LibGuides: Geography (GEOG): GEOG 151: Cultures, Economies, and Environments of the U.S. and Canada

Topic Ideas - Current Events & Social Issues

This class will require you to report on various current events that are related to geography. Look through these newspaper and magazine links for updated information.

Geography is also a great subject to use for exploring social issues of a particular place. You could also search by a group of people (i.e. "Cherokee Nation").

Here are some suggested social issues topics:

Social class
Social inequality
Poverty
Race and ethnicity
Homelessness
Education
Crime and deviance
Environmental issues like: garbage disposal, farming, climate change, energy, water supply

Library Books

Below is a sample of some library books related to geography.

You Are Here: from the compass to GPS, the history and future of how we find ourselves
Call Number: G70.212 .B735 2014 Bethlehem
"What does it mean to never get lost? This book examines the rise of our technologically aided era of navigational omniscience -- or how we came to know exactly where we are at all times."
Nation Shapes: the story behind the world's borders
Call Number: JC323 .S55 2013 Bethlehem Stacks
This book examines the importance of country boundaries, the disconnects between these borders, related factors such as cultures, religions, and economies, and how conflicts over boundaries between neighboring countries are articulated.
The Trivia Lover's Guide to the World : geography for the lost and found
Call Number: G131 .F87 2012 Bethlehem Stacks
Author Gary Fuller's entertaining and engaging guide enhances geographic know-how with good, old-fashioned fun, using trivia to open up new worlds of knowledge for all readers.
The New Geography of Jobs
Call Number: HD5706 .M596 2012 Bethlehem & Monroe Stacks
"Makes correlations between success and geography, explaining how such rising centers of innovation as San Francisco and Austin are likely to offer influential opportunities, and shape the national and global economies in positive or detrimental ways"--Publisher's description.
The Big House in a Small Town: prisons, communities, and economics in rural America
Call Number: HV9466 .W55 2011 Bethlehem & Monroe Stacks
"This work is an examination of how prisons affect rural communities, including a revealing study of two rural communities that have chosen prisons as an economic development strategy."
Twitterville : how businesses can thrive in the new global neighborhoods
Call Number: HD9696.8 .U64 T955 2009 Bethlehem Stacks
"Social media writer Shel Israel shares revealing stories of 'Twitterville' residents and explains how global neighborhoods will make physical geography increasingly irrelevant"--Publisher's description.
Maphead: charting the wide, weird world of geography wonks
Call Number: GA105.3 .J46 2011 Bethlehem & Monroe Stacks
"It comes as no surprise that, as a kid, author Ken Jennings (legendary contestant on the game show 'Jeopardy!') slept with a bulky Hammond world atlas by his pillow every night. 'Maphead' recounts his lifelong love affair with geography, and explores why maps have always been so fascinating to him and to fellow enthusiasts everywhere."--Publisher description.
Mapping: a critical introduction to cartography and GIS
Call Number: GA102.4 .E4 C73 2010 Bethlehem Stacks

Reference Books

The books below are reference books that must remain in the Library, because they contain valuable information to help all students. We have a number of atlases and gazeteers, plus encyclopedias about geography and groups of people.

Mapping Census 2010: the geography of American change
Call Number: G1201 .E25 P43 2012 Bethlehem & Monroe Reference
Pennsylvania
Call Number: Atlas Stand
Pictorial Atlas of the United States and Canada
Call Number: Atlas Stand
Encyclopedia of Human Geography
Call Number: GF4 .E54 2006 Bethlehem & Monroe Reference
Atlas of American Migration
Call Number: G1201 .E27 F5 1998 Bethlehem Reference

Library Films

Amazing Earth collection by Discovery Channel
Call Number: G128 .A43 2012 DVD section, Media Tower (Bethlehem) & Monroe
"'Amazing Earth' is a collection of four episodes that will take the viewer on a spectacular journey to places no one has ever seen, and offer experiences that can only be imagined. See the violent upheavals of the Earth's geography, and travel from the highest peaks to the red-hot center of the planet. Crawl into spectacular caves, including terrain on which no human has ever tread. Face the extremes the future could hold, from a vanishing rainforest to the eye of a hurricane"--Publisher's description.
World geography
Call Number: G73 .G48 2006 DVD section, Media Tower (Bethlehem) & Monroe
Volume 1 covers North & South America
Physical geography of the United States
Call Number: G70.5 .U6 P49 2004 DVD section, Media Tower (Bethlehem) & Monroe
Provides an introduction to the general geology and major physiographic provinces of the United States.

Recommended Films

The following films are recommended viewing for this course:

The Power of Place: Language in Quebec
Available via Annenberg Media, part of segment 25: Ethnic Fragmentation in Canada - Vancouver and Montreal
http://www.learner.org/series/powerofplace/page25.html

The Power of Place: Japanese Auto Plants in the Heartland
Available via Annenberg Media, part of segment 26: Regions and Economies - Oregon and U.S. Midwest
http://www.learner.org/series/powerofplace/page26.html

The California Water Story
Available via streaming, YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzIe7tS1SgQ

The Spirit of Crazy Horse
VHS tape available in Library's Media Tower under the call # E99 .D1 S6

Reconquering the Conquest
Available in the Library's Films on Demand database

Films on Demand database

The Library's Films on Demand database is an online resource featuring video clips from television networks and series. You'll find quality programming from channels like National Geographic, History Channel, CNBC, PBS, TEDtalks, and more.

If you go into Films on Demand, and drop down the arrow by COLLECTIONS, you can choose Geography. From there you can select a subtopic, like Human Geography or Physical Geography. You can also click on North American to find films that feature the United States and Canada.

Here are some of the series that would be helpful for this class:

The National Parks
TEDtalk: Picturing New York, Before the City
Niagara Falls
Canada: A Diverse Culture

Suggested Library Databases

For basic and background information:

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Gale EBOOKS This link opens in a new window

For information about historical events:

Gale in Context US History This link opens in a new window
JSTOR This link opens in a new window

For information on some cultures that are specific to the United States:

African American Experience This link opens in a new window

For information about current events and social issues, related to the environment, health, education, and so on:

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window
Gale in Context Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window

Geography (GEOG): GEOG 151: Cultures, Economies, and Environments of the U.S. and Canada