Snowden Cartography 1 www.drksnowden.com GEOG 315:001 Cartography Thursdays 4:00 6:30PM F375 Fall 2010 Dr. Snowden Course Description Principles and theory of basic map design, layout, and communication. This course will focus on types of maps, data transformation, and design issues in the construction and use of maps as a form of communication. In addition to lectures and exercises, students will receive 21 hours of training in cartographic design for ArcGIS. Course Objectives, Policies and Assignments See Attached Pages Textbooks Required: Slocum, T., et al. Thematic Cartography & Geovisualization, 3 rd ed. 2009. Optional: Brewer, C. Designing Better Maps: A Guide for GIS Users, ESRI Press, 2005. Office Hours, Email & Web Site Office Location: LAN 342 Phone: 936-468-2089 (It s better that you email me) Departmental Office: Social & Cultural Analysis LAN 335 Because I am only on campus on Thursdays I will hold office hours before class. I am on campus by 7:30AM, and will be in my office available for office hours from 12:30 3:30. No appointment is necessary if you come during office hours. If you need to see me at some other time, we can work out a time and schedule an appointment. You may also email me at drksnowden@yahoo.com. In lieu of calling of my office, please use the email you will get a faster response as I am frequently close to a computer and never far from my Blackberry. I maintain a web site for all the classes I teach, and I post regularly to that web site. Information for this class, including lecture presentations, take home assignments, links to other web sites, and various other useful things will be posted to www.drksnowden.com. Keep Reading
Snowden Cartography 2 Determination of Grade ITEM Points/Assignment Total Point Value Attendance Points 15 15 4 Take Homes 50 200 Project Proposal 150 150 7 Design Modules 50 350 Project Paper 200 200 Project Presentation 200 200 TOTAL 1115 FYI: Attendance points are worth approximately 1% of your final grade. Take Home Assignments are an estimated 18% of your final grade. Completion of the 7 design modules constitutes 31% of your final grade. The project proposal, paper and presentation together constitute almost 50% of your final grade. Raw Score % 1065 Letter Grade 1115 1003.5 100 90 A 1003-892 89 80 B 891 780.5 79 70 C 780-669 69 60 D 668 0 59 0 F Yes, there s more, Keep Reading
Snowden Cartography 3 Class Schedule Date Topic Assigned Reading Due Dates & Labs (Slocum et al, Thematic Cartography & GeoVisualization, 3 rd Ed. 2009) Introduction Sept. 2 Chapter 1 Thematic Cartography & Geovisualization Chapter 2 Historical Perspectives Chapter 13 Map Reproduction Sept. 9 Chapter 12 Cartographic Design How we process spatial information Principles of Cartography Sept. 16 Chapter 7 Earth & its Coordinate System Take Home 1 Chapter 8 Map Projections Chapter 9 Selecting a Map Projection Chapter 6 Scale and Generalization Working with Data Sept. 23 Chapter 5 Principles of Symbolization Take Home 2 Chapter 10 Principles of Color Chapter 11 Map Elements and Typography Types of Maps Sept. 30 Chapter 14 Choropleth Mapping Take Home 3 Chapter 15 Dasymetric Mapping Chapter 16 Isarithmic Mapping Chapter 17 Proportional Symbol and Dot Maps Oct. 7 Chapter 18 Multivariate Mapping Take Home 4 Chapter 19 Cartograms and Flow Maps Designing Maps with ArcGIS Proposals Due Optional Text: Brewer, Cynthia A. Designing Better Maps: A Guide for GIS Users, ESRI Press 2005 Oct. 14 Big Picture Design CD Module 1 Oct.21 Type Basics CD Module 2 Last day to drop a course, Oct 27 th (not that you ll be doing that) Oct. 28 Effective Type in Map Design CD Module 3 Nov. 4 Color Basics CD Module 4 Nov. 11 Color Decisions for Mapping CD Module 5 Nov. 18 Creating Custom Symbols CD Module 6 Dec. 2 Customizing Map Elements CD Module 7 Dec. 9 Project Presentations Project Papers Due Dec. 16 Project Presentations
Snowden Cartography 4 General Policies Attendance in class is mandatory and roll will be taken. You receive points for attendance/participation so it is important that if you are going to miss class because of university responsibilities or for other reasons, please advise me prior to your absence and provide documentation for your absence. You are responsible for getting the lecture notes from a colleague. Any work missed must be made up as soon as possible. Academic Integrity (A-9.1): Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism. Definition of Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit. Please read the complete policy at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/academic_integrity.asp Withheld Grades Semester Grades Policy (A-54): Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average. Students with Disabilities: To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/. University Policies: For policies on topics such as academic dishonesty, withdrawals, and accommodations for student with disabilities, etc., students are responsible for referring to the Stephen F. Austin State University 2009-2010 Bulletin and asterisk note on the second page of this syllabus for details. Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. See SFA Bulletin for definitions and penalties. Make-up exam/withheld Grade/Drop Policy: Students will not be given a make-up exam or withheld grade without written documentation of unavoidable issues submitted prior to the exam or, for withheld grade, last day of class. Students are responsible for observing deadlines printed in the schedule of classes.
