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Course Description
The geography of the Earth and its natural features, and the geography of specific regions in the world are studied in this course in order to gain a better understanding of the cultures, needs and adjustments that people around the world have demonstrated throughout history. Culture is defined as the beliefs and actions that determine the way of life for a particular group of people and is very significant for the understanding of World History and Geography. The areas included in this study are The Middle East, Africa and Western Europe. The political, social and economic systems of these regions are presented and analyzed.
Credits: 5
Languages: English and Spanish
Released: 2005
Course Content
Unit 1 - The Study of Geography
Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- Understand how the movement of the Earth around the Sun affects our environment
- Describe the effects of latitude on climate
- Define the study of geography
- Explain the five themes of geography and apply them to their study of the world
- Describe what geographers do
- Understand the challenges in the regions, including their geopolitical, cultural, military, and economic significance and the international relationships in which they are involved
- Describe the recent history of the regions, including political divisions and systems, key leaders, religious issues, natural features, resources, and population patterns
- Analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers)
- Understand the advantages and disadvantages of globes and maps in depicting the Earth’s surface
- Appreciate how geographers have worked to create accurate maps
- Identify the main parts of a map
- Identify physical processes that occur within the Earth
- Describe the physical processes that occur on the Earth’s surface
- Explain how a region's location affects the physical processes that occur in that region
- Describe the characteristics of air and water and explain their importance
- Identify how humans have created changes on the Earth’s surface
- Describe the differences between weather and climate
- Explain the role of wind and water in creating the Earth’s climate
- Identify ways in which humans have caused changes in the climate and weather
Unit 2 - The Study of Cultures
Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- Examine how scientific and technological changes and new forms of energy brought about massive social, economic, and cultural change
- Describe the growth of population, rural to urban migration, and growth of cities associated with the Industrial Revolution
- Understand the connections among natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor and capital in an industrial economy
- Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule
- Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism
- Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam and Chile
- Discuss the establishment and work of the United Nations and the purposes and functions of the Warsaw Pact, SEATO, NATO, and the Organization of American States
- Understand the challenges in the regions, including their geopolitical, cultural, military, and economic significance and the international relationships in which they are involved
- Describe the recent history of the regions, including political divisions and systems, key leaders, religious issues, natural features, resources, and population patterns. Analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers)
- Understand population distribution
- Explain population density
- Describe the effects of Earth’s growing population
- Understand the meaning of culture
- Describe the make up of a culture's social structure
- Recognize the importance of language in culture
- Describe the relationship between religion and culture
- Understand the basic economic systems in use in the world
- Identify the important forms of government
- Describe the stages of economic development
- Explain why some developing countries are not able to break the cycle of poverty
- Understand what causes cultures to change
- Describe why people have trouble understanding one another's cultures
- Explain why cultures try and protect their own beliefs
- Gain a deeper understanding of the differences between developed and developing countries
- Define and identify natural resources
- Explain the scarcity of energy as a natural resource
- Describe other sources of energy
- Identify what technologies the early people developed
- Describe the characteristics of a civilization
- Explain how cultural diffusion affected early civilizations
- Identify which civilizations existed and thrived in the year 1300
- Describe what changes affected the growth of Europe
- Identify the effects of the Industrial Revolution
- Explain the causes and effects of imperialism
- Understand how the Cold War shaped world politics after World War II
- Identify the problems of modernization for developing nations today
- Describe the economic problems facing developing nations
- Explain why the world is becoming more interdependent
- Identify reasons why people are endangered around the world
- Describe the ways that international organizations are trying to solve problems facing the countries around the world
Unit 3 - The Middle East
Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- Understand the connections among natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor, and capital in an industrial economy
- Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule
- Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule
- Describe the independence struggles of the colonized regions of the world, including the roles of leaders, such as Sun Yat-sen in China, and the roles of ideology and religion
- Describe the effects of the war (World War I) and resulting peace treaties on population movement, the international economy, and shifts in the geographic and political borders of Europe and the Middle East
- Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam and Chile
- Understand how the forces of nationalism developed in the Middle East, how the Holocaust affected world opinion regarding the need for a Jewish state, and the significance and effects of the location and establishment of Israel on world affairs
- Discuss the establishment and work of the United Nations and the purposes and functions of the Warsaw Pact, SEATO, NATO, and the Organization of American States
- Understand the challenges in the regions, including their geopolitical, cultural, military, and economic significance and the international relationships in which they are involved
- Describe the recent history of the regions, including political divisions and systems, key leaders, religious issues, natural features, resources, and population patterns
- Discuss the important trends in the regions today and whether they appear to serve the cause of individual freedom and democracy
- Analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers.)
