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Human Geography Major
Students must complete 120 units including 45 upper division units.
Transfer students may enter the program before fulfilling all lower division requirements. See the advisor as soon as possible about program entry.
Students should consult with the advisor when formally declaring a geography major, or risk prolonging their program.
Program Requirements
Students complete 120 units, as specified below.
Lower Division Requirements
Students complete all of
An introduction to landforms, climates, soils and vegetation; their origins, distributions, interrelationships and roles in the ecosystem. Laboratory work and field trips are included. Breadth-Science.
The fundamentals of economics geography, the study of the forces that shape the arrangement of economic activity in the real world. Prerequisite: GEOG 100. Breadth-Social Sciences.
An introduction to key concepts and themes in contemporary geographical approaches to cities and urbanization. Prerequisite: GEOG 100 or 102. Breadth-Social Sciences.
An introduction to what geographers do in applied contexts, how geographic concepts relate to applied skills, and how to communicate what geography is and why geographical approaches are useful. The course will emphasize written and oral communication skills through regular writing assignments, feedback, and direct engagement with professional geographers. Prerequisite: One of: GEOG 100, GEOG 102, GEOG 104, GEOG 111. Writing.
and one of
A geographical introduction to how humans shape our world, with attention also given to how it shapes us. Themes may include: culture, economic activities, environmental change, globalization, politics, population, resources, and urbanization. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Leanne Roderick |
Online |
An introduction to geographical perspectives on urbanized and urbanizing places, spaces, landscapes, and environments. The course focuses on the dynamism that characterizes cities and urban regions. Using a geographical social science approach, it provides an overview of how cities are shaped by humans and how we are shaped by cities.
and one of
An examination of the basic principles and processes governing the Earth's weather and climate. Topics include: radiation, greenhouse effect, clouds, precipitation, atmospheric circulation, mid-latitude cyclones, tropical storms, climate change. Prerequisite: GEOG 111. Quantitative.
An introduction to the planetary biosphere, its living organisms, and their interactions with each other and the Earth system. Prerequisite: GEOG 111.
and both of
An introduction to basic quantitative techniques for the collection of geographic data. Topics include describing data, gathering samples, theoretical distributions, linking samples and populations, testing significance, and exploring spatial relationships all within practical, real-world application contexts. Quantitative.
A basic overview of Geographical Information Systems and Science; GIS software, hardware, data structures and models; spatial data, operations and algorithms; practical applications and limitations. Students with credit for GEOG 354 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Shivanand Balram |
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Tue, Thu, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D101 |
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Wed, Fri, 8:30–10:20 a.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D102 |
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Wed, Fri, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
and one of
A survey of prehistoric cultures of North and South America. The peopling of the New World, the rise of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Mexico and Peru, and the cultural adaptations by prehistoric populations to other parts of the New World. Prerequisite: Any one of the following: ARCH 100, ARCH 101, EVSC 100, GEOG 100, or REM 100. Breadth-Social Sciences.
Introduces the nature and goals of Indigenous Studies as an academic discipline that emphasizes cultures and homelands of First Peoples. Students with credit for FNST 101 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Sandra Dielissen |
May 6 – Aug 2, 2024: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
Bryan Myles |
Online |
Study of Indigenous peoples of BC and effects of historical and political processes on their livelihoods and homelands. Overview of indigeneity and connection to urbanization. Examines linguistic diversity and endangered state of BC First Nations languages; Indigenous ethnography; land rights movement; traditional cultural practices/beliefs; and social, educational and economic disparity. Prerequisite: Recommended: INDG 101. Students with credit for FNST 286 or SA 286 may not take this course for further credit.
Explores a variety of Indigenous perspectives on resource, land and water management in British Columbia. Students are encouraged to critically analyze contemporary resource management/relationship issues (ie. energy, fisheries, forestry) from reconciliation-informed perspectives. Breadth-Social Sciences.
Upper Division Requirements
Students must complete a minimum of 40 upper division geography units, of which 36 must be drawn from the following three lists (Economy & Politics; Society & Space; Urbanization & Urbanism) as indicated below. At least one upper division course must be a 400-level course. One of the choices must also be a W course to satisfy the student's upper division Writing requirement.
Economy & Politics (choose 2)
Examines the historical development, spatial organization, and social impact of market function, firm structure and operation, economic policy, and regulation and deregulation at various scales from local to global, from a geographical perspective. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.
