Directions: As you are being introduced to the science of geography, it is important to understand what
questions it, as a field, strives to answer. Typically, geography is all about defining the “what” and the “where”
of something or someone, “how” it is meaningful, as well as “why” it is the way it is. It is also important for
you as students (and humans) to be able to think through difficult questions and use a critical eye when
evaluating others’ answers and opinions to these questions. So, thinking about this, I would like you to do the
following:
1. There is a famous scientific essay published in 1968 by an American ecologist, Garrett Hardin, entitled
“The Tragedy of the Commons”. It has been a seminal work that scientists have debated for decades
following its publication. I would like you to quickly read this. The Tragedy of the Commons Hardin.pdf Download The Tragedy of the Commons Hardin.pdf
2. Then I would like you to read a short opinion piece done by an environmental professor entitled “The
Tragedy of “The Tragedy of the Commons””. The Tragedy of the Tragedy of the Commons.docx Download The Tragedy of the Tragedy of the Commons.docx
3. I would also like you to look at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s profile on Garrett Hardin. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/garrett-hardin (Links to an external site.)
4. Finally, I would like you to watch these videos (1,2) on Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist and Nobel
prize winner who wrote about a differing idea concerning the commons.
(11) Ending The Tragedy of The Commons – YouTube
Now that you have familiarized yourself with the questions and answers at hand, I’d like you
to write at lease a one-page reflection addressing the following:
1. When you first read Hardin’s article, what were your thoughts?
a. Did you agree or disagree with what he had to say? Why or why not?
b. Did anything stand out to you about the points he was making?
c. What factors led you to be convinced by his article (if this was the case)? What factors led you
to be wary (if this was the case)? Why?
2. After reading the oped piece critiquing Hardin’s 1968 essay, did your opinions about the initial essay
change? Why or why not?
a. Did you agree or disagree with what this author had to say? Why or why not?
b. What in the article or about the article led you to differ (or not differ) from your initial opinion?
3. Upon looking at Garrett Hardin’s profile on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website, did you feel
more swayed by the oped piece from 2019, or more convinced that Hardin’s original work was correct?
a. Does it appear Hardin may have had biases? Which biases? Please describe as many as you can
think of.
b. How would these biases have impacted his scientific research and scientific thought?
4. Finally, after watching the two videos about Dr. Elinor Ostrom’s research, how do you feel about the
initial 1968 essay now?
a. Are you in agreement with what her research postulates in regard to the commons? Why or
why not?
b. What type of evidence does she use to support her findings? Going back to the original article,
what evidence does Hardin use to support his findings?
c. How does this impact your thoughts on bias and collaboration in research?
Using the research notes (includes tables and map), write a short essay (3 pages double-spaced) that specifically addresses each of the following topics. Papers will connect concepts from the readings to support their analysis:
A summary description of the global links you found…what regions are you well-connected to and what regions are you less well-connected to?
An explanation for why you think you found the patterns you did…relate to your own life as well as to global economic and political patterns.
Reference (in APA) at least three outside academic sources that helps make sense of these patterns.
Questions to consider:
What are the broad processes that have led to the connections I’m seeing?
Is globalization a sufficient explanation?
Do core-semi-periphery and periphery patterns apply?
Does the New International Division of Labor help explain processes?
What about colonial legacies?
How complex are the commodity chains of individual products?
Assignment Overview:
This assignment requires you to provide a critical analysis of the essay topic provided by reviewing and analyzing information derived from a minimum of journal articles on the topic. The articles that you use as your sources must be research articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals (i,.e., they must qualify as ‘scholarly sources’- see the course syllabus & Writing Resources & Tips for more information and guidance on locating research articles and identifying scholarly sources) and cited in APA citation style.
Assignment Instructions & Required Format:
Write a 1000-WORD essay demonstrating critical thought and analysis of the topic provided below. You must cite a minimum of 2 scholarly sources (see above) and cite them in APA citation style using in-text citations throughout and including a list of references following your essay. Remember, you should demonstrate critical thinking- do more than merely summarize/regurgitate the information! The 1000 words should be your own words- avoid using direct quotes and DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! Check your Turnitin score- 25% and higher is unacceptable.
Required Format:
1. 1000 WORD minimum written in proper essay form (i.e, indented paragraphs; good organization; proper grammar & use formal language; avoid using direct quotes & informal language including contractions & slang)
2. Document Heading top left of page including:
your full name
word count
3. Assignment Title (centered directly above essay body- can be your own title or assignment name)
4. New Times Roman, 12 pt. font & double-spaced
5. Refences page (list of sources cited in APA citation style)
Essay Topic:
Identify, evaluate, and discuss the major causes AND effects of deforestation and/or land degradation in general in Africa. Include specific examples from an African country (or countries) and well thought-out reasoning demonstrating that you have both completed required readings/viewed lectures & videos, and have critically analyzed your selected journal articles. Discuss the biophysical AND socio-economic causes & effects of deforestation/land degradation, and subsequent ecological and development challenges. Be sure to include specific examples and well thought-out reasoning demonstrating that you have both completed required readings/viewed lectures & videos, and have critically analyzed the topic and your scholarly sources.
