Course Descriptions

Different cultures in different landscapes are compared and contrasted to our own. This course examines the many issues of human population, perception of the environment, diffusion of ideas, and cultural aspects of resource use and urban growth, to give students a view into the many concerns on the human side of geography.

We are living in the "age of human influence". Humans impact nearly every Earth system. Geography, which is the study of Earth's physical and human aspects, is the ideal discipline to study the human-environment nexus. In this course, students examine the Anthropocene era and investigate how social, economic, political, spatial, and biophysical processes shape society's relationship to nature, management of resources, and contemporary environmental change. Environmental issues are complex. How can human ingenuity solve these problems?

Climate change, the depletion of the world's resources, and the collapse of fisheries are but a few of the examples illustrating the global scale of our environmental problems. These global issues, however, have local causes and consequences. This course reviews the issues and identifies possible solutions, and then focuses on student research projects that identify local pathways to address these environmental challenges. Special attention will be given to the methodology and writing of a geographical research paper.

This course is designed to give international students a greater understanding of North America and its people. Students will be introduced to key information about the geography and history of North America, and the various political, economic and cultural aspects of North American societies. This course will highlight the particular differences between Canada, the U.S.A., and Mexico, as well as examine the various levels of integration that exist between these countries. The underlying theme is cross-cultural understanding and the key role that it plays in cultural interaction, including international business initiatives.

This introductory physical geography course about Earth’s landforms explores how plate tectonics operating below Earth’s surface, and gravity, rivers, glaciers, waves and wind operating at Earth’s surface, shape the natural landscape that surrounds us. The course focuses on Canadian landforms and emphasizes ways in which human activities are affecting natural processes.

This introductory physical geography course about the atmosphere explores the forces that produce the weather we experience every day, with a focus on the weather of B.C.’s coast. We also consider how weather patterns operate differently from place to place to create the great diversity of climates on Earth, and how human actions are leading to global climate change.

An examination of the concepts and themes of economic geography in terms of production and consumption. The traditional primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary divisions in economic geography are reviewed in terms of contemporary issues. The purpose of this course is to illustrate the importance of economic processes and tools to understand our environment.

More and more of us are living in an urban world. This course is designed to examine problems and issues that arise with urban living; including psychological problems, the cost of housing, transportation issues, slums, suburban living, and the future direction of cities. While this course uses local examples, it also draws on examples from other cities in the world. This course approaches these topics through field trips into the city, slides, films, and field research. Urban studies leads to careers in urban planning, real estate, land management, architecture, and urban politics as well as stimulating general community awareness.

The course is designed to engage students in the practical application of urban planning. Using principles from urban geography and urban planning, students will become acquainted with the development of an Official Community Plan, while working in partnership with planners from the local district planning office. The course involves field study work and attendance at district public meetings. This is an excellent course for those interested in urban and/or regional planning or those intending to continue in Geography.

This course is a comparative geography of China and India. The course provides a current understanding of the geographies of these two major rising powers and focuses on their evolving physical, economic and cultural landscapes. Comparisons between the two are inevitable and it is intended that the course will provide the students with the analytical tools as well as the academic knowledge to have a better understanding of these two very different civilizations.

BC's spectacular landscape has presented both challenges and bountiful resources to the peoples who have settled here. This course will acquaint students with both the physical and human geography of BC, and identify how our relationship with the land has shifted in response to changes in values, technology, and population. We will analyse the urgent issues that we face today in managing our natural resources and consider sustainable pathways to our future.

This course focusses on the great diversity of people and landscapes within Canada and its regions. It looks at the dynamics of location and the processes responsible for where and why people, places, and economic activities are located. It also examines the processes related to the physical landscape: how landscapes are created, destroyed, and changed. It investigates the human impact on the landscape, and the reverse, the environment's impact on people, their settlement, and development.

This course is an introduction to the wide range of natural hazards throughout the world. Earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions are examples of natural processes that can be hazardous for people and property. Using both local and world-wide examples, we will examine hazard impacts and the importance of prediction, warning and planning.

This course expands on the concepts first introduced in Geography 112. An important objective is to appreciate that landforms and, ultimately, landscapes result from the complex interaction of tectonic and gradational processes, the resistance of rocks and sediment, and time. Throughout the course, students will be taught to apply both math and physics to understand landform development. This course will involve both lectures and labs.

By expanding on the concepts outlined in Geography 114, this course will provide an intermediate understanding of the processes at work in the atmosphere. Broad topics to be covered are atmospheric energy, moisture, and motion. An important objective is to provide students with an introduction to the science of weather forecasting. As such Geography 214 is useful for students interested in transferring to an Atmospheric Science program. This course involves both lectures and labs.

