GEOG 106 Introductory Economic Geography Fall 2016 Instructor: Sriram Khé Email: [email protected] Office location: HSS 219 Office phone: 503-838-8852 Take a look at the following graph: Notice how two countries dominated the global economy until the 19th century? Do you also see that those two countries have started making their presence felt over the past four decades? That is an example of a mega-story that we can begin to understand through the lens of economic geography. In the university catalog, we have provided a short description of this course: Course addresses the important role of geography in the highly inter-connected global economy, by examining the spatial patterns in population, resources, and the primary, secondary, and tertiary economic sectors. Course will also highlight the relationship between economics and the environment, and explore sustainable development. Here’s how I want to parse that catalog description: I want you to: Appreciate and understand the role played by geography and geographic barriers in the development of the world economy and within national economies; Understand the dynamics of the global economy, resource use, and the relationship between population and the resource base; Understand location theory and the rationale for the location of industry, cities, and systems in their current location; and Develop an understanding and appreciation of the solutions devised by societies to economic problems Thus, the Outcomes: Explain how economic activities are located and organized in space Explain how interregional differences in economic well-being may come about, and how such processes affect your own daily life and professional plans; and Develop conceptual, analytical, and critical thinking skills that will be useful for courses in geography, and in other branches of the social sciences as well. The course is more than merely about an LACC requirement I have excerpted the following from the National Geography Standards in order to highlight the importance of this course to be infinitely more than merely fulfilling the LACC requirements: The goal of the National Geography Standards is to produce a geographically informed person who sees meaning in the arrangement of things in space and applies a spatial perspective to life situations. The geographically informed person knows and understands: The World in Spatial Terms 1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective 2. How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context 3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on earth’s surface Places and Regions 4. The physical and human characteristics of places 5. That people create regions to in ...