Complete Part A, B, and C.
use links to complete the lab and questions
the warp-up questions on a separate page atefr the lab
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uZtjhCjr2bKKRM7i7eFUMhvQz87fP2calmc142GM7Xs/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18drmHotOzzLT_8Um53RMJ_LCyoulJ-2P_HHqslJki2E/edit#heading=h.6natkydrt7la
Write about the following 4 questions, each question should approximately 250 words and be in great detail.
Please cite all sources you use. Egregious misuse of sources can and often does constitute plagiarism, and can and might include permanent loss of points. In general make sure you’re not copying and pasting from sources – paraphrasing and citing your references is usually sufficient. Please use In text citations.
Questions:
1) Culture is at the heart of what we talk about in Cultural Geography – and, as we discussed earlier, culture is a tough thing to define! Pretend you were going to explain what culture was to a fifth grader (age 10). Create a short speech you’d give to a fifth grader to explain what culture is.
2) In thinking about loaner words, I’d like you to think about the idea of code-switching, the term for using different patterns of speech with different people. When you speak to your friends, you might not use the same words or speech patterns as you would when having a job interview. I’d like you to think of ten terms that are either vernacular (“slang” terms) or formal terms (“for all intents and purposes”) and define them for someone arriving from an international country that may have not heard them
before.
3) Pick a country that’s *not* the United States, and develop a speech meant to be given to fifth graders about the country. Please include information about the country’s people, their culture, what they do for work, what they like to do, and what they like to eat, and any other information you think a fifth grader would be interested in.
4) What do you think non-Americans should know about America, given your experiences in America? What do you think often gets left out of global discourse about America?
GEOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS ASSIGNMENT: Please watch this explanation of the assignment!
(DISREGARD THE EXPECTED PUBLICATION DATES I GIVE IN THE VIDEO! Your publication dates
should be between May 27, 2022 and June 22, 2022.)
You will find TEN New York Times articles that relate to one of the “Geographic Approaches to
Understanding the World” listed below. CSI students have a free subscription to the New York
Times. Go to https://myaccount.nytimes.com/verification/edupass to register USING YOUR CSI
EMAIL ACCOUNT. You can download the NYTimes app to your phone/iPad/Kindle.
It is essential to take the following into account in order to do well on this assignment!
1. YOU MUST USE THIS GOOGLE DOC TO DO THE ASSIGNMENT. Open the document and
save it as LAST NAME IN ALL CAPS, First Name – Geography in the News Assignment.
2. When submitting the assignment to BB, you MUST SUBMIT IT AS A PDF OR Word
DOCUMENT.
3. You must base your assignment on the “Geography in the News” model below. Make sure to
number and put in chronological order from first to last published.
4. The publication date of the articles must be between May 27, 2022 and July 20, 2022.
5. No more than one article per day of publication is allowed. This means, for example, that you
cannot find 10 articles published on July 20 and turn them in for credit.
6. AP/Reuters/Bloomberg News articles, Op-Eds, opinion articles, and editorials are not allowed.
7. You may apply the same geographical approach to no more than two articles.
8. In your “A few things I learned”: This should be IN YOUR OWN WORDS and related to
something that the reader can actually learn from the article.
9. You must submit your final assignment to Blackboard as either a MS Word document or PDF.
10.For an example of a PERFECT ASSIGNMENT, see Content > Geography in the News
Assignment folder.
11.Remember that NOT ALL New York Times articles are geographic! Only select ones that are
clearly related to one or more of the Geographic Approaches to Understanding the World.
10.For an example of a PERFECT ASSIGNMENT, see Content > Geography in the News
Assignment folder.
11.Remember that NOT ALL New York Times articles are geographic! Only select ones that are
clearly related to one or more of the Geographic Approaches to Understanding the World.
Geography in the News Model
(Each of your ten geographic articles should look IDENTICAL to this example! There is no need to submit the actual article when you submit your assignment!)
1. Rachel Knowles, Frances Robles, and Elisabeth Malkin, “In Bahamas, Hurricane Cripples Rescue
Efforts,” New York Times, September 4, 2019.
● How related to a geographical approach: The article, through its discussion of the impact of Hurricane
Dorian on The Bahamas, is related to “How physical systems affect human systems.”
● A few things that I learned:
○ Temporary sea rise (called a “storm surge”) is the main thing that will kill people in a hurricane.
○ The northwestern Bahamas were hit with up to 30 feet of water from the storm surge and waves.
○ Hurricane Dorian is one of the biggest hurricanes to hit The Bahamas.
● 2-10 should look identical to number 1 in format! For a previous student’s assignment on which she
scored a 100%, see Blackboard > Content > Assignments > Geography in the News Assignment >
Example of a Perfect Geography in the News Assignment.
HERE IS A LIST OF GEOGRAPHIC APPROACHES THAT YOU CAN CONNECT TO THE GEOGRAPHIC
ARTICLES THAT YOU FIND:
● The human characteristics of places.
● The use of maps to report information from a spatial perspective.
● The use of regional terms to explain a phenomenon.
● The migration of human populations on Earth’s surface.
● The patterns of economic interdependence on Earth’s surface.
● How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of
Earth’s surface.
● How human actions modify the physical environment.
● How physical systems affect human systems.
● The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
for directions to be explain
