3.5 Course Overviews: "G"
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GEOGRAPHY (GEOG)
GEOG 200
World Regional Geography
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with video component.
Prerequisite: None.
This telecourse is designed to provide a systematic introduction to the major
geographical regions of the modern world. It examines in turn Europe, Russia,
North America, the Pacific Rim, Central America, South America, Islamic North
Africa and Southwest Asia, Subsaharan Africa, South Asia, China, and Southeast
Asia. The course also introduces the methods and perspectives of the discipline
of geography, focusing on the relationships between human societies and their
natural and built environments.
GEOG 201
Introductory Human Geography
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with video component.
Prerequisite: None.
This is a telecourse that introduces students to the fundamentals of human
geography. It investigates the location of people and activities throughout the
world and seeks to understand the reasons for their distribution. Asking
questions about where things are, why they are there, and what the geographic
significance of their distribution is, this course examines a number of subject
areas including: population, migration, social customs, political geography,
development, agriculture, industry, settlements and urban patterns, and resource
problems.
GEOG 265
Introductory Physical Geography I
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with home lab.
Prerequisite: None.
Precluded courses: GEOG 265 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already
been obtained for GEOG 261 and GEOG 262.
This course describes some of the natural physical and chemical characteristics
of Earth and some of the natural processes occurring at, and near, Earth's
surface. It provides a scientific background for further studies of natural
systems and the environment, soils, climate and climate change, and water
resources. Topics covered include the following: Earth's energy budget,
atmospheric and oceanic circulation, moisture in the atmosphere, global climates,
vegetation and climate, soils, hydrologic cycle, and water budgets.
GEOG 266
Introductory Physical Geography II
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with home lab.
Prerequisite: None.
This course is primarily concerned with geomorphology, the study of the Earth's
surface and landforms. It provides students with a clearer understanding of the
physical environment around them. Topics covered include the internal structure
of the Earth and the forces that shape and deform it, rock types, weathering and
erosion, groundwater and the hydrological cycle, and landforms and the agents
that create them (volcanoes, gravity, rivers, glaciers, wind, waves and
currents).
GEOG 302
The Canadian North
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with home lab.
Prerequisite: None.
The Canadian North surveys the human geography of northern Canada. Despite the
fact that this region makes up well over half of the country's total land area,
it remains sparsely settled and poorly understood by residents of southern
Canada. This course will introduce you to this fascinating and complex area,
through an examination of such questions as economic development, environmental
issues, and Aboriginal peoples' efforts to attain self-government.
GEOG 310
Canadian Urban Development
6—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None.
Precluded course: GEOG 310 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been
obtained for SOSC 303.
This course provides students with an understanding of urban systems in Canada.
It traces the development of urban growth in Canada, examines various theories
that have been put forward to account for the structure and function of the
urban system, and focuses on some of the problems and solutions proposed for the
future of Canada's cities. This course will be of special interest to educators
and people interested in government, public administration, planning, real
estate, and public affairs.
GEOG 322
Introduction to Remote Sensing
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: COMP 200 and MATH 270, or the equivalent, are recommended but not
required.
This course is designed for students whose interests or vocations involve either
the natural or the anthropogenic physical environment. Remote sensing is an
examination and interpretation of information obtained through the use of
various technologies to explore the surface and subsurface of the earth.
Disciplines commonly using such data include agriculture and forestry, fisheries
and oceanography, geology and geography, biology/ecology, meteorology and
climatology, hydrology, and environmental science. Satellites, airborne, and
ground-based sensors are used to provide the information used by agencies
involved in these studies.
The course includes an exploration of the concepts underlying the acquisition
and interpretation of remotely sensed data, and an overview, consisting of case
studies, of some of the more common applications of remote sensing. The specific
applications discussed include landuse studies, vegetation and agriculture,
geology and soils, hydrology, ecology and pollution monitoring, extraterrestrial
applications, and atmospheric patterns and processes.
GEOG 495-496
Geography Projects
3 each—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: Permission of the professor and at least 12 credits (at least three at
the senior level) in the topic area.
Geography Projects is based on a contracted study arrangement between the
student and an approved supervisor. Students improve their skills to choose and
define problems, obtain information from libraries or experiments, organize
facts and ideas, and report ideas and conclusions in written form. This course
is for students who wish to carry out science-related projects in geography or
to obtain formal recognition of science-related skills and training they have
received on the job. Projects can only be done on work planned. They cannot be
done on work already completed. A student may do one three-credit project (GEOG 495)
or two three-credit projects (GEOG 495 and GEOG 496). Contact the course professor
before registering. These courses are excluded from the Challenge for Credit
Policy.
