Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Geography of World Regions
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Class days before each session
Introduction
This course examines the distinctive features of different macro-regions of the world: North America, Latin America, Arab countries, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, etc.
Regional Geography is a geographical working method that uses the demarcation of certain areas (called regions) to achieve adjusted descriptions and to facilitate their interpretation and comparative analysis.
Understanding of the main distinctive features of each region will be fostered, being they physical, climatic, historical, economic, political or cultural. Special focus will be placed on identifying and discussing current main challenges they may be facing.
Students will be asked to research and to analyze quantitatively and qualitatively various data regarding different countries and regions (case studies).
Pre-course requirements
They are not required
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CN02 - Students will be able to identify models and policies specific to different cultures and migratory groups, as well as their historical context.
- CN03 - Students will be able to establish relationships between the concepts of heritage, territory and cultural identity.
- CP05 - Students will be able to analyse socio-cultural, historical and artistic structures, from a respect for the fundamental rights of equality between men and women, using language that avoids androcentricity and stereotypes.
- HB01 - Students will be able to reflect on issues of a cultural, social, scientific or ethical nature by interpreting relevant data.
- HB04 - Students will be able to develop the capacity for analysis, synthesis and critical thinking.
- HB05 - Students will be able to problem solve based on reasoned judgements.
- HB07 - Students will be able to demonstrate a commitment to ethics, society, and protecting the environment when carrying out research projects and activities related to the field of study.
- HB11 - Students will be able to critically analyse cultural and artistic representations, based on an understanding of their historical context, in order to develop an intercultural perspective and a deeper understanding of the contemporary world.
- HB16 - Students will be able to interpret spaces, territories and landscapes that are either real or represented.
- HB20 - Students will be able to use sources of information in an international context.
Syllabus
1. General introduction. Plate tectonics and large climatic features
2. North America. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population; extensive metropolis vs. large empty spaces
2.1. Canada. The great north. A country searching its own identity: Quebec, the indigenous nations and the new immigration
2.2. United States. Approach to American political, economic and social model. Foundational myths, the federal system, the melting pot. Two americas?
3. Central America and the Caribbean. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population.
3.1. Mexico and Guatemala: Pre-Columbian legacy and colonial legacy. Countries under the threat of organized crime
3.2. The countries of the isthmus. Panama: the history of a channel. Costa Rica, ecotourism model
3.3. The Antilles. The myth of the tropical paradise. Cuba. The Afro-Caribbean culture. Tourism models in the tropics (Dominican Republic, Jamaica ...)
4. South America. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population. The Amazon: ecology, agriculture, deforestation and global responsibility
4.1. Andes region. The never solved indigenous problem (Bolivia and Peru). Colombia: Coca and the substitution of crops. Venezuela; visions of Latin American populism
4.2. Brazil, the emerging power? The big Brazilian metropolises; Rio and Sao Paulo. Brasilia, the invented capital
4.3. The southern cone: Argentina, Chile and Uruguay
5. North Africa General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population of the entire continent. Approach to Islamic culture and the Arabic world
5.1. The Maghreb: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, between internal reforms and emigration
5.2. Egypt, the legacy of the past. Archeology and tourism on the banks of the Nile
5.3. The drama of the Sahel. Desertification and war. Reflections on cooperation and NGOs
6. Rest of Africa. Failed states and perpetuation of arbitrary borders
6.1. Ethno-tribal conflicts: Clans and warlords, the impossibility of structuring modern states and the struggle for mineral resources (Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Somalia, Liberia, Nigeria)
6.2. Kenya and Tanzania: The African savannah, wildlife, conservation and tourism development
6.3. South Africa. The dramatic history of the only regional power
7. Central Asia and the Middle East. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population of an area shaken by conflicts
7.1. Old routes and ancient empires. A region of mythical cities: Samarkand, Baghdad, Persepolis, Petra, Palmira, Babylon. The current Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan
7.2. Arabia and the monarchies of the Persian Gulf. The geopolitics of oil. The mirage of skyscrapers in the desert: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha ...