- Identify the physical regions of the Middle East.
- Describe how location has affected the agricultural and physical geography of the region
- Identify the major resources available in the region
- Understand the connections among natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor, and capital in an industrial economy
- Understand the challenges in the regions, including their geopolitical, cultural, military, and economic significance and the international relationships in which they are involved
- Describe the recent history of the regions, including political divisions and systems, key leaders, religious issues, natural features, resources, and population patterns
- Describe the major accomplishments and contributions of early Middle Eastern civilizations
- Explain why early civilizations were located near river valleys
- Identify the causes and effects of cultural diffusion in the Middle East during ancient times
- Understand the various art forms of the time period
- Describe the origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
- Explain the ways Judaism and Christianity influenced Islam
- Identify the leaders of the various religions and their roles in the spreading of their faiths
- Describe similarities among the three religions
- Identify significant leaders of the Middle East during the early 1900s
- Explain the effects of imperialism on the growing nationalist movements in the Middle East
- Identify the causes of the current-day tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors
- Describe how Islamic fundamentalism was caused by western domination of the region
- Identify the causes of the current tension between Israel and its Arab neighbors
- Explain the past attempts by leaders in the region to promote peace between Arabs and Israelis
- Describe the effects of Western involvement in the regional affairs of Israel
- Describe the reasons why westernization was rejected by some Middle Eastern nations
- Describe the role that the U.S. and the U.N. along with its allies have played in the various conflicts in the region
- Identify the different ways of life common in the Middle East
- Describe the effects of religion on the social and cultural systems in the Middle East
- Explain how women’s roles have changed over history in the Middle East
- Describe the unifying factors of language and religion in the Middle East
- Describe the political systems and economic systems established by the Middle Eastern countries
- Explain the role of religion in the formation of government in Middle Eastern countries
- Describe the role of oil in the establishment of rich and poor nations in the Middle East
- Gain a better understanding of the issues facing the Middle East today such as population growth, war and peace and environmental concerns
Unit 4 - Africa
Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- Trace the evolution of work and labor, including the demise of the slave trade and the effects of immigration, mining and manufacturing, division of labor, and the union movement
- Understand the connections among natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor, and capital in an industrial economy
- Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology)
- Discuss the locations of the colonial rule of such nations as England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States
- Explain imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule
- Describe the independence struggles of the colonized regions of the world, including the roles of leaders, such as Sun Yat-sen in China, and the roles of ideology and religion
- Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam and Chile
- Understand the importance of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, which established the pattern for America’s postwar policy for supplying economic and military aid to prevent the spread of Communism and the resulting economic and political competition in arenas such as Southeast Asia (i.e., the Korean War, Vietnam War), Cuba, and Africa
- Discuss the establishment and work of the United Nations and the purposes and functions of the Warsaw Pact, SEATO, NATO, and the Organization of American States
- Understand the challenges in the regions, including their geopolitical, cultural, military, and economic significance and the international relationships in which they are involved
- Describe the recent history of the regions, including political divisions and systems, key leaders, religious issues, natural features, resources, and population patterns
- Discuss the important trends in the regions today and whether they appear to serve the cause of individual freedom and democracy
- Students analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers.)
- Identify the physical regions of Africa
- Describe how location has affected the agricultural and physical geography of the region
- Identify the major resources available in the region
- Describe the major accomplishments and contributions of early African civilizations
- Explain how climate changes affected ancient Africa
- Explain why powerful kingdoms emerged in West Africa
- Identify how trade influenced cultural diffusion in Africa
- Describe the role of women and how it varied among different African cultures
- Understand the religious practices of early African cultures
- Explain why Europeans became interested in Africa during the 1400s
- Describe the effects of imperialism on the African people and culture
- Describe the effects of the Atlantic slave trade on Africa
- Identify the colonial powers and their motives for carving up Africa
- Describe how Africans resisted European imperialism
- Describe how nationalism shaped modern Africa
- Explain how African nations gained their independence
- Identify ways in which colonialism affected modernization in Africa
- Define apartheid and its affects on the lives of South Africans
- Describe current day issues affecting various African nations
- Identify the different ways of life found in Africa
- Describe how urbanization has affected African societies
- Explain the changes in the role of women and family
- Identify how African art has influenced other cultures
- Learn the importance of oral traditions to the culture of Africa
- Describe how African nations have tried to solve their economic and political problems
- Gain a better understanding of the issues facing Africa today such as population growth, urbanization and environmental concerns
- Understand the goals of the Organization of African Unity and how they reflect the interdependence of African nations
- Explain the role of the United Nations in Africa
- Describe the ways in which science and technology are being used to address current day issues in Africa
Unit 5 - Western Europe
Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- Identify the major physical and cultural characteristics
- Analyze the similarities and differences in Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman views of law, reason and faith, and duties of the individual
- Trace the development of the Western political ideas of the rule of law and illegitimacy of tyranny, using selections from Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics.
