Introduction to Human Geography
Practical and problem-oriented examination of spatial patterns of human organization and their links with social, cultural, economic, political and ecological processes.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Principles of Physical Geography
The interactions of atmosphere, soils, vegetation and landforms occurring at the surface of the Earth. The development of natural environments and impacts upon people and their activities.
Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.
Economic Geography
Theory and concepts of economic geography and the work of economic geographers. The organization of goods and services producing activities and their locational patterns. An overview of the geography of economic change in Canada and the United States since 1930.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F90 or permission of the instructor.
Urban Geography
(also offered as ENVI 2P03)
Basic concepts and problems underlying the growth of cities, the urban system, land-use patterns in the city and urban policy making.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F90 or permission of the instructor.
Introduction to Meteorology
(also offered as ENVI 2P04)
Principles, structure, composition and processes of the atmosphere; its energy budget, moisture balance and motion. Weather forecasting in middle and low latitudes, forecasting techniques and special problems in applied meteorology.
Lectures, lab, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F91 or permission of instructor.
Earth Surface Processes
(also offered as ENVI 2P05 and ERSC 2P05)
Earth surface processes and geomorphology within global environments. A dynamic and physically based account of processes and the Earth's surface, linking the fields of sedimentology, physical geography and fluid mechanics.
Lectures, lab, field work, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F91 or ERSC 1F01 (1F95) or permission of the instructor.
Cultural and Historical Geography
Interactions among culture, society and landscape. The material and symbolic manifestations of culture in processes of landscape change.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F90 or permission of the instructor.
Foundations of Geomatics
Basic spatial, metric, graphic and other concepts common to cartography, surveying, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). Properties of maps and air photos. Principles of map compilation and design. Practical experience in computer mapmaking, field surveying, image interpretation and GIS analysis.
Lectures, lab, field work, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 1F90 , 1F91, ERSC 1F01 (1F95) or permission of the instructor.
Principles of Biogeography
(also offered as ENVI 2P09 and ERSC 2P09)
Autoecological aspects of soils and plants including the human impact at all scales. Patterns of soils and plants and their explanation. Spatial patterns of soils and vegetation communities and their explanation.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: one of GEOG 1F91 and MATH 1P98, ERSC 1F01 (1F95) and MATH 1P98, CHEM 1F92 (CHEM 1P80 and 1P81 or CHEM 1P90 and 1P91) or permission of the instructor.
Qualitative Research Design and Methodology
Aspects of qualitative research: project formulation, methodologies, writing-up; relation of theory and methodology.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F90 or permission of the instructor.
Research Methods in the Geosciences
(also offered as ERSC 2P11)
Appraisal of scientific method. Problems of research design and the acquisition of information from the field by mapping, instrumental measurement, sampling and the use of published and unpublished data sources. Quantitative analysis of data, interpretation and the communication of results.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: GEOG 1F91 or ERSC 1F01 (1F95); MATH 1P98 or permission of the instructor.
Geography of Canada
Analysis of factors underlying the development of Canada's distinctive regions emphasizing major metropolitan areas, resource regions and areas of decline.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Environmental Problems and Development
Investigation of the current global environmental crisis, including population growth, global warming, deforestation, water pollution, and waste disposal. Consideration of environmental problems in the broader context of natural and human-induced (social, cultural, political, and economic) forces.
Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 1F90, 1F91, ENVI 1P90 and 1P91, ERSC 1F90, 1F01 (1F95) or permission of the instructor.
Introduction to Soil Science
(also offered as OEVI 2P97)
Physical, chemical, biological, and hydrological processes within the soil system, their interrelationships, and relationships between these processes and the potential use of the soil. Emphasis on soils in Southern Ontario and individual student analysis of those soils.
Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F91 or permission of the instructor.
London England
Growth and development of London as a world city, capital of Britain and major metropolitan area through an examination of its major functions, institutions, peoples and internal spatial structures; major planning issues involved in achieving a workable urban environment.
