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Department of Geography and Geoinformation Sciences (MSN 6C3),
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030
Visiting Instructor
Course Overview: The study geography represents a distinct “way of knowing.” As such it is associated with a specific set of skills and knowledge that present the educator with a unique instructional challenge. This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of the basic concepts of cultural and physical geography as represented in the Five Fundamental Themes of Geography, the National Geography Standards, and the Virginia Standards of Learning that relate to geography. The course is intended for teachers who have little or no previous experience as a student of geography. This is a content oriented course focused primarily on basic geographic knowledge and the professional literature relating to the teaching of geography. To a lesser degree the course will also address specific teaching strategies for integrating geography into classroom instruction and instructional resources.
Course Overview: Warfare is inherently geographic in nature. The fundamental military problem is a space-time problem, "getting there firstest with the mostest." In addition, the geographic factors shaping military operations vary by the scale of the operation. The nature of military geography changes in response to the level of war, strategic, operational, or tactical, under consideration. The result is a nested set of geographic concepts and maps that describe the influence of physical and cultural features on military operations. The purpose of this course is to give the student an understanding of the impact of various geographic features, both physical and cultural, on the conduct and outcome of military operations. The student will also learn to assess these impacts in terms of the three levels of war. Finally, the student will apply this understanding to an on-the-ground analysis of a selected military operation in a Staff Ride format.
Course Overview: The focus of this course will be on the geography of agriculture as a global system. Particular attention will be paid to the intersection of cultural and environmental factors in shaping the variations in agricultural forms observed around the world. The course will include both mandatory and optional field observations of agricultural activities in addition to regular class meetings. Students will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of agriculture in general and present the results of research on a specific agricultural commodity in particular.
Field Trips for agriculture course
Fauquier County dairy farm tour
Prince Michel Vineyard