Maps are an essential tool for conveying geographic information, and are also useful for other disciplines that rely extensively on maps and satellite images, such as environmental studies, forestry, geology, archaeology, history, and tourism. This course covers the basic principles of map and photo interpretation, surveying and satellite imaging, and analyses both human and physical landscapes.

Climate change, the depletion of the world's resources, and the collapse of fisheries are but a few of the examples illustrating the global scale of our environmental problems. These global issues, however, have local causes and consequences. This course reviews the issues and identifies possible solutions, and involves field work research that engages the student in both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The course will provide students with clear and concise explanations of writing and researching in the field of environmental geography.

This introductory Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course studies the concepts, theories, and techniques of using a GIS to solve spatial problems in both the natural and social sciences. Understanding and the application of spatial data will be key to this course. Some topics that will be covered include: the components and types of spatial data, analyzing spatial data, spatial data models, creating maps and project design with emphasis on solving local spatial problems or questions. Students will gain hands-on experience with professional GIS applications.

Students will gain an understanding of the physical, economic, historical, and cultural characteristics of a specific region, as they study the various conditions and issues faced by the local inhabitants. The region studied will vary from year to year: students should check with the Geography department to find out details for upcoming courses. This course may sometimes be offered as a field study, delivered on-site in a specific region. Past courses have been taught in Europe, China/Southeast Asia, and in Quebec.

Climate change has emerged as one of the most important issues of the 21st century. Its rapid escalation from a theory among some climatologists and environmentalists to both a common household term and an international priority highlight the importance of understanding this process, its myriad implications on society and the environment and the urgency in working towards solutions. This course will cover topics such as: the causes of current and historical climate change; the human and environmental implications ranging from changing weather patterns to environmental refugees; climate change policy and greenhouse gas reduction strategies; and the diverse array of solutions to building more sustainable communities.

This course seeks to appreciate the tremendous power of water, and the diversity of its roles in our lives. We will consider water as a significant force in the natural world - water produces our weather, and sculpts the landscape. On the other hand, we will study water as an essential resource. In this role, water has profoundly impacted the human landscape. Students will also learn how water extraction, water privatization, land conversion, climate change, and pollution all threaten Earth’s water supply.

We will investigate the historical evolution of imprisonment, of penal governance and critically examine the central role that punishment plays in society. This course examines the 'punitive' or 'carceral turn' which has brought about new ways of thinking about geography and the state, and has highlighted spaces of incarceration as a new terrain for exploration by geographers. Carceral geography, as a new subdiscipline of human geography, has developed to directly address this punitive turn, and has contributed to a wider 'carceral turn' in social sciences scholarships over recent years. This course also examines conditions of confinement and carcerality beyond prison walls.

This course springs from the observation that the field of education is a contested space, and the course is intended to begin a conversation that engages the conceptions, practices, and policies central to the debates. We will grapple with the conflict surrounding these overarching problematics: What is education? What is educational practice? What is educational policy, how is it constructed, and within what social contexts? What characterizes the spaces, organizations, and institutions of education? The course will engage these concepts through case studies from higher education and non-traditional academic environments that will be analyzed employing elements of the geographic perspective.

This course focuses on one of the most perplexing dilemmas in the development process: the phenomenon of massive and historically unprecedented movements of people from the rural countryside to the burgeoning cities of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The course will address the processes of change and explores the rapid pace of this urbanization which has created a host of problems that weaken the role of cities as engines of economic growth. Moreover, the scope and scale of the urban process promises to loom even larger in the future as the pace of urbanisation accelerates.

To obtain a greater understanding of cities, this course will embrace an interdisciplinary approach to real world urban ecological problems by bridging the gap between natural and social sciences and Indigenous ways of being. Students will learn how cities function as social-ecological systems and explore relevant theories and knowledge from natural science ecology, planning, geography, and history. The course will include intensive engagement, discussion, and debate with the subject matter as we tackle many crucial urban issues of our time: sustainability, biodiversity, air quality, brownfields, food procurement, acoustic ecology, and climate change.

The transition to a sustainable operating system for humankind is not only possible, but currently underway. This course assess the environmental challenges that our world faces and sets out possible courses for action, based on ideas, technology, and systems that are already being put in place around the globe.

In this course, students will learn about the transformative role of energy within society and how communities can transition towards sustainable energy futures. Different types of renewable and non-renewable energy resources will be analysed in relation to their distinctive physical properties, social values, and environmental impacts. Students will explore diverse energy landscapes at a global to local scale and will critically analyse how these are geopolitically shaped to produce uneven social, economic, and environmental outcomes, including the impact and responses from Indigenous communities. Through exploration of innovation in energy technology, practice and communication, students will explore how sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient energy solutions can be designed and implemented.

Students will work with a Geography faculty member to guide them in the development of a research-based project. Specific course details will be arranged between individual students and faculty members. See the Department of Geography website for complete details on the application process.