3.5 Course Overviews: "G"
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GEOGRAPHY (GEOG)
GEOG 200
World Regional Geography
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Video component.
Prerequisite: None.
This course 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. Video component.
Prerequisite: None.
This course 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. 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. 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.
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:Professor approval 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. Home lab. Video component.
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. 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. Video component.
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. Home lab. Video component.
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. Home lab.
Prerequisite: Professor approval 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 202
Introductory German I
3—Humanities
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. CD Rom, Audio/video components. Optional website available.
Prerequisite: None.
Precluded course: German 202 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for German 200 or German 201.
This course introduces students to the basic elements of speaking, reading, writing, and listening to German. The course enables students to speak and write in simple German in a range of everyday situations. The language skills are presented within the cultural, linguistic, political, and social reality of today's German speaking countries. The course is designed for students with no knowledge or a minimal knowledge of the German language.
GERM 203
Introductory German II
3—Humanities
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. CD Rom, Audio/video components.
Prerequisite: GERM 202 or equivalent or permission of the course professor. Precluded course: German 203 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for German 201.
This course is a continuation of GERM 202. Students expand their knowledge of the basic elements of speaking, reading, writing, and listening. The course enables students to speak and write in simple German in a range of everyday situations. The language skills are presented within the cultural, linguistic, political, and social reality of today's German speaking countries.
GERM 306
German for Reading Knowledge I
3—Reading—Humanities
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Computer access required. CD-ROM component.
Prerequisite: None.
Precluded course: GERM 306 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for GERM 201, GERM 203 or GERM 305.
The course introduces students to strategies that will enable them to read and understand a German text in its original language. Grammar and reading skills are taught using texts from various disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities.
The course meets the needs of students who require a reading knowledge of German. There is no speaking component. Knowledge of English grammar is helpful.
Contact the course professor or AU's Helpdesk 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. Video component.
Prerequisite: None.
This course is 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. 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.
GOVN 301
Governance, the Public Sector, and Corporate Power
3—Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Online-enhanced. Grouped study.
Prerequisite: None. A previous course in political science, public policy, public administration/ management is recommended.
GOVN 301 examines the relationships between business, society and government and the changing patterns of governance in Canada over the past few years. The changes have been driven in particular by globalization, corporate concentration, technological innovations and fiscal challenges in state financing. GOVN 301 critically assesses the position of business, the international extension of business power and the impact on Canadian society. It discusses the role of the mass media in shaping culture and the dominant ideas in society. The course examines how the restructuring of the state and economy has shaped social policy and constitutional politics. It discusses the impact of neoliberalism on the "marketization of the state," the new market-oriented conception of the citizen as consumer, and the New Public Management (NPM) doctrine emerging from public sector reform. Related, it explores how the "reinvention of government" has reshaped relations with civil society in the form of partnership arrangements with the non-profit or Third Sector for alternative service delivery (ASD). Finally, the course reflects upon the challenges to social cohesion, the future of the public sector and of governance in a globalized world.
GOVN 390
Public Policy and Administrative Governance
3— Applied Studies*
*Course can also be used to fulfill Administrative Studies area of study (credential students only).
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Online-enhanced. Grouped study.
Prerequisite: None. A previous course in public policy, or public administration/ management is recommended.
GOVN 390 explores the processes of policy making and policy implementation at the national level of government. There are several core objectives of this course. First, it is to familiarize students with the actors, institutions and processes of public policy development and administrative governance in Canada. Second, it enables students to develop the analytical skills necessary to think critically about matters associated with the making and implementation of public policy at the national level of governance. Third, the course highlights a number of politically controversial themes, including the concentration of power in central state institutions, and the influence of private sector interests in policy-making. The course also explores the challenges associated with being responsive to "identity-politics," gender equity and social diversity. GOVN 390 provides an overview of the Canadian "administrative state" and highlights some of the current trends in public policy and administrative governance, including participatory management, Total Quality Management (TQM), and the New Public Management (NPM).
GOVN 400
Governance and Leadership
3— Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Online-enhanced. Grouped study.
Prerequisite: None. A previous course in public policy, or public administration/ management is recommended.
GOVN 400 will enable students to develop an understanding of some of the common elements and differences that shape leadership in the public, voluntary and private sectors and the implications of these similarities and differences for interactions among the three sectors on public policy issues. Students will learn about the basic ideas and debates on the nature of leadership in each sector and how institutions and processes of management and governance shape the development of leaders and their roles. From this foundation the course examines the interaction of ideas of leadership and of leaders, themselves, among the three sectors and in the context of the "governance paradigm"—a view of the world that sees the public sector increasingly entangled with the private and voluntary sectors. Selected cases of public policy making and implementation will demonstrate to students the similarities and differences in the roles and interactions among leaders in the three sectors and the relationship of leaders to interest groups and to citizens generally. Finally, the course considers the implications of these dynamics for the future of public leadership and for the institutions and practice of public governance.