Restriction: permission of the department.
Note: students are expected to pay their own expenses.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GEOG 3M90.
Environmental and Development Issues in Thailand
Examination of development approaches, environmental issues and cultural practices through visits to small-scale village projects, national parks and urban areas. Assessment of the traditional versus the Western-style economy within the context of sustainable development. Environmental constraints on development.
Restriction: permission of the Department.
Note: students are expected to pay their own expenses.
Greek Viticulture and Wines
Examination of the combined influence of Greek topoclimatology and viticulture practices in relation to wine production in selected regions through visits to archaeological and historical sites. Role of wine in ancient Greece.
Restriction: permission of the department.
Note: students are expected to pay their own expenses.
Landscape and Cultural Memory
(also offered as CANA 3F96 and MLLC 3F96)
Field course in Québec. Readings in literature and geography, exploring the links and reciprocal influences between disciplines. Authors studied may include Louis Hémon, Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, Roger Lemelin.
Restriction: consult the Chair regarding permission to register.
Prerequisite: one of CANA 2P91, 2P92 (2F91), FREN 2F03 or permission of the instructor.
Note: field work for two weeks in May. Students are expected to pay their own expenses. Course given in English. French majors complete written assignments and exams in French. CANA students may count this as either Cultural Studies I or II and as a credit related to French Canada.
Topographic Surveying
Principles and techniques of topographic surveying. Use of tape, compass, clinometer, level, plane table, transit, theodolite, tachymeter, electronic distance meter and GPS receiver. Mapping using CADD software.
Lectures, lab, field work, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P07 or permission of the instructor.
Map Design and Production
Advanced aspects of map design. Methods of statistical mapping. Evolution of cartographic technology. Monochrome and colour map production using Adobe Illustrator. Issues and trends in cartography.
Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P07 or permission of the instructor.
Geographic Information Systems
Principles and use of computer-based systems for capturing, managing, manipulating, analysing and displaying data relating to the Earth's surface, with emphasis on raster applications. Practical work using Idrisi32.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P07 or permission of the instructor.
Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry
Theory and practice of remote sensing. Photographic, thermal, multispectral and radar imaging from aircraft and satellites. Photogrammetric mapping. Image interpretation, and digital image processing using Idrisi32.
Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P07 or permission of the instructor.
Applied Climatology
Studies in selected topics from the field of energy and moisture exchanges, air pollution, climatic change, climatic impact assessment and bioclimatology. Human impact on the climate along with applied microclimatological investigations and climatic data analysis.
Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P04 or permission of the instructor.
Climate and Winegrape Production
(also offered as OEVI 3P12)
Climatological aspects of winegrape production emphasizing selected wine regions of the world. Effects of climate, weather-related diseases, topography, soil and viticulture practices on winegrape production.
Lectures, lab, field work, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P04 or permission of the instructor.
Note: students enrolled in the OEVI program and OEVI certificate students are permitted to register without the prerequisite.
Glacial Geomorphology/Geology
(also offered as ERSC 3P24)
Introduction to glaciology; glacial processes, glacial deposits; their genesis and sedimentology. Relationship of glacial processes to landforms and surface topography. Glacial systems and facies associations. Applied aspects of glacial geology such as drift exploration.
Lectures, lab, field work, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P05 or permission of the instructor.
Quaternary Geology
(also offered as ERSC 3P25)
Glaciations in the geological record, causes of glaciations, biotic responses to climatic changes, eustatic and isostatic sea level changes in response to glaciation, Quaternary stratigraphy and correlation of glacial and non-glacial events, application of Quaternary geology to economic and environmental problems, methods of paleoclimatic reconstruction.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3P24 or ERSC 2P10 or permission of the instructor.
