical, analytical, evaluative thinking skills while examining the
built environment.
Required Materials
1. A reading packet
will be available at the Department of Social Sciences Office, room 137 GTM.
Classroom Activities
Class time will be largely devoted to discussion of
assigned readings. Generally, I will try to use lectures to direct your
attention to significant matters assigned in the readings or to supplement
readings. We will look at lots of
slides and if the number of students is manageable, we may have some field
trips.
Click
here to jump to the course reading and assignments schedule.
Quizzes
During the quarter, students will be required to take a
number of quizzes. Some or all may be
offered on-line. These quizzes are not
designed to be punitive but to encourage you to read the assignments in advance
of lecture. This will help you learn
the material better and do better on the exams.
Major Exams
There will be two exams during the quarter. The second exam
will not be comprehensive. The format of the test will vary according to
the type of material covered.
Make-up Exams. . If a person misses an exam
and is able to produce a valid and verifiable excuse for his or her absence
then he or she will be allowed to take an equivalent exam within one week of
their return to class. Failure to produce a valid excuse for a missed exam will
result in a grade of 0 for that exam.
Writing Assignments
Writing
and therefore thinking is required in each of my classes.
Details
regarding the style and content of the writing assignments can be found by
clicking on the hyperlink below.
Attendance and Classroom Obligations.
Attendance is mandatory. In accordance with university policy, attendance will be taken
each class session and used to aid in your quarter-end evaluation. If you must miss a class AND you miss an
in-class assignment, you must produce a written excuse in order to make up your
work, or to be excused from taking the assignment.
Because irregular attendance can become a chronic problem
that undermines the overall quality of my courses, I require students to sign a
course contract, which essentially states that they have read the course
policies and that they agree to follow them.
Click
here to access the course contract
Evaluation
Grades will be determined by your performance on the
various assignments and tests as well as your attendance/participation where
appropriate. Below is a breakdown of the
tentative grading regime.
|
Assignment |
Percent
of Grade |
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Attendance
and Participation |
5 |
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Quizzes
(5?) |
3*5 =
15 |
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Writing
Assignments (3) |
10+10+15
= 35 |
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Exam I |
20 |
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Exam II |
25 |
Approximate Grade Scale
A = (90-100%)
B = (80-89%)
C = (70-79%)
D = (60-69%)
F = (59% or less)
Back to Geography Home
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at sgraves@latech.edu