http://faculty.bemidjistate.edu/mlawrence/europes16.pdf

UPDATED 11 March: abstracted Outline assignment is available here.

NOTE: THIS COURSE IS NOT ON D2L.

GEOG 3810 (01): Geography of Europe

SPRING 2016, course ID #165993

Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays 09:00 – 09:50, Hagg-Sauer 245

Mark Lawrence, Ph.D.

mlawrence@bemidjistate.edu

Office: Hagg-Sauer 239

Office hours: M – F 11:30 – 13:30, T&H 11:00 – 12:00

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 2

“English by birth, Welsh by conviction, Lancastrian by choice, British by chance.”

N. Davies, 1999

“Asia begins at the Landstrasse.”

Metternich, 1820s

“The challenge today is to fit the political geography of Europe to its natural geography- the Viennese must

finally learn that Prague is a city to the northwest and not in the East.”

Instituts für den Donauraum und Mitteleuropa, 2002

“Of Europe obviously nobody knows anything exactly.”

Herodotus, 5th Century BCE

DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE:

While the impacts of European history- simultaneously magnificent but brutal- are unavoidably met in every

part of the globe today, what precisely is meant by “Europe” has never been very clear. To be sure, much

of this opacity has been willful (as has nearly everything about what “America” means), but it turns out that

even the geographies of Europe- physical, economic, cultural, political, and human- likewise remain even

today in many ways mysterious. This is so even as the rise of a so-called European Union has presented

significant challenge to the decline of American hegemony since the end of the Cold War in 1991. Certainly,

insofar as Americans are either descended directly from European settlers or those they colonized, enslaved,

or otherwise dispossessed globally, the changing fortunes of Europe- that is, the ways in which the Old World

is now becoming New again- should be of concern to all students of this course. What is “Europe” today,

and who is “European”? For that matter, where is “Europe”, and what differences do its specific geographic

assets and liabilities make?

COURSE GOALS

1. To assess the unique character of Europe’s environmental issues.

2. To appreciate the diversity of European regional cultures.

3. To understand the social, political, and economic impacts of Cold War division and post-Cold War

union in Europe.

4. To consider the demographic outlook for contemporary development in various regions of

Europe.

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 3

The News From Europe (15%)

Research Paper (25%, 10 full pages

minimum)

Exams (each 12%, 60% total)

Absolutely no late work will be accepted for credit.

Class participation counts for 15% of the final grade. To this end, at least five times during the

semester, you need to turn in a typed response (at least 2 pages) to The News From Europe in

the form of a news article from some part of Europe covering events of the previous week. Since

you are expected {a} to attach the article to your response, you need to do more than merely

repeat the story, {b} explaining the background as necessary for those unfamiliar with the details

(and providing a full bibliography of sources used for research), and {c} providing at least three

questions for possible discussion relating the particular story to general trends in European affairs

(i.e., not answerable from within the article). Only European news dailies or weeklies can be

used. The schedule below clearly indicates when the News From Europe is due. Each completed

assignment is worth up to 3% of the final grade and you may complete more than five

assignments (i.e., 6 or 7) for the same amount of credit.

The Research Paper, worth 25% of the course grade, involves writing about a topic of your

choice (but only with an instructor-approved précis) that fits within one of five “frames” to be

described in a separate handout. Because this essay amounts to so much of the final course

grade, it is composed of several elements due at different times: a précis (2%) due Monday, 25

January; an annotated initial bibliography (4%) due Friday, 11 March; an abstracted outline (7%)

due Monday, 28 March; and a final draft (12%) due Friday, 22 April. Handouts will be supplied

explaining each part of this assignment.

It cannot be emphasized too strongly that this is expected to be a research paper and a

Geography paper (i.e., not a history, political science, sociology, et cetera paper). Therefore,

the page requirement is based on standard 10-12 point fonts, no more than double spacing

throughout, and 1.25” margins (meeting this requirement through the use of inappropriately

large fonts or margins will be penalized), and does not include other required materials such

as a title page & bibliography. Other formatting details of the paper will be described in

assignment handouts. You should be well aware that most Internet sites, CD-ROMs,

almanacs, yearbooks, encyclopediae and similar general-reference sources are not appropriate

for a university research paper (especially at and above the 3000 level), and as such may not

account for more than one-fourth of all bibliographic citations without suffering a 25%

reduction in the grade assigned to the paper. Likewise, since sources more than 10 years old

most likely do not reflect current reality in the region, except when trying to provide a basis

for historical arguments, a more contemporary bibliography is expected. In short, it makes

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 4

sense to periodically check with me about the quality of your sources. In all likelihood, you

will have to resort to InterLibrary Loan, so you should start this major project very early in

the semester.

Exams, each worth 12% of the final course grade, will be closed-book and will consist of multiple

choice, true/false, map and short identification questions. The map portion of the exams may be

done collaboratively. You will be notified about relevant locations to study for each exam in

advance. You are greatly encouraged to study the preparatory materials made available in class

handouts and online before each exam, including but certainly not limited to a complete list of

all cities and other features to be located on the maps (which are themselves provided for you,

together with everything else, well in advance of the exam date).

