Spring 2018 - GEOG 323 D100

Industrial Location (4)

Class Number: 3587

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Thu, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 20, 2018
    Fri, 8:30–11:30 a.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Patrick Brouder
    pbrouder@sfu.ca
    Office: TBA
    Office Hours: Thursday 2.30pm-4pm
  • Prerequisites:

    GEOG 221.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An examination of the factors affecting industrial location and the geographic organization of production systems within and among firms from the perspectives of national, regional and urban development.

COURSE DETAILS:

GEOG 323 – Industrial Location – takes a close look at the places and spaces of industrial development over time. Such development is marked by uneven and changing manufacturing activity. Departing from a historical overview of industrial geography from the industrial revolution onwards, students will explore how a myriad of location conditions are considered by firms when establishing new and growing industries, highlighting economic, behavioural, and institutional approaches to location. We then turn to inter-firm relationships comparing traditional large-scale manufacturing with today’s dominance of small and medium sized enterprises. Such relationships lend themselves to the analysis of industrial districts and the associated dynamism of labour mobility and inter-firm knowledge exchange, as well as studying the geography of global production networks. Students will take a closer look at success stories such as ‘silicon valley’ alongside formerly successful and now struggling deindustrialised regions such as the ‘rust belt’. The course concludes with a look to the future and how industrial location co-evolves with changing technology in an urbanising world. In GEOG 323 tutorials we will focus on the assigned weekly reading and additional multimedia resources linking industrial location theory to contemporary cases from British Columbia and the world.

Note: There will be no tutorials in the first week of class

Grading

  • Tutorial participation (throughout) 15%
  • Tutorial presentation (February) 10%
  • Mid-term exam (February) 25%
  • Individual assignment (March) 20%
  • Final examination (April) 30%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Hayter, R. (1997). The dynamics of industrial location: the factory, the firm and the production system. Chichester, UK: Wiley. [required reading – available online]

Dicken, P. (2011). Global shift: mapping the changing contours of the world economy. London, UK: Sage. [recommended reading – available at SFU library]

Further readings assigned throughout [required reading – available at SFU library online]

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS