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GPHY 250 – Geography of Canada
Course Instructor
Office
Contact Time
Format
Class Assessment
Dr. Laura Cameron
Email [email protected]
E303 Macintosh-Corry Hall
Two 1.5 hour lectures per week
Lectures, discussions, and debates based on key texts, case studies and videos
May change year to year:
Group Activities/ Participation 10%
Midterm examination
15%
Scrapbook assignment
20%
Research paper & prog. report 30%
Final Exam
25%
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course offers a general introduction to Canadian geography. In the first half of the term, we will consider geographic concepts
and themes that are particularly relevant to the study of Canada. The second half of the term will focus on specific case studies from
Canada’s major geographic regions. The overall aim of the course is to provide students with a basic knowledge of Canadian
geography as well as an appreciation for maintaining a critical perspective on this knowledge. Students will explore themes through a
variety of media including lectures, written texts, assignments, films, and in-class discussions.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Students will develop a critical understanding of key themes and concepts relating to the Geography of Canada;
Students will explore Canada through a geographic lens, particularly focusing on the idea of place;
Students will develop a set of analytical and practical skills that will assist not only with the analysis of the material in the
course but throughout their academic and professional careers;
Students will explore current events affecting the country through key course concepts; and
Students, working in a group, will develop a short position paper in advance of a debate.
COURSE TOPICS
Topics include (but are not limited to): Imagining Canada; Historical & physical geography of Canada; Aboriginal Canada and the
colonial encounter; Canada’s human face: Multiculturalism and transnationalism; Geographies of the Canadian economy; Altantic
Canada; Ontario and its mythic wilderness; The Territorial North; Water power & Québec; Alberta oil sands; Western Canada &
agriculture; BC and colonial legacies; and, Canada in/of the World.
SELECTED COURSE TEXTS & READINGS
Robert M. Bone. The Regional Geography of Canada. 6th Ed. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2014.
TBA