Glacial Soils and Sediments
(also offered as ERSC 3P26)
Applied aspects of glacial deposits. Geotechnical and pedochemical properties and structural attributes of glacial soils and sediments. Micromorphology, glacial soil discontinuity analyses. Introductory aspects of soil mechanics. Drift exploration. Landfill problems and issues related to glacial soils and sediments.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3P24 or 3P25 or permission of the instructor.
Biodiversity
(also offered as ERSC 3P33)
Dispersal and migration; adaptation; speciation; extinction; ecological interaction; species invasion; plant and animal introductions; habitat fragmentation and application of biogeographical theory to conservation biology; human impacts on fire regimes.
Lectures, lab, field work, 6 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 2P09, BIOL 2P05, 2Q04 or permission of the instructor.
Fluvial Geomorphology
(also offered as ERSC 3P36)
River basins, channel morphology, flood frequency analysis, elementary flow mechanics and sediment transport; analysis of river records; long term changes in river systems. Introduction to HEC-RAS flow modelling.
Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P05 or permission of the instructor.
Urban Growth Processes and Planning
Economic, social and political forces underlying population growth, land-use change and spatial expansion in cities in advanced industrial societies. Technological innovations and urban morphology. Urban planning issues relating to suburbanisation, small-town development, urban countryside, new towns, urban sprawl versus containment and intensification, and the loss of valuable resource areas.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 2P02, 2P03, 2P06 or permission of the instructor.
Contemporary Issues in Social Geography
Spatial distribution of social well-being in Western society: work, housing, crime, gender, race, ethnicity in relation to the underlying structures of inequality, exploitation and alienation.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisites: GEOG 2P03 or 2P06; GEOG 2P10 or permission of the instructor.
Community Development and Social Planning
Geographical approach to conceiving community and planning for community empowerment. Theories, policy perspectives and empirical studies from Canada and around the world.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisites: GEOG 2P03 or 2P06; GEOG 2P10 or permission of the instructor.
Physical Geography Field Course
Application of geographical principles and field techniques to problems in physical geography.
Restriction: permission of the Department.
Prerequisite: completion of year 2 GEOG requirements in the BSc GEOG (single or combined) programs.
Note: field work in September in the week following Labour Day. Students must register with the department by April of the preceding academic year. Students are expected to pay their own expenses.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GEOG 3P57.
Human Geography Field Course
Application of geographical principles and field techniques to problems in human geography.
Restriction: permission of the Department.
Prerequisite: completion of year 2 GEOG requirements in the BA GEOG (single or combined) programs.Note: field work in September in the week following Labour Day. Students must register with the department by April of the preceding academic year. Students are expected to pay their own expenses.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GEOG 3P56.
Geography of Transportation
Geographical aspects of transportation with particular emphasis on the urban transportation problem, including its causes, consequences and potential solutions. Sustainable transportation and its implications for land use planning, transportation and urban design.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P03 or permission of the instructor.
Geography of Rural Development and Tourism
(also offered as TOUR 3P65)
Provides overview of tourism as it intersects with rural development theory, processes and planning. Examines various social, environmental, cultural and economic problems, consequences and opportunities of tourism in a rural development context. Incorporates examples of rural festivals, wineries and agri-tourism as means to understand appropriate rural tourism development.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F90 or TOUR 1P98 (2P08).
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GEOG (TOUR) 3V60.
Introduction to Community Planning
Evolution of planning theory and practice in North America, and influential planning ideas since the late 19th century. Legislative framework for community planning in Ontario. Current trends and challenges in community planning at the urban, suburban, rural and small town levels.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P03 or permission of instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GEOG 3V66.
Geography and Gender
(also offered as COMM 3P74 and WISE 3P74)
Work of feminist geographers. Relationships between gender and space with respect to the organization of the city, architecture of the home, design of the shopping mall, the media, fear, homelessness, gentrification and employment.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 2P02, 2P03, 2P06, WISE 2P90 (2F90), 2P91, COMM 2P20 and 2P21 or permission of the instructor.
