Contacts | Program of Study | Program Requirements | Summary of Requirements | Grading | Research Grants | Honors | Awards | Courses
Department Website: http://geography.uchicago.edu
Program of Study
The discipline of geography contributes to an understanding of society by exploring the Earth's environment and its interactions with human life, by inquiring into cultures and societies from the perspective of area study, and by investigating problems of spatial organization. The BA program in geographical studies offers a distinctive focus for general education and provides a background both for advanced specialization in the discipline and for study in other fields. Solid grounding in modern geography can lead to careers in government service, environmental consulting, marketing, publishing, planning, and teaching at all levels.
Program Requirements
The BA degree in geographical studies calls for the satisfactory completion of eleven courses, at least eight of which must be in geographical studies. These include the orientation course (GEOG 20000 Orientation Seminar); an introduction to Geographic Information Systems/GIS (GEOG 28201 Intro to Geographic Information Systems); the senior seminar (GEOG 29800 Senior Seminar); and at least eight additional geography courses, up to three of which may be in approved related fields. A BA thesis is prepared in connection with the senior seminar.
Summary of Requirements
| GEOG 20000 | Orientation Seminar | 100 |
| GEOG 28201 | Intro to Geographic Information Systems | 100 |
| Eight additional geographical studies courses; up to three may be in approved related fields | 800 | |
| GEOG 29800 | Senior Seminar | 100 |
| BA thesis | ||
| Total Units | 1100 | |
Grading
All courses counted toward the geographical studies major must be taken for quality grades.
Research Grants
Geographical studies students may apply for small grants from the Ada Espenshade Wrigley Fund in support of extraordinary expenses connected with research leading to their BA thesis.
Honors
Honors are awarded to students with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher who submit a BA thesis that is judged to be outstanding.
Awards
Each year the Committee on Geographical Studies nominates fourth-year students for an Outstanding Senior in Geography Award from the Illinois Geographical Society and an Award for Excellence from the National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers.
Geographical Studies Courses
GEOG 20000. Orientation Seminar. 100 Units.
This course is a review of the history and current orientations of human and environmental geography. It includes a critical review of representative pedagogic works and selected reading of recent periodical and monographic literature.
Instructor(s): M. Mikesell Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Open to current and prospective geographical studies majors; open to nonmajors with consent of instructor
GEOG 20100. Cultural Geography. 100 Units.
This course examines the two main concerns of this field of geography: (1) the logic and pathology revealed in the record of the human use and misuse of the Earth, and (2) the discordant relationship of the world political map with more complicated patterns of linguistic and religious distribution.
Instructor(s): M. Mikesell Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 25900,GEOG 30100
GEOG 21900. Historical Geography of the United States. 100 Units.
This course examines the spatial dynamics of empire, the frontier, regional development, the social character of settlement patterns, and the evolution of the cultural landscapes of America from pre-European times to 1900. All-day northern Illinois field trip required.
Instructor(s): M. Conzen Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): This course offered in even years.
Equivalent Course(s): GEOG 31900,HIST 28800,HIST 38800
GEOG 22100. Changing America in the Twentieth Century. 100 Units.
This course explores the regional organization of U.S. society and its economy during the pivotal twentieth century, emphasizing the shifting dynamics that explain the spatial distribution of people, resources, economic activity, human settlement patterns, and mobility. We put special focus on the regional restructuring of industry and services, transportation, city growth, and cultural consumption. Two-day weekend field trip to the Mississippi River required.
Instructor(s): M. Conzen Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): This course offered odd years.
Equivalent Course(s): GEOG 32100,HIST 27506,HIST 37506
GEOG 22700. Urban Structure and Process. 100 Units.
This course reviews competing theories of urban development, especially their ability to explain the changing nature of cities under the impact of advanced industrialism. Analysis includes a consideration of emerging metropolitan regions, the microstructure of local neighborhoods, and the limitations of the past U.S. experience as a way of developing worldwide urban policy.
Instructor(s): F. Stuart Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): SOCI 20104,CRES 20104,GEOG 32700,SOCI 30104,SOSC 25100
GEOG 23003. Urban Europe, 1600-Present. 100 Units.
This course examines the growth, structure, and, on occasion, decline of European towns and cities from the seventeenth century to the present. The focus throughout is on questions directly related to the positioning, form, and function of urban communities and to the efforts of interest groups and policy makers to shape and promote the fortunes of these communities. The course is interdisciplinary in spirit and content, drawing on the contributions of historians, geographers, sociologists, economists, demographers, political scientists, urban planners, and others. There are no prerequisites; the readings and lectures cover whatever needs to be known about theories, methods, and the European context.
Instructor(s): J. Craig Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 23003,HIST 33003,GEOG 33003
GEOG 23500. Urban Geography. 100 Units.
This course examines the spatial organization and current restructuring of modern cities in light of the economic, social, cultural, and political forces that shape them. It explores the systematic interactions between social process and physical system. We cover basic concepts of urbanism and urbanization, systems of cities urban growth, migration, centralization and decentralization, land-use dynamics, physical geography, urban morphology, and planning. Field trip in Chicago region required.
Instructor(s): M. Conzen Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): This course offered in even years.