An examination of contemporary debates in Labour Geography, surveying geographical approaches to work and employment. Lectures will explore the relationships between space, place and labour market change in the context of globalization and uneven development. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100 or LBST 101. Students with credit for LBST 328 may not take this course for further credit.
An introduction to the fundamental social and human-geographical dimensions of climate change: the ideas, tools, and institutions through which human communities and institutions are responding (or not) to the challenges of a warming planet. Prerequisite: A minimum of 45 units.
Surveys the manner in which power relations are expressed territorially. Attention given to such topics as state sovereignty, colonialism, rights, and law. Prerequisite: At least 45 units. Students with credit for GEOG 381 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.
Examines the historical development of the material spaces and places affected by changing capitalist dynamics and the dominant theories through which they are explained, legitimized, and criticized, from a geographical perspective. Prerequisite: GEOG 321. Students who received credit for GEOG 421 (STT), Advanced Contemporary Capitalism, may not take this course for further credit.
An exploration of our political, social, and economic systems, their ecological limitations, and related questions of inequality. It explores the histories, dynamics, logics, effects, and limitations of these systems. The evolution and effects of capitalism, specifically with respect to nonhuman natures, will be a focus. Prerequisite: GEOG 321 or GEOG 389W.
Explores the theoretical foundations in critical racial geographies. Also examines the modern history and reach of Black, subaltern, and decolonial thought in global context, with particular attention to relations of capital, race, nation-state, social reproduction, and the unfolding of contending geographies beyond the dominant world order. Prerequisite: At least 60 units, including GEOG 100.
An examination of property, particularly in relation to land, with an emphasis on its social, political, and spatial dimensions. Prerequisite: 60 units, including eight of upper division geography. Students with credit for GEOG 440W may not take this course for further credit.
Society & Space (choose 2)
An exploration of core geographic concepts and themes through the study of the complex commodity of wine. Biophysical, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of grape growing and wine making are examined. Experiential, place-based learning is emphasized through a field trip to a wine region such as BC's Okanagan Valley. Prerequisite: GEOG 111 and GEOG 100; 45 units.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Tara Holland |
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Tue, Thu, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
B101 | TBD |
An exploration of human response to our hazardous Earth. The dynamic causes of natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides and floods will be illustrated. Students will gain an appreciation for how humans perceive, predict, and recover from hazards and how their effects may be reduced. Prerequisite: One of GEOG 100, 104 or 111 or one of EASC 101 or 104. Breadth-Social Sci/Science.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Jonathan Cripps |
Online |
Spaces, places, landscapes, and scales of consumption emphasizing commodity cultures, marketing, retail, ideology, subjectivity, objects, technology, and tourism. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.
What does sexuality have to do with spaces and places? This question is at the core of this course where we’ll examine how sexual norms and queerness are defined and defied through different geographies. We will learn how Black, Indigenous, and queers of colour think about and build social movements at the intersection of sexuality, space, and place. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100 or GSWS 100 or GSWS 101 or GSWS 102 or INDG 101 or SA 101 or HSCI 120 or CMNS 130.
An exploration of how race informs the aesthetics, politics and development of urban space. Examines racial formation in transnational urban contexts, and how cultural production and social movements are utilized to address racial inequities and envision urban futures. Prerequisite: At least 45 units.
Examines the reciprocal influences between humans and nature through time. Topics may include settlement, agriculture, technology, politics, urbanization, science, and conservation. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100 or REM 100. Students with credit for HIST 377 may not take this course for further credit.
The world is on the move. Migrants seeking better opportunities cross paths with refugees fleeing persecution. Some are helped and welcomed, many encounter barriers and threats, while identities, including class, race, gender, sexuality, mediate their prospects. This course's geographic perspective clarifies these complexities by combining conceptual analyses with contemporary cases. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.
Geographical perspectives on gender and sexuality. This course investigates feminist theory in geography and its analysis of home, city, nation, state, global economy, colonialism, and migration. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.
An investigation into the major themes and arguments in the environmental histories of North America, emphasizing how different individuals and groups have used, perceived, and managed their environments over time. Prerequisite: 60 units including eight of upper division geography. Students with credit for HIST 432 or HIST 485 in 2001-3 may not take this course for further credit.