GEOLOGY (GEOL)
GEOL 200
Introductory Physical Geology
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None.
This course describes some of the physical and chemical characteristics of Earth
and some of the natural processes occurring in and on Earth. Topics covered
include minerals and rocks, igneous rocks, and metamorphic rocks; weathering,
soils and sedimentary rocks; geologic time; structural geology; earthquakes and
plate tectonics; evolution of ocean basins and the continents; geologic
resources; natural transformations
of landscapes; volcanoes and volcanic eruptions; and mountain building.
GEOL 201
Introductory Historical Geology
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with home lab.
Prerequisite: GEOL 200 is strongly recommended but not required.
Historical geology is involved directly or indirectly with
most aspects of geological studies. There are direct links with astronomy,
biology, chemistry, and physics. The course examines: introduction to historical
geology and basic principles; sedimentary rocks and historical geology; life
through time; the geological concepts of time; planetary beginnings and the
origin of the Earth; evolution of the Earth; the crust of the Earth; the
Precambrian era; the early Paleozoic era; the late Paleozoic era; the Mesozoic
era; the Tertiary period; the Quaternary period; historical geology today
and tomorrow.
GEOL 313
Our Physical Resources
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None.
This course examines the nature and uses of numerous physical resources of the
world, emphasizing the resources of Canada, and Alberta in particular. The
course covers such topics as formation, distribution, extraction, and use of
fossil fuels, and nuclear and other energy resources. It examines water,
metallic, and industrial resources. Political, economic, and social impacts of
the development of these resources are also examined.
GEOL 319
Structural Geology: The Architecture of Earth's Continental Crust
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with home lab.
Prerequisite: GEOL 200 and GEOL 201 or equivalent. Students should have a
working knowledge of geometry.
This course considers the Earth's crust from the scale of continents down to
that of a single rock outcrop or hand specimen. Mountain building and the
resulting rock structures are the main theme of the course, although other
features such as intrusions, salt domes, and crustal extension are also
discussed. The course units cover the geological compass, outcrop patterns and
geologic maps, plotting with stereonets, apparent dip and related structural
geometry, displacement
on faults, measurement of fold orientation and folds on geologic maps.
GEOL 415
Earth's Origin and Early Evolution
3—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: GEOL 200 and GEOL 201 or equivalent. Students should feel
comfortable with the manipulation of algebraic equations and have a rudimentary
knowledge of single-variable differential calculus. Where applied, chemical
principles essential for the course are adequately explained, although it would
be beneficial for students to have
CHEM 217.
This course explores the evidence for the processes, events, and materials
involved in the formation and evolution of the Earth. Various geochemical tools
and techniques used by geologists to reveal and interpret the evidence are also
described and discussed.
GEOL 495-496
Geology Projects
3 each—Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with home lab.
Prerequisite: Permission of the professor and at least 12 credits (at least 3 at
the senior level) in the topic area.
Geology Projects is based on a contracted study arrangement between the student
and an approved supervisor. Students improve their skills to choose and define
problems, obtain information from libraries or experiments, organize facts and
ideas, and report ideas and conclusions in written form. This course is for
students who wish to carry out science-related projects in geology or to obtain
formal recognition of science-related skills and training they have received on
the job. Projects can only be done on work planned. They cannot be done on work
already completed. A student may do one 3-credit project (GEOL 495) or two
3-credit projects (GEOL 495 and GEOL 496). Contact the course professor before
registering. These courses are excluded from the Challenge for Credit Policy.
GERMAN (GERM)
GERM 200
First Year University German I
3—Humanities
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with audio component.
Prerequisite: None. This course is demanding for students without any knowledge
of German. A general knowledge of grammar is necessary. This course may not be
taken for credit by students who have obtained credit in a senior-level high school
German course.
This course introduces the student to the basic elements of the German language.
Both oral and written expressions are emphasized in the study of vocabulary,
grammar, and idiomatic expression. Pronunciation, oral comprehension, and
reading and writing skills are emphasized as well. The course will enable the
student to speak and write in simple German in a range of everyday situations.
GERM 201
First Year University German II
3—Humanities
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with audio component.
