GEOG 350 - California

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-D; Sustainability
A study of California’s uniqueness and diversity from the aspects of physical landscape, environmental resources, human and cultural diversity, historical transformation, and economic activities.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Area D1-3 requirements.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-D - Upper Division Social Sciences, Overlay - Social Justice
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of the forces of Nature that shape the diverse physical and natural landscapes of California.
Evaluate the basis of California’s 21st-century water shortage problem.
Articulate the characteristics and constraints of major economic activities that shape California’s economy.
Describe and analyze the historical roots of California’s ethnic diversity and settlement patterns.

UD-D. Upper-division Social Sciences Learning Outcomes

analyze how power and social identity affect social outcomes for different cultural and economic groups using methods of social science inquiry and vocabulary appropriate to those methods;
demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply accurately disciplinary concepts of the social or behavioral sciences; and
demonstrate an understanding of and ability to effectively plan or conduct research using an appropriate method of the social or behavioral sciences.

Sustainability Overlay Learning Outcomes

identify the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, either in general or in relation to a specific problem;
analyze interactions between human activities and natural systems;
describe key threats to environmental sustainability; and
explain how individual and societal choices affect prospects for sustainability at the local, regional, and/or global levels.