An exploration of theories and geographies of conquest and liberation to analyze present-day struggles for abolition and decolonization. We will weave epistemologies from across the Americas to understand how different struggles for liberation are spatially connected amid colonialism, racial capitalism and empire. Prerequisite: At least 60 units, including GEOG 241.
Urbanization & Urbanism (choose 2)
An empirical and theoretical examination of the geographical aspects of transportation systems. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.
Contemporary cases and conceptualizations of gentrification and related processes of urban change. Central themes include: political, economic, social, and cultural manifestations of gentrification; class, gender, and racialization; the role of development, planning, architecture, the arts, and resistance movements; and gentrification’s global geographies. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100. Students with credit for GEOG 362 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.
An introduction to the major approaches and key ideas of the professions of urban governance; urban planning and urban policy. Through a focus on contemporary theory, process-based understanding, and specific issues and examples, the course examines key trends and interventions and promotes critical reflection on urban development. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Leanne Roderick |
TBD | ||
B101 |
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Mon, 1:30–3:20 p.m.
|
Vancouver |
|
B102 |
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Mon, 3:30–5:20 p.m.
|
Vancouver |
|
B103 |
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Mon, 5:30–7:20 p.m.
|
Vancouver |
An examination of urban geographies of crisis, concentrating on what crisis is, what it is used for, how it is differentially experienced, and how it is distributed unevenly. Case studies of environmental, economic, social, and political crises are the main focus. The course concludes by addressing the future(s) of cities. Prerequisite: At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.
An exploration of how race informs the aesthetics, politics and development of urban space. Examines racial formation in transnational urban contexts, and how cultural production and social movements are utilized to address racial inequities and envision urban futures. Prerequisite: At least 45 units.
An exploration of the relationships between the development of cities, transportation, and infrastructure from an economic geography perspective. Greater Vancouver provides a location to explore, apply, and critique the theoretical perspectives presented in seminar. Prerequisite: One of GEOG 323, 324, 362, or 363.
An exploration of how cities shape the contemporary globalized world, focusing on key contemporary academic approaches. Highlights geographical and multi-disciplinary work on global-urban relations, networks, structures, and mobilities. Prerequisite: 60 credit hours, including Geog 362. Students who have taken GEOG 442 STT, Global Cities, may not take this course for further credit.
This project-based course will promote collaborative group work, where hands-on exercises allow students to gain experience in finding, processing, documenting, visualizing, analyzing, and communicating ambitious agendas for urban change, in response to pressing real-world urban challenges. Prerequisite: 75 units.
plus an additional 12 upper division units from any of the three lists above.
Methods & Analysis (choose 1)
Elements of cartographic analysis, design and visualization, with an emphasis on digital mapping, animation techniques, cartographic software and internet mapping. Prerequisite: GEOG 255. Quantitative.
Advanced quantitative techniques for spatial analysis of geographic data and patterns. Topics include geostatistics, spatial interpolation, autocorrelation, kriging, and their use in geographic problem solving with spatial analysis software. Prerequisite: GEOG 251 or one of STAT 201, 203 (formerly 103), 205, or 270. Quantitative.
An examination of technical components of GIS. Topics include spatial representations, generalization and data management; computational algebra and set theory; digital surfaces and terrain models. Prerequisite: GEOG 255. Quantitative.
Introduction to 3D spatial data, 3D analysis, and 3D visualization for spatial problems. Students will gain skills in 3D aspects of GIScience concepts; data generation and use; analysis and simulation; visualization and its use for interpretation and communication. Prerequisite: GEOG 255.
and any additional upper division courses, in geography or across the university, required to complete a minimum of 45 upper division units.
Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements
Students admitted to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.
WQB Graduation Requirements
A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit
Requirement |
Units |
Notes | |
W - Writing |
6 |
Must include at least one upper division course, taken at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV within the student's major subject; two courses (minimum three units each) |
|
Q - Quantitative |
6 |
Q courses may be lower or upper division; two courses (total six units or more) | |
B - Breadth |
18 |
Designated Breadth |
Must be outside the student's major subject, and may be lower or upper division: Two courses (total six units or more) Social Sciences: B-Soc |
6 |
Additional Breadth |
Two courses (total six units or more) outside the student's major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements). Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas. |
Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit
- At least half of the program's total units must be earned through ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV study.
- At least two thirds of the program's total upper division units must be earned through ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV study.
Elective Courses
In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.