Snowden Cartography 5 Late Work and Work Delivery: If your work is going to be late you must discuss the reason why with me prior to the date it is due and we will negotiate. Unacceptable reasons for late work include but are not limited to I forgot, I was too busy with my other courses, My computer crashed just when I was printing off the assignment, and finally the ever popular, My Pitt Bull/toddler/teenager, ate/drooled on/deleted my work. I do not accept work via email or by any other electronic conveyance. All work must be delivered to me in hard copy. Description of Assignments Take Home Assignments Four take home assignments will be completed. These will address information and issues (in essay and short answer format) that arise in the reading and may also include hands-on manual cartography exercises. Textbook chapters to be covered in each take home assignment are as follows: Take Home #1 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 13 Chapter 12 How we process spatial information Take Home #2 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 6 Take Home #3 Chapter 5 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Take Home #4 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Thematic Cartography & Geovisualization Historical Perspectives Map Reproduction Cartographic Design Earth & its Coordinate System Map Projections Selecting a Map Projection Scale and Generalization Principles of Symbolization Principles of Color Map Elements and Typography Choropleth Mapping Dasymetric Mapping Isarithmic Mapping Proportional Symbol and Dot Maps Multivariate Mapping Cartograms and Flow Maps
Snowden Cartography 6 Research Paper Each student will complete a research project. As each of you will have varying degrees of experience with the construction of maps and the use of ArcGIS, you may design your own research project. Projects should have as their focus issues in cartographic design, data presentation, or the evaluation of thematic maps, being consistent with the objectives for this course. In addition, all projects must be approved by me. Prior to undertaking your project you must submit a project proposal (due Oct. 7 th ). Your proposal must include the following and should be no longer than 5 pages but no less than 3 pages. 1. Statement research objective(s) (Purpose of the project) 2. Statement of Project Significance (Why is this project important? Include a brief literature review.) 3. Explanation of how the project meets the course objectives (Project justification) 4. Project methodology (What do you intend to do and how you intend to do it?) 5. Anticipated results (What do you expect to discover as a result of this project?) Completed research projects (project papers, due Dec. 9) should be no more than 15 pages in length but no less than 10 pages. Page length does not include the title page, graphics (maps, diagrams, photos, charts etc.), footnotes (if on a separate page) or the bibliography. In addition to submitting a proposal and project paper, each student will give an oral presentation about their project which will be subject to peer review. Rubrics to be used to evaluate both the project papers and oral presentations will be posted to the web site at a later date. Overall Course Objectives - SLOs Major Objectives Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) 1. The student will demonstrate and develop geographic & cartographic literacy as evidenced by the identification of the major concepts involved with cartographic design and communication. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the cartographic concepts of scale, projections, generalization, & classification. 3. Demonstrate the ability to use symbolization, color, map elements and typography appropriately to create a high quality map. 4. Demonstrate an understanding of and be able to apply principles of graphic design to cartographic design. 5. Be able to select the most appropriate map type to best accommodate the data, purpose of the map, and the intended audience. 6. Demonstrate the ability to design and critique thematic maps. 7. Develop and successfully complete a research project that investigates issues in cartography and/or cartographic design. 8. Develop and successfully complete an oral presentation detailing research findings.
Snowden Cartography 7 Additional Cartographic Design Objectives for Cartographic Design Using ArcGIS (As per ESRI) 1. Understand fundamental cartographic principles. 2. Design maps for different purposes. 3. Export maps to different formats. 4. Create and modify map text. 5. Create special effects such as callouts, shadows and halos. 6. Understand principles of color theory and how they affect map symbolization. 7. Choose appropriate symbols of r point, line and polygon features. 8. Chose appropriate symbols and color schemes. 9. Create custom map legends. Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) The geography program has the following learning objectives for its students. As maps are the primary tool of the geographer for the presentation and analysis of spatial data, the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the course are consistent with the PLOs as follows: PLO 1. The student will be able to prepare written and verbal presentations presenting geographical research using the analyses and synthesis of appropriate documents and primary data. SLO 7. SLO 8. Develop and successfully complete a research project that investigates issues in cartography and/or cartographic design. Develop and successfully complete an oral presentation detailing research findings. PLO 2. The student will possess geographic literacy as evidenced by the identification of the major concepts involved with human spatial and ecological relationships. SLO 1. SLO 2. SLO 3. The student will demonstrate and develop geographic & cartographic literacy as evidenced by the identification of the major concepts involved with cartographic design and communication. Demonstrate an understanding of the cartographic concepts of scale, projections, generalization, & classification. Demonstrate the ability to use symbolization, color, map elements and typography appropriately to create a high quality map. PLO 3. The student will be able to apply geographical knowledge and skills to a variety of settings. SLO 4. SLO 5. Demonstrate an understanding of and be able to apply principles of graphic design to cartographic design. Be able to select the most appropriate map type to best accommodate the data, purpose of the map, and the intended audience
Snowden Cartography 8 PLO 4. The student will recognize the implicit assumptions behind claims of knowledge about the spatial world, will be able to evaluate and distinguish between strong and weak arguments, and will be able to draw conclusions from a set of premises. SLO 6. Demonstrate the ability to design and critique thematic maps. PLO5. The student will be able to read geographical research and to identify its major methodological strengths and weaknesses. SLO 6. Demonstrate the ability to design and critique thematic maps.