GOVN 403
Public Policy in a Global Era
3— Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Online-enhanced. Grouped study.
Prerequisite: None. A previous course in political science, public policy and public administration/ management is recommended.
GOVN 403 explores the dominant policy trend in an era of globalization; the "internationalization" or globalization of public policy. The course examines the forces shaping the character and content of Canadian public policy in a global era, and provides students the conceptual, theoretical and analytical tools required to study and to critically assess Canadian public policy. Students will explore alternative answers to the question: How are we to understand and explain the character and content of Canadian public policy in this global era? To answer this and related questions students will assess the content of concrete policies. To ensure an appropriate balance between developing the depth and breadth of policy knowledge, all the policy-focused readings concentrate on exploring trends in the field of public policy known as social policy such as welfare, health, education and social security reforms. Students will have an opportunity to develop the analytical skills that are essential to advanced policy studies. They will also become sufficiently knowledgeable of the changing character of Canadian social policy such that they will feel confident assessing and commenting on the social policy decisions of our governments.
GOVN 405
Innovative Public Management
3—Applied Studies*
*Course can also be used to fulfill Administrative Studies area of study (Credential students only).
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Online-enhanced. Grouped study.
Prerequisite: There are no formal prerequisites for this course, however, a previous course in public administration, management, or political science is recommended.
The purpose of GOVN 405 is to enable students to understand, and to think critically about, innovations in public administration and management. The course addresses the contemporary challenges to administrative governance, and the powerful forces— such as globalization, technological change and shifting public expectations and values —that have forced nation states to redefine both their political and administrative roles. It explores the global impact of comprehensive public sector reforms that began in Britain in the late 1970s, resulting in what came to be known as the New Public Management (NPM). The course looks at the influence of NPM on public sector reform in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and to a lesser extent the United States. The shared priorities for reform included: the reduction of public spending, deficit and debt; a reversal of the serious decline in public trust in government; and the need to modernize and streamline public service management in light of global competition. The resulting changes shifted public sector organizations toward a flatter, more innovative, risk-taking and quality service and results oriented focus. It required public servants, both managers and staff, to demonstrate continuous learning in order to revitalize, modernize and even "reinvent" public service and governance. Upon completion of the course, students will have a deeper appreciation of both the old and new public management, and have the ability to evaluate them in a comparative perspective.
GOVN 410
Global Cities: The Cultures of Law and Government
3— Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Online-enhanced.
Prerequisite: None. A previous course in political studies, sociology, or urban geography is recommended.
GOVN 410 offers a critical examination of the cultures of law and government of "global cities." It illustrates how a number of cities around the world have grown in prominence and authority because of the globalization of manufacturing and service industries; labour market restructuring; the agglomeration of finance, business and money; and the rapid development of information and communications technologies (ICTs). Since the 1980s, discussions about cities have been dominated by a focus on the emergence of some cities such as New York, London, Tokyo and Los Angeles with "new" characteristics. While the phrase "world cities" had been used before, since the 1980s these cities increasingly have been described with their "world class" ambitions. They have been marked by their desire to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in new industrialized sectors such as advertising, in film, and in high technology sectors, as well as by their competition for international events such as the Olympics and World Games. Scholars subsequently converged on the phrase "global cities." The course looks at the increasing levels of integration and convergence of selected cities in Western Europe and North America, such as Barcelona, San Francisco, Toronto, Dublin and Lyon. It also engages studies that explore the impact of forms of globalization on selected cities in the South, such as Lagos, Shanghai, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, and Tehran. The course suggests global changes both impacted, and were influenced by, the cultures of law and government of the respective cities.
GOVN 440
Global Governance and Law
3— Social Science
Delivery Mode: Individualized study. Online-enhanced. Grouped study.
Prerequisite: A previous course in international studies, critical social theory or political philosophy is recommended.
GOVN 440 provides an overview of some of the central debates on law as governance in an increasingly globalized world, especially in relation to violence and the use of force, conceptions of political community, legal legitimacy, and democratic practices. Particular attention is paid to the impact of international organizations and social movements on the global regulation of violence, economics and politics. Key questions discussed include the following. What is governance for? Who is being governed? Who participates in governance? Where does accountability lie? How does law function? The course considers these and other questions as it looks at various institutions of governance, including the United Nations (UN), Multilateral Economic Institutions (MEIs), International Criminal Tribunals (for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia), as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The course also explores notions of humane governance, and the challenges posed by sovereignty and security. The final part of the course looks at contestations of global governance by global social movements, including women, labour and environmental movements. In GOVN 440 students will gain a sophisticated understanding of governance and law, and a critical understanding of some of the problems posed by globalization for governance and law in political life, from a contemporary social theory perspective.
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