- Compare the major ideas of philosophers and their effects on the democratic revolutions in England and the United States
- List the principles of the Magna Carta, The English Bill of Rights, the American Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Bill of Rights
- Explain how the ideology of the French Revolution led France to develop from constitutional monarchy to democratic despotism to the Napoleonic empire
- Discuss how nationalism spread across Europe with Napoleon but was repressed for a generation under the Congress of Vienna and the Concert of Europe until the Revolutions of 1848
- Analyze why England was the first country to industrialize
- Examine how scientific and technological changes and new forms of energy brought about massive social, economic, and cultural change (e.g., the inventions and discoveries of James Watt, Eli Whitney, Henry Bessemer, Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison)
- Describe the growth of population, rural to urban migration, and growth of cities associated with the Industrial Revolution
- Trace the evolution of work and labor, including the demise of the slave trade and the effects of immigration, mining and manufacturing, division of labor, and the union movement
- Understand the connections among natural resources, entrepreneurship, labor, and capital in an industrial economy
- Analyze the emergence of capitalism as a dominant economic pattern and the responses to it, including Utopianism, Social Democracy, Socialism, and Communism
- Describe the emergence of Romanticism in art and literature (e.g., the poetry of William Blake and William Wordsworth), social criticism (e.g., the novels of Charles Dickens) and the move away from Classicism in Europe
- Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology)
- Discuss the locations of the colonial rule of such nations as England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States
- Analyze the arguments for entering into war presented by leaders from all sides of the Great War and the role of political and economic rivalries, ethnic and ideological conflicts, domestic discontent and disorder, and propaganda and nationalism in mobilizing the civilian population in support of “total war”
- Examine the principal theatres of battle, major turning points, and the importance of geographic factors in military decisions and outcomes (e.g., topography, waterways, distance, climate).
- Explain how the Russian Revolution and the entry of the United States affected the course and outcome of the war
- Understand the nature of the war and its human costs (military and civilian) on all sides of the conflict, including how colonial peoples contributed to the war effort.
- Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders, the terms and influences of the Treaty of Versailles and Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and the causes and effects of the United States’ rejection of the League of Nations on world politics
- Describe the effects of the war and resulting peace treaties on population movement, the international economy, and shifts in the geographic and political borders of Europe and the Middle East
- Understand the widespread disillusionment with prewar institutions, authorities, and values that resulted in a void that was later filled by totalitarians
- Discuss the influence of World War I on literature, art, and intellectual life in the West (e.g., Pablo Picasso, the “lost generation” of Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway)
- Analyze the causes of the Cold War, with the free world on one side and Soviet client states on the other, including competition for influence in such places as Egypt, the Congo, Vietnam and Chile
- Identify the physical regions of Western Europe
- Describe how location has affected the agricultural and physical geography of the region
- Identify the major resources available in the region
- Describe the ideas that the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations passed onto western civilizations
- Explain how cultural diffusion played a role in shaping society in Western Europe
- Explain how Christianity spread and its effects on European culture
- Describe the structure of feudal society
- Understand the role of the Church in the Middle Ages
- Explain the ideals of the Renaissance
- Describe the results of European exploration and expansion overseas
- Describe how the Reformation changed Europe
- Identify ways in which absolute monarchs increased their power
- Explain why England became a limited monarchy
- Describe the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers and the effects these ideas had on society
- Describe the causes and effects of the French Revolution
- Explain how new technologies changed society during the period of the Industrial Revolution
- Identify ways in which industrialization changed people’s lives
- Describe reforms made to change society in the 1800’s
- Explain the causes and effects of World War I
- Describe how dictators gained power in Italy and Germany
- Identify the causes and effects of World War II
- Describe the tensions between Western and Eastern Europe known as the Cold War
- Identify the reasons for arms buildup after World War II
- Describe how life changed for Europeans after World War II
- Gain a better understanding of the various art movements of the 19th and 20th centuries
- Describe the political and economic challenges facing Europe today
- Explain how the role of NATO has changed
- Describe relations between Western Europe and the other parts of the world
- Describe how Europe has responded to environmental issues
- Gain a better understanding of how cultural and ethnic divisions create conflict in European nations
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