Geography and International Development
Analysis of international development theory, policy and practice. Development's relation to globalisation, imperialism and neo-colonialism. Development solutions to environmental problems. Selected case studies from the developing world.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F90 or permission of the instructor.
Environmental and Developmental Problems in the Third World
Interrelationships between physical and human factors and development; poverty and environmental problems; natural resource exploitation and sustainable development; humans as agents of change in desertification, deforestation, soil erosion and environmental pollution and their impact on climate, hydrologic cycle and nutrient cycling processes. Selected studies of regions that are marginal in terms of carrying capacity and ecological fragility.
Lectures, lab, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 1F90 or 1F91 or permission of the instructor.
Geography of Water Resources
Physical and human factors affecting patterns of use and development of water resources. Emphasis will be on patterns of supply and demand, approaches to development and management of the resource, problems and alternative strategies.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one GEOG credit numbered 2(alpha)00 to 2(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.
Themes in Political Geography
Introduction to political geography with primary emphasis on contemporary themes, including geopolitics, economic globalization, global sustainability theory, evolution and emergent issues of the nation-state, new regionalism and place-based politics, and the local-global role of the new social movements.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P02 or 2P06 or permission of the instructor.
Ecology of a Changing Planet
(also offered as BIOL 3P85 and ERSC 3P85)
Impact of environmental change and human activity on ecosystems. Topics include climate change and global warming, habitat fragmentation, extinction, invasive species, conservation biology and the management of ecological integrity.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 2P09, BIOL 2P05, 2Q04 or permission of the instructor.
Themes in Cultural Geography
Geographies of culture and cultural politics emphasizing heritage issues focussing on ways in which relationships of power become manifest in material and symbolic landscapes.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisites: GEOG 2P06 and 2P10 or permission of the instructor.
Themes in Historical Geography
Literature, philosophies and methodologies of historical geography, including sections exploring the traditions of the field as well as current debates. Uses and limitations of primary source materials such as newspapers, oral traditions and government documents.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisites: GEOG 2P06 and 2P10 or permission of the instructor.
Globalization and Sustainability
Phenomenon of globalization in relation to theories of sustainability. Changing spatial and power relations occurring through the globalization of economic, political, social, cultural and environmental spheres. Global sustainability principles in the contexts of local and regional "survival" under changing global conditions.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 2P02, 2P06 or permission of the instructor.
Note: GEOG 3P84 strongly recommended.
GIS Applications in Human Geography
Introduction to private and public sector GIS data. GIS planning and analytical capabilities in the context of their real world applications using ArcView 8. Choice and design of GIS applications by defining a problem, collecting, inputting, analysing, and outputting data in GIS.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 3P05, 3P95 or permission of the instructor.
GIS Applications in Physical Geography
Exploration of GIS data sources and analytical techniques emphasizing GIS planning and analytical capabilities for solving real world problems using ArcView 8. Choice and design of GIS applications by defining a problem, searching, inputting, analysing, and outputting data in GIS.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 3P05, 3P95 or permission of the instructor.
Advanced Geographic Information Systems
Further study of geographic information systems emphasizing vector and database applications and advanced analytical operations. Practical work using Idrisi32 and MapInfo Professional. Discussion of legal, ethical, management and other issues relating to GIS.
Lectures, lab, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3P05.
Special Topics in Geography
Topics selected from year to year on the basis of faculty expertise.
Selected Field Studies and Directed Readings
Application of geographical methods and techniques to the analysis of field data and problems; two weeks of field work in a selected area.
Restriction: permission of the department.
Note: experience in hiking and wilderness travel recommended.
Honours Thesis
Individual research project carried out under the direction of a faculty adviser.
Restriction: permission of the department.
Note: students contemplating a thesis must consult with the department at the end of year 3. Regulations governing the thesis may be obtained from the Administrative Assistant. A detailed proposal must be submitted in writing before May 1st prior to entering year 4.
