DSOC 3140 - Spatial Thinking, GIS, and Related Methods

(SBA) (KCM)

Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

J. Francis.

Everything occurs in space. Knowing where organizations are located and events occur in space provides clues to understanding social order and processes not revealed by traditional social analysis techniques. At the same time, spatial thinking and methods are becoming increasingly used in the social sciences. The purpose of this course is to introduce the undergraduate to both aspects of spatial patterns, trends, and themes but also to methodologies for bringing spatial considerations into their research. The course provides a practical introduction to GIS via lab assignments.

Outcome 1: Explain, evaluate, and effectively interpret factual claims, theories and assumptions in the student’s discipline(s) (especially in one or more of the college’s prioirty areas of land grant-agricultural sciences, applied social sciences, environmental sciences, and/or life sciences) and more broadly in the sciences and humanities.

Outcome 2: Find, access, criticall evaluate, and ethically use information.

Outcome 3: Integrate quantitative and qualitative information to reach defensible and creative conclusions.

Outcome 4: Communicate effectively through writing, speech and visual information.

Outcome 5: Articulate the views of people with diverse perspectives.

Outcome 6: Demonstrate the capability to work both independently and in coorperation with others.

Outcome 7: Apply methods of sustainability to the analysis of one or more major challenges facing humans and the Earth’s resources.