The grading scale for the course is not curved; that is, 90% is the cutoff for an A, 80% for a B,

70% for a C, and 60% for a D. A total of 106% credit is available at the start of the semester;

additional extra-credit opportunities may be added to the course in exams, but you should not

assume so.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Blouet, B.W. (2012) The EU & neighbors: A Geography of Europe in the modern world, 2nd

edition, New York: Wiley & Sons, ISBN ISBN-10: 0470943408; ISBN-13: 978-0470943403.

Frankland, E. (2008) Global Studies: Europe, 10th edition, McGraw Hill/Dushkin, ISBN-10:

007337976X, ISBN-13: 978-0073379760.

The course schedule which follows is subject to change, so

you should check the website often, please.

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 5

I. “Europe” as an idea

(11 & 13 January)

By 15 January, read:

Blouet pp. 86 – 126, 158 – 194 and 529 – 534.

Frankland pp. 269 – 271 and 287 – 288.

II. Europe’s changing physical

geography

(13 – 22 January; no class Monday 18 January)

The News From Europe #1 due Wednesday, 20

January

“Wild Europe: A New Millennium”

By 20 January, read:

Blouet pp. 15 – 37 and 128 – 157.

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 6

III. An historical geography of

Europe

2d(27 & 29 January)

Research Paper précis due Monday, 25 January

The News From Europe #2 due Friday, 29 January

By 29 January, read:

Blouet pp. 38 – 85.

Friday, 29 January:

Exam #1 (Parts I, II, and III)

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 7

IV. A regional

geography of

Northern

Europe

(1 – 17 February; no class

Monday, 15 February)

Scandinavia (Greenland, Iceland, Faeroes, Norway, Sweden,

Finland, Russia, & Denmark)

The Baltic Sea (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Belarus,

Lithuania, Kaliningrad, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, &

Sweden)

The North Sea (United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Denmark,

Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium)

The News From Europe #3 due Friday, 12 February

“Baltic Summer”

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 8

By 19 February, read:

Blouet pp. 279 – 284, 294 – 298, 361 – 383, and 387 – 402.

Frankland pp. 67 – 69, 98 – 113, 152 – 158, 200 – 206, 225 – 232, and 297 –

298.

Friday, 19 February:

Exam #2 (Part IV)

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 9

V. A regional

geography of

Western

Europe

(22 February – 21 March;

no classes 14 – 18 March)

Northwest Europe (Ireland, United Kingdom, France)

The Iberian Peninsula (Portugal, Spain, Andorra, & France)

The Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, &

Luxembourg)

The Rhine River Basin (Switzerland, Austria, Germany,

France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands)

The Alps (France, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein,

Austria, Italy, & Slovenia)

The Western Mediterranean (Spain, France, Monaco, Italy,

San Marino, Vatican City, & Malta)

The News From Europe #4 due Monday, 22 February

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 10

Research Paper annotated initial bibliography due

Friday, 11 March

The News From Europe #5 due Monday, 21 March

By 23 March, read:

Blouet pp. 199 – 273, 285 – 293, 298 – 317, 329 – 361, 422 – 424, and 514 –

527.

Frankland pp. 75 – 91, 114 – 142, 159 – 199, 207 – 224, 233 – 268, 308 – 310,

and 313 – 314.

Wednesday, 23 March:

Exam #3 (Part V)

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 11

VI. A regional

geography of

Central &

Eastern Europe

(25 March – 13 April; no

class 6 April)

Central Europe (Germany, Czech Republic, & Poland)

The eastern European Plains (Poland, Belarus, Lithuania,

Latvia, Estonia, & Russia)

The western steppe (Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, &

Kazakhstan)

Research Paper abstracted outline due Monday, 28

March

The News From Europe #6 due Monday, 4 April

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 12

By 15 April, read:

Blouet pp. 402 – 412, 457 – 467, and 470 – 495.

Frankland pp. 48 – 51, 54 – 57, 71 – 74, and 294 – 296.

Friday, 15 April:

Exam #4 (Part VI)

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 13

VII. A regional

geography of

Southeastern

Europe

(18 – 27 April)

The middle & lower Danube Basins (Czech Republic, Slovakia,

Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, & Ukraine)

The Western Balkans (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-

Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, & Albania)

The Black Sea (Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia,

Russia, & Moldova)

The Eastern Mediterranean (Greece, Turkey, & Cyprus)

The News From Europe #7 due Monday, 18 April

Geography of Europe (GEOG 3810-01: Lawrence), Spring 2016 page 14

Research Paper final draft due Friday, 22 April

By 27 April, read:

Blouet pp. 320 – 329, 412 – 424, 426 – 453, 467 – 470, and 499 - 514.

Frankland pp. 51 – 54, 57 – 67, 69 – 71, 92 – 97, 143 – 151, and 291 - 293.

08:00 – 10:00, Thursday, 5 May:

Exam #5 (Part VII)