7.3. The eternal conflict not resolved: Israel and Palestine. Zionism, pan-Arabism and other considerations
8. The Indian subcontinent and Indochina. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population. Two forces: The rice and the monsoon. Approach to oriental cultures: Hinduism and Buddhism
8.1. The curious Indian economy: between the Neolithic and the microchip. The caste society. India and Pakistan, a history of a conflictive neighborhood. What is Bollywood? The Himalayas: Nepal.
8.2. Indochina and Indonesia. The new economically emerging countries. Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam ... After the steps of China?
9. Far East. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population. Approach to the megalopolis of the east; The factories of the world: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul
9.1. China. A thousand-year-old culture: language, alphabet and national unity, philosophy and religion. The economic model: "one country two systems". The Yangtze, the domestication of the great river
9.2. The Japan Historical roots of an economic and social model. From feudalism to the industrial revolution. Weaknesses and strengths of a country shaken by natural forces
9.3. A legacy of the cold war: the existence of two Koreas
10. Oceania. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population of the continent that is not a real continent
10.1. Polynesia and Micronesia: Colonial domains and micro-states. The French possessions and the presence of the United States in the Pacific. The threat of global warming
10.2. Australia and New Zealand. The indissoluble link with the Anglo-Saxon West. The Commonwealth
11. Russia. General features; geomorphology, landscapes and population. Russia, the uncertain giant, the largest country in the world. How the Empire was built, the mythical Trans-Siberian train. What was the USSR? The ucranian war.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
35 % Research work (18 % written part / 17 % oral presentation)
20 % Two small essays
5 % Classroom debate
40 % Final exam. The final exam should be pass.
According to faculty regulations, at least 0.10 points will be deducted for each misspelling in exams and papers.
Bibliography and resources
ROBERT D. KAPLAN (2013): LA VENGANZA DE LA GEOGRAFIA. RBA LIBROS. BARCELONA.
TIM MARSHALL (2015). PRISIONEROS DE LA GEOGRAFÍA. EDICIONS 62. BARCELONA.
DELPHINE PAPIN I BRUNO TERTRAIS (2016). L’ATLAS DES FRONTIERES. EDITIONS DE ARENES. PARIS.
HANS ROSLING (2018): FACTFULNESS. EDICIONS LA CAMPANA. BARCELONA
EL ORDEN MUNDIAL (2020). EL MUNDO NO ES COMO CREES. EDITORIAL ARIEL. BARCELONA.
Knox, Paul L. & Marston, Sallie A. (2018). Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Bradshaw, Michael J., White, Graham, Dymond, John, & Chacko, Elizabeth. (2019). Contemporary World Regional Geography: Global Connections, Local Voices (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Glassner, Martin Ira & Fahrer, Chuck. (2013). Political Geography (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Rowntree, Lester, Lewis, Martin, Price, Marie, & Wyckoff, William. (2017). Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Flint, Colin. (2020). Introduction to Geopolitics (4th ed.). London: Routledge.
Dodds, Klaus, Kuus, Merje, & Sharp, Joanne (Eds.). (2013). The Ashgate Research Companion to Critical Geopolitics. Farnham: Ashgate.
Dittmer, Jason & Sharp, Joanne (Eds.). (2014). Geopolitics: An Introductory Reader. London: Routledge.
MAGAZINES AND WEB
LA VANGUARDIA DOSSIER. Revista trimestral. LA VANGUARDIA EDICIONES SL.
https://www.lavanguardia.com/vanguardia-dossier/revista
ANUARI INTERNACIONAL DEL CIDOB (Centre d'Estudis i Documentació Internacionals a Barcelona). Publicació anual.
https://www.cidob.org/es/publicaciones/serie_de_publicacion/anuario_internacional_cidob
THE WORLD FACT BOOK. Publicació anual. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/index.html
LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE (Ed. Espanyola). Periodicitat Mensual. Paris Lopress.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/index/sujet/geopolitique