William Rainey Harper College
GEG 101
World Regional Geography

Objectives

Video Program 3a

Video Program 3b

Video Program 4a

Video Program 4b

Video Program 5a

Video Program 5b

Video Program 6a

Video Program 6b

Map Quiz Locations

Europe Map

Unit 1 Contents

Study Guide Contents

Home Page

Europe

Reading Assignment: Chapter 1

Videos: 3, 4, 5, 6

Vocabulary See "Ideas and Concepts" on the first page of chapter and all italicized words within the chapter.

Objectives

1. What are the physical, cultural, economic, and/or historical criteria (characteristics) used to define this realm and the regions within it? Why are the boundaries drawn where they are?

 2. Using maps found in the textbook's introduction (figures I-9, I-4, I-6, I-7, and I-8), your atlas, and the appropriate textbook chapter, explain where most people live in this realm and where few people live. Why do they live there or not live there?

 Previous Harper geography students have identified five criteria which may explain where people live: 1) near fresh water, 2) flat terrain, 3) near coasts, 4) temperate climate, and 5) fertile soil. Are these applicable to this realm?

 3. "Yet, despite its comparatively small size, for more than 2,000 years the European Realm has been a leading focus of human achievement, a hearth of innovation and invention." (de Blij/Muller p. 45) Why?

 4. Discuss the three "Revolutions of Modernizing Europe".

 5. Throughout the world, countries are moving toward free trade as a means to promote economic development. Why? Europe provides a good case study of the benefits of international trade (what the authors call "Intensifying Spatial Interaction") as the realm moves toward greater economic integration (European Union).

 6. As the European Union grows larger and more united, devolution is occurring within many countries. Be able to use the chapter vocabulary to explain examples of such devolution, especially the balkanization of the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia.

Video Case Study: Program 3a -- Strasbourg - Europe's New Capital

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Strasbourg, France, is the home of the European Parliament. This case study uses Strasbourg to illustrate the importance of relative location. It also introduces the European Union and it identifies the manufacturing regions of Europe.

 Students should learn: why the countries of Europe have chosen to unite in the way they have; why Strasbourg is used as a symbol of European unification and European peace; and why Strasbourg is a good location for a "European capital".

 

Concepts/Vocabulary
Places to Know

E.U.

European Realm

transfrontier traffic

Western Europe (region)

European Community

Strasbourg

supranationalism

Germany

European Parliament

France

Council of Europe

Rhine River

states (means "country")

Video Case Study: Program 3b-- Slovakia - New Sovereignty

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As Europe is moving toward greater unification, individual countries in Europe and throughout the world are undergoing a process of devolution. The balkanization (division of a country into two or more countries) of Czechoslovakia is a good example of this. Devolution is occurring throughout the world. There is even a movement in the state of Hawaii to attain a special status within the U.S., or to even separate from the U.S.

 Throughout this course pay special attention to such devolutionary processes.

Concepts/Vocabulary
 Places to Know

state

Czech Republic

Czechoslovakia

Slovakia

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Bratislava

devolution

Prague

frontier

Danube River

gypsies

Video Case Study: Program 4a -- Berlin - United We Stand

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The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 had far reaching geographic consequences. This case study analyses the effects of the cold war on the city of Berlin and the changes that are now occurring with the end of the cold war.

Concepts/Vocabulary
Places to Know

Berlin Wall

Berlin

West Germany

Germany

East Germany

E.U.

centrality

relative location

hinterland

Video Case Study: Program 4b -- Poland - Diffusion of Democracy

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Diffusion is the spatial spreading of a phenomenon and is another basic geographical concept. This case study looks at the problems and progress of the spreading of democratic ideals in Poland. Remember, anything that has a spatial dimension can be studied in geography. This case study also continues to look at the changes resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Concepts/Vocabulary
Places to Know

communism

Poland

diffusion

Korsze, Poland

barriers

Eastern Europe

carriers

state-owned farm

privatized/privatization

free market economy

Video Case Study: Program 5a -- Liverpool - A New Dawn

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Geography not only studies, WHERE things are, WHY they are there, and WHAT is significant about being there, but also what CHANGES are occurring. Program 5 introduces students to geographical changes. This case study looks at the economic changes occurring in the town of Liverpool in the United Kingdom.

Concepts/Vocabulary
Places to Know

industrial revolution

Liverpool

periphery

Great Britain

19th century (what years?)

Europe

20th century

English Channel

European Union

container ships

channel tunnel

hinterland

accessibility

Video Case Study: Program 5b -- Randstad - Preserving the Green Heart

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This case study continues the study of change. Note how changing technology causes geographical change. Also note how the relative location of the Randstad has aided it economic growth. Know the cities that make up the Randstad.

Concepts/Vocabulary
Places to Know

TGV

The Netherlands

kilometer (km)

Holland

300 km/hour

Randstad

Green Heart of the Randstad

Germany

200-250 km/hour

\Ruhr industrial area

Maastrict Treaty

hinterland

relative location

Video Case Study: Program 6a -- Iceland - Edge of the Habitable World

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This case study looks at the geographical concept of human-environment interaction. The video states that the "future (of Iceland) depends on maintaining the advantages of Iceland's remote location and physical geography." What are these advantages? Notice how even the physical environment can change.

 Also, why is Iceland considered part of the European Realm? And why does de Blij state that this case study is a good example of core/periphery relationships?

Concepts/Vocabulary
Places to Know

core region

Iceland

periphery

Reykjavik

human-environment interaction

Australia

geo-thermal power

plate tectonics

exclusive economic zone

depopulation

Video Case Study: Program 6b -- Andalucia - Life on the Periphery

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Another good example of core/periphery relationships. Why is Andalucia, as part of the periphery, at an economic disadvantage? How has the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe added to these disadvantages? How might Andalucia overcome these disadvantages?

Concepts/Vocabulary
Places to Know

province

Andalucia, spain

Middle Ages

Seville, Spain

inertia of the ruling class

Pyrenees Mountains

Western Europe

Map Quiz Locations --Europe

 [NOTE: on the map quizzes you may be asked to locate certain regions. You must be clear, exact, and include the whole region. Practice on copies of the outline map provided. There is an on-line map quiz review tutorial at: http://user.mc.net/~mhealy/mapquiz/menu/menu.htm. Check it out! ]

Physical Geography

 Physiographic Regions:

Western Uplands
North European Lowland
Central Uplands
Alpine System

Water Bodies

Mediterranean Sea
Baltic Sea
North Sea
English Channel
Adriatic Sea
Strait of Gibraltar
Atlantic Ocean
Aegean Sea

Rivers

Danube
Rhine
Seine
Dnieper

Land Bodies

Alps
Pyrenees

Political/Cultural Geography

Countries:

Albania
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Rep.
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Serbia-Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom

Europe Outline Map