Prerequisite: GERM 200 or equivalent. This course may not be taken for credit by
students who have obtained credit in a senior-level high school German course.
This course continues the study of the basic elements of the German language
begun in GERM 200. Both oral and written expressions are emphasized in the study
of vocabulary, grammar, and idioms. Pronunciation, oral comprehension, and
reading and writing skills are emphasized as well. The course enables the
student to speak and write in simple German in a range of everyday situations.
GERM 306
German for Reading Knowledge I
Reading—3—Humanities
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Computer access required. CD-ROM component.
Prerequisite: None.
Precluded course: This course may not be taken for credit by students who have
obtained credit in any senior-level high school German, GERM 200, GERM 201, GERM 305.
>German 306: German for Reading Knowledge I is a new version of the older
3-credit German language course German 305: Reading German. The new
version is a reading course offering the student a multi-media
introduction to learning German grammar and reading skills based on a
computerized approach. Texts from various disciplines in the social
sciences and the humanities introduce the student to the German
language.
The course meets the needs of students who require a reading knowledge
of German. Contact your course professor or AU's Heldesk before
registering to determine if the computer equipment to which you have
access is sufficient.
GLOBAL STUDIES (GLST)
(See also GEOG 200, GEOG 201, and HIST 327.)
GLST 307
The Pacific Century
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with video component.
Prerequisite: None.
This course is a telecourse designed to acquaint students with the cultures and
recent history of Asian countries on the Pacific Rim, and with the ongoing
interchange between these countries and North America. Although several units of
the course are devoted to China and to Japan, attention is also given to such
Southeast Asian countries as Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the
Philippines. Tradition and modernization, collisions between East and West,
democracy and authoritarianism, imperialism and nationalism, interdependence and
independence, and other themes are discussed from the points of view of history,
geography, anthropology, political science, and economics.
GLST 308
Americas: An Introduction to Latin America and the Caribbean
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with video component.
Prerequisite: None.
Americas explores the political, economic, and social dynamics that have shaped
Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the processes that are shaping their
future. Americas uses ten hours of video programs to bring to life a startlingly
diverse region that encompasses great wealth and desperate poverty, countries as
tiny as Jamaica and as enormous as Brazil, with democratic and authoritarian
governments and a complex, multicultural heritage.
GLST 377
Twentieth-Century China-From the Fall of the Manchu Qing to the Death of Den
Xiaoping
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: GLST 307 is recommended but not required.
The study of modern China is important because of China's great size, population,
and global impact in world trade and politics. Moreover, recent Chinese history
is of direct relevance to the story of Canadian immigration and to the Chinese diaspora
experience in Canada. Twentieth-century China surveys the history of China
during the last hundred years, analysing the collapse of the old dynastic empire
and its metamorphosis into its present political form.
GOVERNANCE (GOVN)
GOVN 301
Governance, the Public Sector, and Corporate Power 
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None. However, a previous course in political science, public policy or public administration/management is recommended but not required.
GOVN 301 explores the changing relationships between business,
society and government. Focusing on Canada as the primary case study, it
explains the changing patterns of governance in an era of economic globalization. It assesses a number of key relationships: the position of corporate Canada in Canadian society; globalization and the international extension of business power; and the role of the mass media in shaping culture and the dominant ideas within society. In
addition, the course examines the restructuring of economic and social
policy, and constitutional politics; the marketization of the state; the
transformation of the citizen into customer; and the challenges these
changes pose for social cohesion. Finally, the course looks at the future of the governance and the public sector in a global era.
GOVN 390
Public Policy and Administrative Governance
3— Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None. However, a previous course in political science, public policy or public administration/management is recommended but not required.
Governance 390: Public Policy and Administrative Governance is designed for students who are interested in policy making and implementation at the national level of government. It answers the following questions: "What is public policy"? and "What is administrative governance"? The course will provide an overview of the Canadian "administrative state" and highlight some of the current trends and innovations in public policy, administration and management, including the New Public Management (NPM).
GOVN 403
Public Policy in a Global Era
3— Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None. However, a previous course in political science, public policy or public administration/management is recommended but not required.
This course has been designed for students who are interested in understanding Canadian public policy and, in particular, the forces shaping the character and content of Canadian public policy in this era of economic, political and cultural "globalization." It provides students with the conceptual, theoretical and analytical tools required to study and to critically assess Canadian public policy. Students will also explore the dominant policy trend of this era-that is, the "internationalization" or globalization of public policy.
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