[Kathy2]

The area of study for this course changes every term. This term, it was Brazil.

The course breakdown was this:
Test 1 - 15%
Assignment (short policy brief) - 15%
Test 2 - 15%
Video Assignments - 5%
Final exam - 50%

Many things were discussed in this course: geography, politics, history, culture, regions, etc. The video assignments were short, fill in the blank questionnaires that we had to answer while watching films in class (two or three times per month). It kind of sucked because the videos were shown on random days throughout the term without any warning - so you were screwed if you missed a class. But they only added up to 5% of the final grade, so it wasn't much.

The tests and exam weren't too bad. They were a mix of multiple choice and short answer. If you attend class pretty regularly and study, you'll do fine. The class is interesting and Professor Mercier tries to make it as interesting as possible.

How did you find the policy brief assignment? Was it time consuming or really difficult? And how would you say marking scheme for the assignment was? I'm thinking of taking this as an elective this year but not too sure...

The policy brief was fine. It didn't take very long and it was pretty short (I think 3-4 pages). It was actually fun to write because you get a wide range of topics. The prof was a bit of a hard marker for this assignment, because my mark was kind of low. But the marking seemed fine for the tests and video assignments. I would definately suggest taking this course!

Hey, I'm wondering when/where they announce the topic for the course?

you can find it on the department of geogrpahy website. they're doing South Africa this year.

you can find it on the department of geogrpahy website. they're doing South Africa this year.

That was for the summer school class.

I took this during Sept-Dec 2010 with Sonnenberg.

Topic: Arctic
4 Quizzes @ 8% each = 32%
Debate = 30%
Exam = 38%

We had a bonus quiz this term worth 5% but that's more of a one in a lifetime thing. The material was fairly interesting. We covered historical significance, Aboriginal rights, natural resource exploration, climate change, international disputes of NW Passage.

Quizzes were online and straight out of the lectures. Short debate in class that you have to prep for both sides in advance. Exam was fair, multiple choice, and a long answer.

Hello,
Since I don't major in environmental science. so i was just wondering if you anyone thinks this course assumes a lot of prior knoweldge? if everything we learn about the aspects of that country is very straightforward then i'm fine with it

If taught by Dr. Mercier, this course is very user-friendly and is a great elective to take if you are not in the geography/earch science/environmental science program. It's treated as an introductory geography course about the region of interest, and assumes very little prior knowledge.

Patrick Deluca will be the one teaching this course on Italy this summer. Anyone know his teaching styles? :O

did anyone take this course in the summer with Deluca? if so how was it?

it wasn't bad, just memorization. just know which region has the largest population of people, crimes, etc. if you need the textbook i have it

was there a presentation? how was it marked? was the textbook needed?

Has anyone taken this course or another course with Pat DeLuca? I wanted to know if her testing is fair like Mercier is