Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

The course aims is to provide the students with knowledge of the physical and human characteristics of Europe, including the Russian Federation and the new democracies in Eastern Europe. Students will learn the locations of some basic places and features so that they will have a better understanding of the events, living styles and conditions, environments, cultures, and conflicts that take place in these regions. Also, the course provides the necessary geographic foundations to build an informed view of the unique role of Europe in the global current events, including recent trends in globalization and multiculturalism.

The first classes are devoted to the physical and historical background of Europe, human-environment interaction, population and economic geography.  Consecutively attention will be given to the studied regions, sub-regions and countries, with emphasis on their environmental geography, population and settlement, cultural coherence and diversity, geopolitical framework, and economic and social development.

Upon successful completion students should be able to:

• Critique changes of the economic and political systems in Europe with regards to their importance for the USA-Europe relationship.

• Evaluate various ethnic conflicts, boundary disputes, social and environmental problems in Europe through the Geographic framework.

• Build an informed view of the unique role of Europe in the global current events, including recent trends in globalization and multiculturalism.

The main aspirational goals of the proposed course are the following:

• Learn how human, physical and environmental components of the European continent interact.

• Get an introduction to the main regions of Europe in terms of both their uniqueness and similarities. They will thus gain a perspective about social and cultural diversity of the continent.

• Familiarize with the historical, economic, cultural, social and physical characteristics of European countries, notably how they came to be, their main role and function and how they are changing.

• Acquire geographic analytical skills that can be applied to a variety of professional tasks where the analysis of spatial information is required, ranging from the simple reckoning of locations to the understanding of the spatial structure and process that maps represent.

Class will include lectures, films, discussions, reading assignments, map activities, and in-depth research projects including presentations.

Student learning will be assessed primarily through in-class assignments and discussion, exams, map quizzes, and a research project. 

• The idea of Europe as a continent. The geographical position of Europe. Boundaries and major physiographic regions.

• Natural environment: relief, climates, water bodies, biogeography. Modification of Europe’s environment. Europe’s landscapes.

• Population: Population distribution. European demographics. European urban system. Cultural Aspects of the population. The peoples of Europe. Europe’s nations without states. 

• Historical background: The historical evolution of Europe’s political map. Historical economic geography.

• Economic Geography:Natural resources.Agriculture. Manufacturing. Services. International Trade.European economic and political integration. USA-Europe relationship.