38: 169/170 Extra Credit Assignments

Optional Extra Credit Assignments: A book review OR contribution to “Why Geography Matters” may be submitted at any time before the last day of class for extra credit.

1) Book Review: Any book with a strong geographic component that you have not read before is acceptable.  Some recommendations include Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond; Floods, Famines, and Emperors by Brian Fagan; A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold; Collapse by Jared Diamond; The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester; The Eternal Frontier by Tim Flannery; Krakatoa by Simon Winchester; Epic Wanderer by D’Arcy Jenish; Where is Here? by Alan Morantz; and A Geography of Blood by Candace Savage. These would all be considered lite reading and are not boring textbooks, but popular best sellers. If you talk to me and I recommend a book that you absolutely end up hating, I’ll buy it back from you. If you want to choose your own book, check with me first so that I can approve it.  The book review should be at least two pages (dbl. sp.), specifically noting the significance of geography to the main theme of the book. Submit a hard copy of this to me along with your copy of the book and, based on how well you have explained the significance of geography to the central theme of the book, I will give you up to 5% bonus marks toward your final grade in the course.

2) Why Geography Matters: Because every THING happens or exists somewhere we can study or consider how its unique geographic occurrence affects it or other phenomena, including us, or how it differs from similar THINGS elsewhere. Hopefully this course, and other geography courses you take, will change your mind about what geography is, how it is relevant to you and society in general, and why Geography matters. As we progress through the course we will hopefully discuss a topic that “hits home” for you and you make this connection, or maybe you will read or hear about something in the news that makes you think about how and why geography matters. Your assignment is to write a short essay (at least two pages, dbl. sp.), explaining what it is and why and/or how it is a good example of Why Geography Matters. This assignment is worth up to 2% bonus marks toward your final grade in the course.