Response Papers for GEOG 230/Environment and Society Spring 2004

50 points each

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Response paper #1 – Due May 10 – please note:  you have a CHOICE, pick one of the following:

 

Africa and Southwest Asia:  Contemporary Geographical Issues on the Internet

 

Pick an issue that concerns human-environment interactions, physical or cultural geography, geopolitics, geographical (spatial) dimensions of globalization or development, population and settlement or any topic that fits with the concepts introduced in Chapter One of your text book.  Find sources on the Internet that address those topics in ONE country (or region) of either Africa (north or south of the Sahara) or in Southwest Asia (regions/countries covered in chapters 6 & 7).  Examples might include:  land use conflicts in Mozambique, parks vs. people in Kenya or Tanzania, desertification in Sahelian countries, population growth in Cairo, medical geography, environmental impact of oil exploitation in Persian Gulf, the Kurdish issue, etc.  You are not limited to these topics.  Use your imagination and the information from the class-- pick something that interests you.

 

Find at least five sources on the Internet that address these concerns. Use current sources (within last 2 years). Browse through the available sources and choose at least five. 

 

In your essay (about 500 words or 2 typed pages) please address the following:

 

1.      Include a list of the web sites you are evaluating (see citation style sheet below).

2.      Include a map of the issue(s) you are addressing

3.      Who are the “authors” or people responsible for posting the web site?

4.      What is your assessment of the quality of information presented on the various pages?  Is it objective, with a primary purpose of reporting facts?  Or does the page take an advocacy stance and try to advocate or promote a certain point of view?

5.      What can you conclude about the kind of information available on the Internet?  If you were writing a research paper on this topic, how would you (or would you??) use these sources?

 

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Citation Style Sheet for Internet sources:

 

CIA.  2001.  Fact Sheet on Honduras [Government document].  Internet, accessed January 26, 2002.

 

Chiquita. November 2, 1998.  Chiquita reports damage from Hurricane Mitch. [Company Press Release.

    Internet, accessed January 6, 2002.

 

CNN.  December 28, 2000.  Honduras says 65 percent of foreign debt may be forgiven [News story].

    Internet, accessed January 25, 2002.

 

World Bank.  2002.  The World Bank in Honduras [Information service]. 

  Internet, accessed February 1, 2002.

 

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#2        Global Portland – Photo essay                                             

 

Take at least 10 photographs that document some aspect of globalization or global influence in the cultural landscape of Portland.  There should be some theme or coherence to your photographs (restaurants, street signs, food stores, monuments, architecture, landscape architecture, people, billboards, cemeteries, etc.).   There should also be some cultural coherence to your choice of photographs (i.e., a specific ethnicity, country specific influence, or regional influence [Latin American, Asian, Caribbean, European]).   Write a 1-2 page introduction to your photos explaining what you’ve done and how the landscape you’ve captured in photographs represents global influences in Portland.   What kinds of changes are reflected in the places you have chosen?  What historic, social, cultural, global events have shaped this landscape?  Who “produced” this landscape?  Who are the “consumers” of this landscape?  How might it evolve or change in the future?  Include the 10 photos with captions for each photo.

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Response paper #2 – Due May 24   Globalization in the Apparel Industry

 

Go to any large store (Fred Meyer, Target, Mervyn’s, Nordstrom, Meier and Frank, etc.) or shopping mall.  You can go to one store or several.  Record for twenty-five (25) items of apparel (clothing or shoes): where they were made, price of item, type of item, store where found, and any pertinent comments.  You might want to record your information in a table:

 

Where item was assembled or manufactured

Price

Type of item (shoe, shirt, coat)

Name of store

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn in your table of information and a 1 page commentary on your interpretation of the results of your survey.  What patterns do you see, either in types of garments or locations of assembly?  What do you think explains the patterns (or lack of pattern)?  How do you explain any anomalies (countries or items that fall outside of expected patterns)?   How does the data you gathered differ from that of the class as a whole?  We will plot this information on a map during class and take class time for discussion of your results and comments.  You will have a chance to update your findings with the results from the class.

 

Due:  May 24 – data due/in class map project (final copy due May 28)