Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2021 - GEOG 241 D100

People, Place, Society (3)

Class Number: 2772

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: TBA, TBA
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 19, 2021
    Mon, 5:00–5:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    GEOG 100.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to key concepts and contexts in contemporary geographical approaches to social practices, meanings, and struggles. Breadth-Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

Amid a global pandemic and a mass uprising against anti-Black state violence, this course explores the power structures that shape our society and the forms through which people resist. The relationships we build to the places that we live and the people that live there inform our lives, our identities and our politics. In this class, we begin by considering the land that we reside upon: un-ceded Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh territories. If we begin by centering Indigenous conceptions of land, how does this alter our interpretations of the broader societal structures we live within and in relationship to?

In this course we will examine how geographies are informed by power asymmetries across space and scale. We will build an understanding of how racial capitalism, settler colonialism and other power structures shape places and inform the interrelationships between different groups of people. We will learn fundamental spatial and social concepts to understand how power operates under racial capitalism, and will pay particular attention to what it means to live within the settler colonial state of Canada, and in some instances focus on geographies from across the Americas.

By learning about colonialism, racism, migration, carcerality, (anti)Blackness, patriarchy, care, and intersectionality in the Canadian context, this course pushes students to consider their own embodied geographies and explore how to live in constellation with different struggles for justice and autonomy. We end by considering how abolition and decolonization offer paths toward more-just futures.

REMOTE LEARNING

Lectures will be held asynchronously, with an optional discussion/Q&A period during the first hour of the scheduled lecture time. Tutorials will be held synchronously, and the midterm essay exam will be offered asynchronously.

There will be no tutorials the first week of class.

Grading

  • Weekly Reading Reflections 30%
  • Tutorial Reading Presentation 10%
  • Midterm Essay Exam - asynchronous 30%
  • Creative Project 30%

NOTES:

Grading Scale

A+          [90% and above]                    

A             [85 - 89.99%]                 

A-           [80 - 84.99%]                

B+          [77- 79.99%]    

B             [73 - 76.99%]                  

B-        [70 - 72.99%]

C+          [67 - 69.99%]                    

C        [63% - 66.99%]               

C-           [60 - 62.99%]                  

D            [50 - 59.99%]                     

F             [49.99% and below]

 

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

There is no required course textbook. All readings will be available on Canvas via hyperlink or in PDF form.                

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/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

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).