MAP study guide - Lecture notes All PDF

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This details all of the notes throughout the course of the semester from Spring 2018's section...

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LECTURE 1 How world views change Example of plate tectonics theory development Thomas Kuhn’s general insights on the nature of scientific revolutions (paradigm, crisis, new paradigm) What is the point of Rashoman as mentioned in class?

Basics of plate tectonics (know the 4 boundaries and what they are associated with, e.g. earthquakes) Divergent boundaries Convergent boundaries (subduction) Convergent boundaries (collision) Transform boundaries Some example of why understanding plate tectonics is relevant to an SFS curriculum (not on test) Borders Natural disaster Climate

Lecture 2: Climate Six climate facts and basic understanding of how they work:      

The sun heats the earth unequally. The earth heats the air unequally. Warm air is lighter than cold air. Coriolis force deflects air E or W. Warm air absorbs more moisture than cold air. Water holds heat more than land.

Trade winds and westerlies and where they are, e.g. if you were given a location on globe and no other information, be able to provide an educated guess about the prevailing winds.

Rain fall patterns by latitude, e.g. if you were given a location on the globe and no other information, be able to provide an educated guess about relative rainfall (is rainfall high or low?). Orographic rainfall and rain shadows, e.g. if you were given a map that showed a mountain range and wind direction and no other information, be able to provide an educated guess about which areas had high rainfall and which low. Some examples of why understanding climate is relevant to an SFS curriculum (not on test) Insights into European led globalization in the modern (i.e. after 1500) world Implications for states and political systems Natural Disasters Climate change

Lecture 3: (Sub-Saharan) Africa Background to changing political dynamics, economic growth, demographics and sheer size of Africa (not specifically on the test)

Physical geography of Africa and relation to geography of political orientation prior to 1500 Details will not be on the test. However, be able to think about it in the context of the next point.

Berlin Conference and challenges created by new borders Disruptions already caused by reorientation of power to coast, slavery and spread of Christianity. “Arbitrary” creation of state boundaries that split some groups and combined others. Orientation of many borders and much infrastructure for exploitation rather than integration.

Resource Curse Hypothesis (e.g. what is it, are the examples of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Botswana consistent with it?)

Geographic Features (be able to find them on a map) Sahel Nile River Congo River Niger River Suez Canal Bab el Mandeb

Lecture 4: Middle East/North Africa To what extent do the following words describe the Middle East? Muslim/Arab Make sure you also know that Iran is largely Shia and that Yemen, Iraq and Syria has large Shia populations. Make sure you know that Iran and Turkey are not Arab. Oil rich Know from which country and region the U.S. imports most of its oil. Water scarce

Photosynthesis

Sykes-Picot know that it started the creation of modern borders in the region similar to the way modern borders were created in Africa. Similarly, it combined groups that might not have wanted to be combined (e.g. Libya, Iraq) and split groups that might have wanted to be together (e.g. Kurds)

Nations, States and Nation States

Basic contrasts between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Geographic features you should be able to identify on a map Jordan River

Tigres-Euphrates River Nile River Strait of Hormuz West Bank Gaza Golan Heights Sinai Peninsula

Lecture 5: Russia and the Former Soviet Union Population Pyramids Know how to read one and know what they look like for Africa, Russia, India and China (India and China coming later in the semester) Why was the capital of the Russian Empire moved to Moscow? What strategy did they use to protect it? Implications of the fall of the Soviet Union and connection with current Russian interests and concerns Strategic depth Irredentism Which Baltic States have high ethnically Russian populations? Distribution of ethnically Russian population in Ukraine

Geographic features States of the former Soviet Union (know which ones they are. Look them up or see list elsewhere in this section) Chechnya Abkhazia South Ossetia Skagerrak Strait

GIUK Corridor

Lecture 6: (Western and Central) Europe Background Centrifugal forces: No “natural” tendency towards unification due to environment of mountains, rivers, peninsulas; no external threats as in Russia (and China) Centripetal forces: philosophy of Greece, Christianity, Enlightenment Present EU and NATO as efforts to break the cycle of conflict in Europe Success/failure of EU and NATO in terms of European peace, economics and foreign policy

Know who was in the Warsaw Pact, who is in NATO and who is in the EU

Geographic features Danube River Rhine River Bosporus Strait

Lecture 6: East Asia Why does the pattern associated with the Sub-troipical high not seem to apply in China (i.e. what is the Siberian High and how does the Monsoon work)? Relationship between monsoons/rainfall and population density in China Areas traditionally Han, Tibetan, and Uighur

Direction(s) of migration within China Strategic depth in the context of China (e.g. from a Chinese perspective, why are Tibet and Xinjiang important?) Republic of China, what and where is it? Geographic features Yangtse River Yellow River

Lecture 7: Southeast Asia Where are dominant cultures/states located in the physical landscape of MAINLAND southeast Asia? What feature related to plate tectonics is most associated with high population densities in INSULAR South East Asia? How is the idea of Island Biogeography relevant to the planning of national parks? Why is Indonesia not like the Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of its status as a (nation) state? (e.g. what did the Dutch do that contributed to the idea of an “Indonesia”?)

Concepts UNCLOS and the 12, 200 and 350 mile limits 9 Dash Line String of Pearls One Belt One Road

Geographic features Red River Chao Praya

Irrawaddy River Mekong River

Kurile Islands Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Spratleys Islands Paracel Islands Malacca Straight

Kyaukpyu Chittagong Hambantota Male (pronounced Mah-lay) Gwadar

Lecture 8: South Asia Why does the subtropical high not explain South Asia’s climate? (Note: same answer as in China) Relationships between the monsoon, the 4 rivers mentioned in class (Ganges/Bhramaputra, Western Ghats, and Indus), and social/political implications

Know the story of the partition of India and the creation of modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. How does the physical geography of Afghanistan make it hard for anyone, including Afghanis, to govern? Be able to briefly explain Pakistan’s security strategy (just kidding, there is no way I could make this a multiple choice question)

What is the Durand line? What countries claim parts of Kashmir?

Geographic features Ganges/Brahmaputra River Deccan Plateau Indus River Kashmir Aksai Chin

Lecture 10: Latin America What is triangular trade? The Columbian Exchange? What geographic and socio-economic theories were presented to explain Latin American imperial economies? Basic structure of Latin American Imperial economies and their legacies Primate City What are the differences between Modernization and Dependency theories? Is the experience of El Salvador better described by Modernization or Dependency Theory? Drivers of emigration from El Salvador to the U.S. Lecture 11: North America How might changing ice in the artic change the geography of global trade? Why might temperatures in the Artic rise faster than average? What is the argument that climate, slavery and the U.S. Civil War are related?

Geographic features Lomonosov Ridge

LECTURE 12: SPACE/CLIMATE CHANGE Who owns space according to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty? Can space be weaponized according to the Outer Space Treaty?

Are global temperatures rising? What are the formulas for photosynthesis and for burning carbon based fuels? Which country has released the most CO2? Which country currently releases the most CO2 annually? What is Common but Differentiated Responsibility?...