Course Syllabus

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Syllabus

GEO107DE Human Cultural Geography (3 Credit) Online

Here is a downloadable Word version to save.  You may need it when transferring credit to a university.

Here is the Institutional Syllabus: click here

About

  • Course Name: Human Cultural Geography 2
  • Course Code: GEO107.01DE
  • Term/Year  Fall 2025
  • Dates   9/29 - 12/12
  • Locations  Online

Instructor Information

  • Thomas Nejely ("nej-lee")
  • nejely@klamathcc.edu
  • 541-880-2230. You may text this number, but be sure to identify your name and class.
  • Office Hours – via email or Canvas Message.  I will answer emails quickly, 8:00am-5:00pm Monday - Friday. I will respond to weekend messages, just not as quickly.
  • You may request a Zoom or in person campus meeting by messaging Canvas Inbox Messages.

Course Description

Introduces the study of human cultural geography, with a focus on developing nations. Regional topics include the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands.

Prerequisites – Recommended: WRI 121 placement.   Credit Hours – 3

Course Materials Requirements

  1. Course Materials – Text: the textbook is online only.  There is no cost and nothing to purchase.
  2. Computer Requirements – this course requires students to have computers and access for all activities and assignments. If you are using only a mobile device, please see Notes below.
  3. Internet Access – This course includes videos made by the instructor, or other sources posted to YouTube. You will need unrestricted YouTube access.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  1. This course has been designed to work (mostly) on mobile devices. If you find a page that does not work on your mobile device, please notify the instructor immediately
  2. Some functions may not work well with Chromebooks or iPads. Please contact the instructor if these are your only devices for accessing the class and you have difficulties.
  3. Back up your work!  If you you are relying only on one device, you need a backup device also.  Save your work somewhere accessible, such as DropBox or Office 365 OneDrive.
  4. If you are using a Public School District device, YouTube or AI access may be restricted. Please contact your school counselor.  Also let the KCC instructor know your situation.
  5. If you are experiencing computer (hardware) problems, internet connection or other device-related difficulties, we may have solutions for you. Please contact the instructor, or the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL@Klamathcc.edu)  and we’ll help you with technology.

Assignments

  • There are usually one or more reading quizzes every week. 
  • There will be some form of writing assignment every week, but never any essays.
  • There will be one midterm exam or project, and one final exam or project.
  • There will be discussions three weeks

Assignments point values:

    1. Research Prep                                                3 @ (20) pts each
    2. Weekly wrap-up                                            6 @ (20) pts each
    3. Teamwork projects  (3planning/3writing)      6 @ (10) pts each
    4. Reading/video/syllabus quizzes                   1 or 2 per week @(variable) pts each
    5. Exams/projects                                            2@50 pts each
    6. There may also be one or more traditional discussions, TBA

Grading Policy

GRADING : Each piece of student work will be graded based on the requirements. ALWAYS TURN IN WORK, COMPLETED OR NOT! There is no curve. Assignments are graded on a straight unweighted point scale:  A=90%+, B=80-89%, C=70-79%; D=60-69%, F=50% or lower.

Grading time: it usually takes me a week to return grades with comments.  Sometimes it takes me longer, when I am providing students with extra encouragement or guidance.  Spending time in word-crafting to encourage, rather than discourage is important as it may make the difference between a student continuing successfully or becoming discouraged and dropping out.

Academic Integrity and Writing Assistance Policy

Permissible use of AI or writing assistance in this class.

1. The most important thing to know about AI or writing assistance is, I want to read your thoughts and about your learning journey in your own personal words. What you think and learn is important to me, and I want to read it! 

At the same time, I believe AI is a collection of very powerful, very useful tools that you should get familiar with.  

I do not grade on your grammar or English writing skills, so you using Grammarly or CoPilot to make your writing sound better or different than it really is a waste of your time in this class.  Please do not waste your time using AI to "dress up" any writing assignment in this class.

2. Here are permissible guidelines for writing assignments in this class:

Allowed/Required:

    • You are encouraged to ask me for suggestions about research prompting ideas.
    • You are encouraged to ask the AI of your choice, for suggestion on search prompts.
    • You are expected to have a multi-prompt conversation with an AI, to develop an effective set of prompts that result in great sources and ideas.
    • You are required to use AI to help with finding sources in other countries and in other languages.
    • You are required to use AI to help with suggesting viewpoints of persons past or present, that you might not otherwise think of (outside your comfort zone).
    • You are expected to use AI to help you find first person, "I am here " or "I was there" personal experience narratives created by travelers, visitors, or residents of a time and place (ie such as letters, diaries, memoirs, social media posts).  Even if you do not use AI, you are required to use personal experience narratives.

Not Allowed

    • Ai is not allowed in any discussion posts.
    • AI is like a parrot.  It can provide  words that may be associated, appear to connect in a reasonable way, but there is no actual thinking going on. Therefore, you may not have AI do writing of sentences, phrases, or paragraphs for you.   
    • You may not have AI change your writing style or grammar or spelling to sound better than you are.
    • What AI writing does to me, your instructor: have you ever accidentally chewed on a piece of aluminum foil? This is what it's like when I read an assignment that has involved AI in the writing.  At first read it's okay, then the word choices start to taste strange and then a mental reaction hits me.  It's a bad feeling.  So please, if for no other reason, avoid AI writing out of kindness to me.   

3. What happens if I think a paper is AI written.

    • If I'm reading and that bad feeling starts, I will take the following steps.

