Geography

The tectonics and morphology of the sea floor, the geologic processes in the deep and shelf seas, and the climatic record contained in deep-sea sediments. The course will cover sources and composition of marine sediments, sea level change, ocean sediments, marine stratigraphy, and ocean floor resources.

In this seminar we will review some of the recent development in Economic Geography, especially issues related to the intersection of culture and economy, gender and race, as well as culture and nature. Our geographical focus is East Asia and Southeast Asia in the globalization discourse and debates, we will also include a few innovative works on the Europe and the US. Readings include critical commentaries and grounded ethnographies done by geographers, historians, anthropologists and sociologists. We will follow their critical approach of de-naturalizing theory production, and examine the ideal of reflexive social inquiry and its methodological challenges and possibilities. The goal of this exercise is to see whether and how reflexive economic geographies and rapidly transforming East Asia would bring new inspirations to the study of space, society, and nature.

This course will consist of review and discussion of recently published advances in environmental change research, with an emphasis on important advances that are either (1) concerned with spatial phenomena, whether at a watershed scale or planetary scale, or (2) integrative in nature (meaning they tie together disparate elements to form a coherent view of the operation of earth systems).

To develop an advanced understanding of global environmental problems, it is necessary to adopt the approach of Earth systems science (the modern physical geography). Earth is viewed as a complete, systematic entity and analyzed as an interacting set of physical, chemical, and biological systems that produces the characteristics and dynamics of the global environment. This course is a semester-long introductory overview of the major components of Earth systems science. We will read and discuss one complete graduate-level Earth systems science text, with supplementary readings from the current research literature. Student evaluation is based primarily on participation in discussion and quality of supplementary literature reviews of selected topics.

The relationship between societies and natural environments lies at the heart of geographical inquiry and has gained urgency as the rate and scale of human transformation of nature have grown, often outstripping our understanding of causes and effects. The physical side of environmental science has received most of the emphasis in university research, but the social basis of environmental change must be studied as well. Recent developments in social theory have much to offer environmental studies, while the latter has, in turn, exploded many formerly safe assumptions about how and what the social sciences and humanities ought to be preoccupied with. This seminar allows students to explore some classics in environmental thought as well as recent contributions that put the field on the forefront of social knowledge today.

This course focuses on development issues in East and Southeast Asia. Topics include the colonial legacy in Southeast Asia, the ups and downs of the "developmental state," women and labor, and the environment. It also takes a critical view of the presentation and representation of East Asia, examining the construction of geographical terms such as Pacific Rim and Greater China. Students are expected to participate and make thoughtful contributions to class discussions. This is a lecture course designed mainly for upper-level undergraduate students with backgrounds in East Asian studies or development studies

The tectonics and morphology of the sea floor, the geologic processes in the deep and shelf seas, and the climatic record contained in deep-sea sediments. The course will cover sources and composition of marine sediments, sea-level change, ocean circulation, paleoenvironmental reconstruction using fossils, imprint of climatic zonation on marine sediments, marine stratigraphy, and ocean floor resources.

The field of biogeochemistry offers an interdisciplinary approach to modern global environmental issues, such as climate change feedback effects, stratospheric ozone loss, oxidation capacity of the atmosphere, land use change, and marine ecosystem health. Earth is a complex system where the transformation and flow of chemicals and energy within and between biomes have ramifications for life on this planet. The overall theme of this course will be to explore the imprint of the biota (including humans) on the chemistry of the ocean, land, and atmosphere. This course will explore the biogeochemical cycles of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biomes. In addition, the global cycles of environmentally important elements and gases will be explored