Honours Internship
Internship on a specific geographic problem or task under either the direction of a faculty member, or in a government or private agency working under the supervision of that agency.
Internship, 8 hours per week for 15 weeks; seminar, 3 hours per week for 9 weeks.
Restriction: permission of the department.
Topographic Science
Independent study of an approved topic selected from the fields of surveying, remote sensing, geographical information systems and cartography.
Lab, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 3P01, 3P04, 3P05, 3P07, 3P95 or permission of the instructor.
Advanced Cartography
Research, discussion and synthesis of a selected issue in modern cartography or the compilation and design of a map illustrative of a specific theme.
Lab, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3P04 or permission of the instructor.
Research Topics in Applied Climatology
Climatological investigations of selected problems in winegrape production, air pollution and climate change.
Seminar, lab and field work, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: GEOG 2P04 and 3P10 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GEOG 4F11.
Research Topics in Climatic Hazards
Special topics relating to climatic hazards, their impacts and societal adjustments.
Seminar, lab and field work, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: GEOG 2P04 and 3P10 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GEOG 4F11.
Snow and Ice Hydrology
Hydrological processes involving snow, ice and frozen ground and their place in a geographical and environmental context. Topics include snowfall and drifting snow, the formation and evolution of the snow pack, snowmelt, avalanches, ice growth and decay on lakes and rivers, ice jams, glaciers and glacial hydrology; ground ice and permafrost hydrology.
Seminar, lab, field work, 3 hours per week
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 3P22, 3P23, 3P24 or permission of the instructor.
Advanced Fluvial Geomorphology
(also offered as ERSC 4P26)
Steep, rough river systems emphasizing boulder bed and rock bed channels.
Seminar, lab, field work, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3P36 or permission of the instructor.
Advanced Glacial Sedimentology
(also offered as ERSC 4P28)
Sedimentology of present day glacial environments and of Quaternary sediments. Thermo-mechanical principles of glacier physics as applied to past and present glacier ice conditions. Glacial lithofacies associations. Glacio-tectonics and diagenesis. Principles of glacial erosion, entrainment and deposition.
Lectures, lab, field work, 5 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3P24, 3P26 or permission of the instructor.
Advanced Urban-Economic Geography
Conceptual and theoretical background to recent developments in global cities and service industries.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: one GEOG credit numbered 2(alpha)90 to 3(alpha)99 from group A.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in 4F50, 4F65 and 4F69.
Research Themes in Urban-Economic Geography
Methodological and ethical issues related to empirical research on global cities and service industries.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 4P60 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in 4F50, 4F65 and 4F69.
Advanced Community Planning
Evolution of community planning theory based primarily upon the work of influential planning figures and visionaries. Application of planning skills to selected local and regional growth and development problems.
Lectures, seminar, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3P60, 3P66 (3V66) or permission of the instructor.
Advanced Cultural and Social Geography
Selected debates and theoretical themes in the spatiality of culture and social well-being.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 3P52, 3P53, 3P86, 3P87 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in GEOG 4F51, 4F61 and 4F64.
Research Themes in Cultural and Social Geography
Methodological and ethical issues related to empirical research on the spatiality of culture and social well-being.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: GEOG 4P70 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in GEOG 4F51, 4F61 and 4F64.
Dendrochronology
(also offered as BIOL 4P80 and ERSC 4P80)
Principles and use of dendrochronology to study forest dynamics, geomorphic events and paleoenvironmental change; use of tree growth in the study of climate and environmental factors; measurement and statistical analysis of tree growth records.
Lectures, lab, local field trip, 6 hours per week.
Prerequisite: one of GEOG 2P09, BIOL 2P05, 2Q04.
Directed Readings I
Topic not covered in the Department's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the Department.
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a faculty member willing to supervise the tutorial.
Directed Readings II
Topic not covered in the Department's regular course offerings.
Seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: permission of the Department.
Note: topics must be chosen in consultation with a faculty member willing to supervise the tutorial.