Geography

GEOGRAPHY

2 UNIT GEOGRAPHY

Course Description:

If you are interested in a career in Travel, Tourism, International Aid, Politics, Forestry, Land Management, GIS, Urban Planning or Environmental Studies (to name a few) then you should consider including Geography in your HSC Portfolio.

The study of Geography offers wide ranging research and analytical skills that are highly valued by employers and easily transferable in today’s competitive work force. It provides a powerful context within which the key competencies necessary for further education, work and everyday life can be developed.

Geography gives students a holistic view of the world, combining both the natural and social sciences. By offering a Christian framework, students are provided with the opportunity to develop a Christian perspective on a range of complex geographical issues such as climate change, urban growth, globalization, ageing populations, and global inequalities that will assist them to participate actively in a changing world.

The study of Geography helps the student in understanding the local environment in which he/she lives. It locates that local environment in the wider global system in which all places and people are interdependent. It also calls us to become ‘Green Christians’ who want to look after the world and take an active part in caring for it. Therefore, the study of Geography has an interest in God, the planet, and people. Firstly, concern for the state of the environment, whether local, national, or global; and secondly, concern for the plight and condition of people in other places. Christ gave us the GreatCommandment –to love others – and geography can help in creating empathy and compassion for the human condition, especially in distant places. Christ also gave us the Great Commission – to go into the entire world.

The Preliminary Course Focuses on both Biophysical and Human Geography, emphasizing human interactions with environments in different places. It uses enquiry methodologies to investigate the unique characteristics of our world through field work, mastery of geographical skills and the study of contemporary geographical issues.

Preliminary Topics include:

• Biophysical Interactions – Biophysical Processes and sustainable management (45% course time) • Global Challenges – Population Geography and 2 options from: Cultural Integration, Political Geography, Development • Geography, Natural Resource Use (45% course time) • Senior Geography Project - applying geographical enquiry to a practical research project (10% course time)

The HSC Course Enables students to understand and appreciate geographical perspectives about the contemporary world through the study of biophysical and human processes, interaction, and trends. It involves the application of enquiry methodologies through fieldwork and a variety of case studies.

HSC Topics include:

• Ecosystems at Risk – ecosystem functioning, management, and protection (33%) • Urban Places- world cities, mega cities, and urban dynamics (33% course time) • People and Economic Activity – Tourism in its local and global context (33% course time)

Course Requirements:

Students complete a Senior Geography Project (SGP) in the Preliminary Course and must undertake 10 hours of fieldwork in both the Preliminary and HSC Courses. This will incur additional costs. Students will be required to submit both oral and written geographic reports.