Equivalent Course(s): GEOG 33500
GEOG 25300. Seminar: Problems in the Human Geography of the Middle East. 100 Units.
This course includes a review and cartographic demonstration of habitat types, modes of livelihood, and ethnic distribution. Students then present reports on selected aspects of human geography.
Instructor(s): M. Mikesell Terms Offered: Spring
GEOG 25500. Biogeography. 100 Units.
This course examines factors governing the distribution and abundance of animals and plants. Topics include patterns and processes in historical biogeography, island biogeography, geographical ecology, areography, and conservation biology (e.g., design and effectiveness of nature reserves).
Instructor(s): B. Patterson (odd years, lab). L., Heaney (even years, discussion) Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in the biological sciences and a course in either ecology, evolution, or earth history; or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): BIOS 23406,ENST 25500,EVOL 45500,GEOG 35500
GEOG 26100. Roots of the Modern American City. 100 Units.
This course traces the economic, social, and physical development of the city in North America from pre-European times to the mid-twentieth century. We emphasize evolving regional urban systems, the changing spatial organization of people and land use in urban areas, and the developing distinctiveness of American urban landscapes. All-day Illinois field trip required.
Instructor(s): M. Conzen Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): This course offered in odd years.
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 26100,GEOG 36100,HIST 28900,HIST 38900
GEOG 26300. The Chinese Environment. 100 Units.
This course explores the changing interrelationship between humans and the physical environment in China. We begin by dealing with physical geography and the country's resource base. We then consider the human response to the opportunities offered by China's physical environment. Finally, we shift our emphasis to environmental problems. Students are required to attend both sessions.
Instructor(s): R. Edmonds Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): ENST 26300,GEOG 36300
GEOG 26600. Economics of Urban Policies. 100 Units.
This course covers tools needed to analyze urban economics and address urban policy problems. Topics include a basic model of residential location and rents; income, amenities, and neighborhoods; homelessness and urban poverty; decisions on housing purchase versus rental (e.g., housing taxation, housing finance, landlord monitoring); models of commuting mode choice and congestion and transportation pricing and policy; urban growth; and Third World cities.
Instructor(s): G. Tolley, K. Ierulli Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ECON 20100
Equivalent Course(s): ECON 26600,GEOG 36600,LLSO 26202,PBPL 24500
GEOG 28201. Intro to Geographic Information Systems. 100 Units.
This course introduces students to the concepts and applications of geographic information systems (GIS). The course provides a basic foundation of spatial analysis and GIS with laboratory applications in particular techniques and methodology utilizing ESRI’s ArcGIS 10. Students will learn to perform spatial analyses and communicate their results through cartography, along with introduction to such concepts as spatial data collection, remote sensing, and database design.
Instructor(s): T. Schuble Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Graduate students will be allowed to enroll for section 2
Equivalent Course(s): GEOG 38201
GEOG 28400. Intermediate GIS. 100 Units.
This course covers the development of cartographic and computer-based geographic information system techniques applicable to student research topics.
Instructor(s): R. Greene Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 28201, GEOG 38201
Equivalent Course(s): GEOG 38400
GEOG 28600. Advanced GIS Analysis. 100 Units.
This course will cover advanced spatial methodology and concepts through GIS such as measures of central tendency, pattern analysis, spatial relationship definition, and spatial regression using ArcGIS and various OpenSource GIS software packages. Other subjects will demonstrate building complex spatial models and identifying situations where application and automation of complex spatial models and methods should be applied, and how the automation is implemented through Python scripting.
Instructor(s): T. Schuble Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 28201, GEOG 38201, GEOG 28400, GEOG 38400
GEOG 28800. History of Cartography. 100 Units.
This course offers a grand overview of the key developments in mapmaking throughout history worldwide, from pre-literate cartography to the modern interactive digital environment. It looks at the producers, their audience, the technologies and artistic systems used, and the human and global contexts in which they developed. The course also draws on the extensive map collections of Regenstein Library.
Instructor(s): G. Danzer Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): GEOG 38800
GEOG 29100. Undergraduate Tutorial. 100 Units.
This course is intended for individual study of selected geographical problems.
Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.
Note(s): Available for either quality grades or for P/F grading.
GEOG 29300. Readings in Geographic Literature in French. 100 Units.
Instructor(s): M. Mikesell Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of French and consent of instructor.
Note(s): Available for either quality grades or for P/F grading.
GEOG 29400. Readings in Nature and Culture. 100 Units.
This independent reading option is an opportunity for research and discussion on the logic and pathology revealed in evidence of the human use and misuse of the Earth.
Instructor(s): M. Mikesell Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 20001 or consent of instructor.
GEOG 29500. Readings in Culture and Nationality. 100 Units.
This independent reading option is devoted to the role of language and religion in the integration of nation-states and to examples of cultural dissidence and cultural conflict.
Instructor(s): M. Mikesell Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 20000 or consent of instructor.
GEOG 29700. Readings in Special Topics in Geography. 100 Units.
Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Must be taken for a quality grade.
GEOG 29800. Senior Seminar. 100 Units.
This course is designed for development of the BA thesis.
Instructor(s): M. Conzen Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Open to students with fourth-year standing who are majoring in geographical studies.
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.