Globalization and Diversity explicitly acknowledges the geographic changes accompanying today's rapid rate of globalization, emphasizing both the homogenizing and diversifying forces inherent to the globalization process The text challenges students to make critical comparisons between the regions of the world and to understand more fully the interconnections that bind these regions together.

To facilitate students' abilities to draw comparisons and contrasts between regions, each of the 12 regional chapters employs a thematic structure. This structure organizes each chapter into 5 thematic sections:

• Environmental Geography
• Population and Settlement
• Cultural Coherence and Diversity
• Geopolitical Framework
• Economic and Social Development

The structure allows a more penetrating treatment of themes and concepts than the traditional country-by-country approach and facilitates comparisons of specific topics between regions.

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

identify the twelve regions and be able to describe thematic issues related to each region, to include:

• Environmental Geography of the regions - the physical geography of each region as well as current environmental issues.
• Population and Settlement Geography of the regions - in which demography, land use, and settlement (including cities) are discussed.
• Cultural Coherence and Diversity of the regions - which examines the geography of language and religion, and explores current cultural tensions resulting from the interplay of globalization and diversity.
• Geopolitical Framework of the regions - the dynamic political geography of the region, including micro-regionalism, separatism, ethnic conflicts, global terrorism, and supranational organizations.
• Economic and Social Development of the regions - analyzing each region's economic framework as well as its social geography, including gender issues.

The required textbook for this course is:

• GLOBALIZATION AND DIVERSITY, Geography of a Changing World
  by Rowntree, Lewis, Price & Wyckoff, Pearson Prentice-Hall. (Required)
  ISBN: 0-13-147739-0

For information on how to order your textbooks, go to http://eli.nvcc.edu/books/

Call before going to a campus bookstore to make sure the materials are in stock. If you don't see what you need, ask for assistance. Each bookstore has a separate section for ELI courses. Print this page and take it with you to avoid confusion.

Your course grade will be determined by the surveys, quizzes, projects, forums, and exams, according to the following points:

There are 4 proctored exams in this course. You are expected to take your examinations at one of the NVCC campus Testing Centers. Be sure to allow enough time to complete your exam before the Testing Center closes; Testing Centers have specific policies relating to the administration of ELI exams. You will need to take a photo ID, your NovaConnect empl ID number, and the appropriate Exam Pass when you go to the Testing Center.  

For Testing Center locations, hours of operation and policies, click here.

For information on taking exams outside of the metropolitan area, click here.

I am here to help you succeed in this course. Occasionally questions or problems may arise. Here is how to contact me when they do:

E-mail : bfye@nvcc.edu

1. Use your web browser to connect to http://www.nvcc.edu/bbstart. Follow the directions to determine your email, Blackboard and VIVA account user names and passwords.
2. Access your email account and make sure you know how to use it; you will be required to use this account for all course-related email.
3. Log on to Blackboard at http://learn.vccs.edu.
4. Click on this course under "My Courses." Review the entire course to make sure you understand what will be required of you. Then start completing the assignments.

Please note that account generation takes approximately one week from the time of your paid registration. If you cannot log on after one week, contact the IT Help Desk. If you can log on to Blackboard, but your course isn't listed, please contact ELI or your instructor.