Course

Selected Topics in Geography

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Geography and the Environment
Course code
GEOG 2290
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Lab
Field Experience
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course will provide an examination of an important present-day issue, trend, or concept in the discipline of geography. Topics will vary by offering, but will focus on a subject of significance to human geography, physical geography, or geographical techniques.
Course content

The course content will vary with the specific theme.  An example is provided below.

 

The Geography of Wine

 1.  Introduction

a) Approaches to the study of Geography

b) Definition of wine

c) Species and varieties of wine

 2.  The Physical Setting of Viticulture

a) Location

b) Geology and landforms

c) Climate

d) Hydrology

e) Soils

 3.  Global Wine Regions

a) Origin and diffusion

b) Regional variations

c) Culture traits

4.  Evolution of Viticulture in Europe to the 20th Centruy

a) Importance of monasteries

b) Changes in technology

5.  Rise of the Modern Wine Industry (Post 1945)

a) Wine and class

b) Branding

c) Toursim

d) Diffusion

 6.  Wine Regions of North America, Latin American, Asia and Australia

 7. Environment

a) Environmental Issues

 8.  Social Issues

a) Alcoholism

b) Migrant workers

 9.  Conclusion

a) Regional issues

b) The future

Learning activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following: lectures, small group discussions, practical in-class exercises, multimedia presentations, individual or team projects, field assignments, guest speakers and/or online instruction.  Where the course is offered in a hybrid format, students will complete over 50% of the course material online and outside of the classroom in a self-directed manner.

Means of assessment

Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.  The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.  An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:

Assignments 20%
Project 25%
Participation 10%
Midterm-exam 20%
Final Exam 25%
Total 100%

 

 

 

 

 

Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:

1. Collect geographical data and display it visually in maps, graphs or other formats.

2. Analyze the spatial distributions of geographic phenomena.

3. Describe the subject matter's place within and relevance to Geography

4. Analyze geographic issues using appropriate written, oral and graphical communication skills.

5. Demonstrate basic analytical reasoning, quantitative interpretation and map comprehension skills.

6. Demonstrate field and library research techniques within the specific topic.

7. Evaluate the relevant issues and needs confronting different groups within a given society, as appropriate to the specific topic. 

Textbook materials

A textbook or course pack appropriate to the topic will be selected by the instructor. The following are examples of possible texts:

Sommers, Brian J. (2008). The Geography of Wine: How Landscapes, Cultures, Terroir, and the Weather Make a Good Drop.  Penguin.

Unwin, Tim (2017), The Geography of Wine. Oxford.

Chainey, S. and J. Ratcliffe. (2013). GIS and Crime Mapping. Wiley.

Masselink, G., M. Hughes, and J. Knight. (2014). Introduction to Coastal Processes and Geomorphology.  Routledge.

Kitchen, D. E. (2024). Global Climate Change: Turning Knowledge into Action 2nd. ed.. Routledge.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Courses listed here must be completed prior to this course:

  • Any 1000 level Geography course or permission of the instructor

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for GEOG 2290
Alexander College (ALEX) ALEX GEOG 2XX (3)
Athabasca University (AU) AU GEOG 2XX (3)
Camosun College (CAMO) CAMO GEOG 2XX (3)
College of New Caledonia (CNC) CNC GEOG 2XX (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR GEOG 2XX (3)
Columbia College (COLU) COLU GEOG 2nd (3)
Coquitlam College (COQU) COQU GEOG 100 (3)
Emily Carr University of Art & Design (EC) EC HUMN 200 lev (3) or EC SCIE 200 lev (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU GEOG 2XXX (3)
North Island College (NIC) NIC GEO 2XX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU GEOG 1XX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU GEOG 2XXX (3)
University Canada West (UCW) UCW GEOG 2XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO GEOG_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV GEOG_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC GEOG 2XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV GEOG 2XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC GEOG 2XX (1.5)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) VCC HUM 2XXX (3)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU GEOG 2nd (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025