       I will invite you to have a conversation about your work. This is not an accusation; rather, I have found an anomaly in your work, and I want to understand it better. We will do this by having a conversation about your writing process. During the meeting, you can expect to be treated calmly and with respect. I expect the same. The process will go exactly like this:

      1. When grading your work, if I suspect inappropriate AI use, I will give the assignment a temporary “0” for its grade. In my feedback on that assignment and in a separate email, I will request that we schedule a time to meet. You will be given three days to respond to my email to schedule a meeting. The meeting can be in-person or on zoom (with cameras on). If I do not hear from you within those three days, the “0” grade will become permanent.

      2. When you respond to my meeting request, we will set up a time that works for both of us. During the meeting, I will ask you to tell me a bit about your writing process, such as how you came up with your ideas, where you gathered your sources, and how the project evolved from one draft to the next. I will ask you to describe if (and how) you used any AI tools. I may also ask some questions to better understand your knowledge of the topic. These meetings typically take 20 minutes. There are three possible outcomes:

      a. If your work falls within the course guidelines for appropriate AI-use, I will accept your work “as is” and re-grade it without penalty.

      b. If your work contains some inappropriate AI use, but you were upfront about it and our conversation led to a deeper understanding of AI-use as it related to our course goals, I will ask you to revise some or all of the assignment and grade it without penalty.

      c. In rare cases, if we cannot reach an agreement, you fail to schedule or attend the meeting, or you are unable to convince me that this is your own work, the “0” grade will become permanent.

Since I require AI use in some assignments, if any of this worries you please contact me.  I truly believe knowing how to use AI tools will be valuable to you now and in the future. It might be outside your comfort zone and hard to do, but I don't want it to cause you mental or emotional distress.  Talk to me please.

Attendance Policy  - ONLINE

Students must participate every week DURING the week multiple times.  This class is NOT designed to let you check in once and be done with it.  

Late Work Policy

You can do:

  1. If a student has employment, TDY deployment, health or family concerns regarding some assignment deadlines, arrangements can be made in advance. 
  2. If unexpected circumstances arise, arrangements can be made immediately during the situation.  Please message me!

You can not do:

  1. I expect you to work on assignments before the deadline.  You cannot contact me after an assignment closes and automatically expect to receive an extension.
  2. I do not allow students to submit late work for a percentage off, there is no such policy in this class.
  3. "I was busy" or "I forgot" are not acceptable reasons for missing assignments.  Time management and prioritizing your activities are very important skills to develop in this class.
  4. I do not accept work submitted by email or Canvas Message attachment.  If we have agreed on your circumstances and arrange a submission time before or after the original due date, it must be re-opened  inside the software so you can upload it.  

Under all circumstances, Please contact me before or during the time a situation is happening!

Workload & Time Management

Sometimes there is a lot of reading in a week.  I have a number of things to help your prioritize your time, including a weekly Agenda page to read on Mondays, a "prioritize" section on each Agenda page, weekly reminder announcements, and I provide a course Planner.  

Discussions, Team Projects and Participation

IMPORTANT: This class does not have "post once reply twice" discussions.  Discussions in this class are used for learning to work with a team to produce a collaborative project.  Be kind, be responsive, and be responsible in your part of your team.

Canvas Settings to change

  1. You must ensure your Canvas Account Settings “Ways to Contact” are set to emails or texts that you actually use. 
  2. You must ensure Canvas Account Notifications are set to receive Announcements and submission comments. 
  3. You must be able to see my comments on your assignments.
  4. I have made these settings changes an assignment in the first week.

OUTCOMES

In this class, you will practice and learn skills for 3 kinds of outcomes:

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Research human geography topics or themes in the regions covered in this course.
  • Communicate or present geography learning in writing, visually, or verbally.
  • Use critical thinking, synthesis, and analysis to explain patterns of human behavior in the regions covered in this course.
  • Create projects collaboratively that relate to topics in the regions or themes covered in this course.

Institutional Learning Outcomes

The “Measured Proficiency” items listed here will be measured by assignments, in addition to Geography topics.

  • (Introduced) Apply Critical Thinking to Problem Solving
    Evaluate information, sources, arguments, opinions, and issues to solve problems.
  • (Measured) Communication
    Create and convey thoughts, opinions, or information by listening, speaking, reading, or writing.
  • (Measured) Cultural Competence
    Demonstrate effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.
  • (Introduced) Professional Competence and Self – Efficacy
    Apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes to succeed in a profession or academic program; demonstrate confidence and ability to meet personal, social, academic, and professional goals.
  • (Measured) Teamwork
    Demonstrate effective and respectful participation as members and leaders of diverse teams.

 Course Content Outcomes

  • In this class students will practice and be evaluated on their ability to (this is the Geography stuff):
  • Identify locations, nations, cities and physical features of these regions: East Asia, SE Asia, Oceania, South Asia, West Asia, and Africa.
  • Apply in written research various "themes" and issues of geography such as location, migration, food production, human rights, fresh water, culture, and economic development to these global regions: East Asia, SE Asia, Oceania, South Asia, West Asia, and Africa.
  •  Use case examples to demonstrate understanding of various cultures in the regions we study.

Team workspace and “Netiquette”

Not everyone in this class has the same skill level life circumstances or motivation level.  Some of you are highly trained long-time military professionals, some have families and are working to improve your lives, and others are high school students.  You are expected to behave professionally and courteously at all times regardless of your age or background.  In a teamwork situation, some students who are more experienced and ambitious can become impatient of others who are not so much.  Please be kind.  

Also note: Team members who voluntarily communicate with each other typically do much better than those who do not.

Module Instructions

Each Module contains Instructions at the start.  Please start with Instructions before doing any assignment.

Notice on the home page I have created a Student Resources/Useful Links

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due