Introduction

Welcome to GEOG 162! This course introduces students to Canada’s physical, historical, and human geography. Students will develop skills necessary for recognizing and analyzing important geographical features of regions and the country. We will consider a range of questions and topics related to how different physical, cultural and political geographical forces affected the creation of Canada. A particular focus will be exploring Canada’s decolonial geographies, conceptualizing Canada as a vast geographical expanse, a nation state, a mosaic of First Nations, a patchwork of ecosystems and climatic zones and a concept that is understood differently depending on who and where you are. Throughout the course, we will develop the ability to apply the concepts of unsettling, resistance, resilience and mapping in order to better understand the space, place, and social construction of what we understand as: Canada.