Fall 2013 Monday 6:30pm-9:00pm

Transcription

1 History & Methods Geography Fall 2013 Monday 6:30pm-9:00pm Instructor: Dr. Nate Gabriel Course Description This course will cover the history and development of geographic study, introduce students to the core literature, current trends, and research techniques of modern Geography, and familiarize students with published research relevant to their field of interest. In addition, the course serves as a workshop for the development of an original research proposal. Course Outcomes Students will develop and demonstrate the ability to critically review the history of geography, geographic research methods, and published geographical studies. Students will be able to situate their own research interests within the appropriate research traditions in geography, and design an original research project using research methodologies appropriate for their research topic. Students will write a research proposal for their own original research, including a literature review and discussion and defense of their chosen research methodology. Readings There is no required textbook for this course. Some readings are required, but will be provided by the instructor at the appropriate time. Grading and Assignments Final grades will be assigned according to the standard 100-point scale, where an A is a , a B is 80-89, and so on. Each of the three components listed below (article reviews, methods exercises, and final proposals) are worth one third (33.3%) of the final grade. Weekly Assignments Beginning on Week 4 (September 30), students will be required each week to submit reviews of scholarly articles via to the instructor. These reviews will be short (half a page), and will accomplish four things: 1) provide an overview of the article (if possible, identify the broader "literature" that it fits into; 2) identify the purpose of the article (up to three main points); 3) explain how it fits into the student's own research interests; and 4) identify points the student did not understand.

2 These reviews will not be commented on in detail. A grade will be given for completion. Reviews must be posted on Blackboard before class on Monday, and must be formatted correctly. Students will not be given credit for late or incorrectly-formatted reviews. We will discuss these in class if there is time available, so students should be prepared to do so. Methods Exercises In the second half of the semester, students will be required to develop and conduct simple research exercises using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods. Each exercise will produce a final product, which must be submitted the following week on Blackboard. Specifics of each exercise will be provided at the appropriate time. Research Proposal By the end of the semester, each student will develop a research proposal for an original geographic research project. Note: this assignment is NOT to do the research itself, but only to propose or describe the research the student wishes to conduct during their senior capstone year. Final proposals will be 4-6 pages. Other specifics will be provided later. Formatting of Written Work All work should be in Times New Roman font, size 12, with 1-inch margins. The heading should only include the student's name, the course name, and the due date of the review. Papers should be posted to dropbox as PDF files, not as word-processing files (.doc, etc). Late Assignments No late assignments will be accepted without a documented medical excuse. Plagiarism Students are expected to familiarize themselves with and make frequent use of the work of others, give credit where it is due, and produce original work when possible. Students should be familiar with Rowan University s policy on plagiarism, and should act accordingly.

3 Course Schedule - September 3 to December 13 Sept 9 Sept 16 Lecture: Geography's Recent Past epistemology, env determinism, regionalism, quant rev Lecture: Critical Geography marxism and structuralism, feminism, post-modernism Thinking About Research Sept 23 Sept 30 Oct 7 Oct 14 Writing a research proposal and using library/internet for research Different kinds of resources Causation and Correlation Grounded Theory Quantitative Research vs. Qualitative Research Gathering Data Oct 21 Oct 28 Nov 4 Nov 11 Nov 18 Nov 25 Methods: Indices and Indicators Methods: The Survey Methods: Participant Observation Methods: Use of Archives Methods: Interviews Methods: Text Analysis Writing a Proposal Dec 2 Dec 9 Dec 13 Structuring your proposal Peer Review NO CLASS: Final proposals due

4 Nate Gabriel History and Methods in Geography September 9, 2013 Reaction Paper #1 Castree, N. (2005) "Editorial". Geoforum 36(1): Overview: Ostensibly about "the case" in research, but discusses in the context is research on the neoliberalization of nature. Points out that Mansfield, Prudham, and others have written at length about neoliberalisms - the idea that neoliberalism isn't a single thing but is a kind of process that is happening in lots of difference places. Purpose: Point #1: The literature on the neoliberalization of nature needs to do much more work in terms of identifying its object of analysis (neoliberalism[s]) before it can be said to be about the same thing. Argues that we shouldn't begin with the idea of neoliberalism and then go out looking for examples of it. Rather, it requires a great deal of empirical research "in the first instance", that then together suggests the "genus" of which the cases are examples. Point #2: About case study research. The use of a case study can be used in two ways: 1) "presumes an ontological regularity in both pattern and process between otherwise different contexts" (nomothetic); and 2) emphasizes the contingent and enduring differences (context is "no mere modifier of ostensibly general processes")(ideographic) My Interests: Provides background context and theoretical for my paper of neoliberalization of parks. Also provides useful citations that I need to look up and read. Questions: What about alternatives to neoliberalism? Is this from a good journal? Has Castree written anything else on this subject?

5 Journals Online Access Through Rowan Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers Progress in Human Geography Progress in Physical Geography Antipode Geographical Journal Journal of Geography Geography: Journal of the Geographical Association GeoJournal Applied Geography Political Geography Social Geography Economic Geography Journal of Economic Geography Cultural Geographies Journal of Cultural Geography Urban Geography Journal of Urban Affairs Journal of Historical Geography Journal of Transportation Geography Ambio Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography Journal of Latin American Geography Geography Teacher Teaching Geography No Online Access but Worth a Look Annals of the Association of American Geographers Geoforum Environment and Planning A Environment and Planning B Environment and Planning C Environment and Planning D Professional Geographer Area Geography Compass