Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

Geography of Utah (Face-to-Face)

GEOG 3600-01

Course: GEOG 3600-01
Credits: 3
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: GEOS
CRN: 11025

Course Description

A geographic perspective on the role of interacting physical and cultural patterns and processes in shaping Utah’s unique and varied landscapes. A regional geography approach is used to investigate the spatial distribution of people, places, and environments, while a cultural geography approach is used explore differences in our sense of place within the regional context of Utah. Intended for social science composite majors, geography and geography teaching minors, and others considering upper-division credit. A minimum grade of "C" (2.0 or above) must be earned in this course before it can be counted in a Geosciences major or minor or as a prerequisite for any other course. (Spring) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

Required Texts

There is NO required textbook. However, copies of the following book is on two-hour reserve at the library; see Reserve - Check Out Desk - 1st Level TBIRD

Larson, P. (n.d.) Utah: The Place and the People.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be assessed according to how well they achieve the following learning outcomes.

  1. Identify and explain basic concepts, terminology, and theories of regional geography from different spatial, temporal, cultural, and/or institutional contexts.
  2. Articulate the ways in which different peoples express an understanding of the human condition and respond to environmental opportunities and constraints.
  3. Explain the social, cultural, and ethical consequences of decisions and actions concerning the environment at local, regional, and global scales.
  4. Describe Utah’s physical, social, economic, and cultural landscapes.

10.0 Integrative Learning: Students make connections among ideas and experiences and can synthesize and transfer their learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus.

11.0. Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World: Students demonstrate knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world.

11.5. Social and Behavioral Sciences Students will be able to (1) Demonstrate understanding of relevant social and behavioral science methodologies and how they are used to understand or explain human relations or interactions; (2) Identify general principles of behavioral and social functioning; (3) Connect those questions and issues to the students’ own experiences; and (4) Demonstrate a critically reasoned understanding of social patterns and individual variation congruent with and divergent from those patterns.

Course Requirements

The following table describes the assessment methods and assignments for the course:
| ASSIGNMENTS | NUMBER AVAILABLE | POINTS PER ASSIGNMENT | MAXIMUM POINTS
| Participation (attendance & discussions) | daily | ≈ 0.25 points/ class | 15 points
| Online Quizzes  | 10 | 1 point each | 10 points
| Field Trip Reports | 5 of 6 | 5 points each | 25 points
| Research Project: Torn from the Headlines | 1 | 20 points each | 20 points
| Digital Storytelling: A Virtual Field Trip | 1 | 20 points each | 20 points
| Final Exam  | 1 | 10 points each | 10 points
| OPTIONAL – Extra Credit Assignments 
a. Reflection Essay on a Film  | 1 | 3 points each | 3 points
b. Mid-Semester Course Feedback  | 1 | 1 point each | 1 point
c. VR Experience Surveys  | 2 | 1 point each | 2 points

Course Outline

The following table outlines the tentative lecture schedule:
 | MODULE | DATE | LECTURE TOPICS | READING
| 0 | Thurs-Jan-08 | Course – Outline, Format, Expectations, Overview | Syllabus
| 0 | Tues- Jan-13 | Geography – An Exploration of Connections | Chapter 1
| 1 | Thurs-Jan-15 | Physical Geography – A Land of Extremes | LINK
| 2 | Tues-Jan-20 | Physical Geography – A Land of Extremes | Chapter 3, 4, & 5
| 2 | Thurs-Jan-22 | Course Assignments and Intro to VR Lab | 
| 2 | Tues-Jan-27 | VR FIELD TRIP – Utah’s Physical Geography | Wander Instructions
| 2 | Thurs-Jan-29 | Human Geography – “Demography Is Destiny”  | Chapter 11
| 3 | Tues-Feb-03 | Human Geography – “Demography Is Destiny”  | Chapter 11
| 3 | Thurs-Feb-05 | FIELD TRIP – Frontier Homestead State Park Museum | 
| 4 | Tues-Feb-10 | Cultural Geography – Places and Traces | Chapter 12
| 4 | Thurs-Feb-12 | Cultural Geography – Places and Traces  | Chapter 12
| 4 | Tues-Feb-17 | INDEPENDENT WORK – Southern Utah Oral Histories | 
| 5 | Thurs-Feb-19 | FIELD TRIP – Paiute Special Collections at Library | 
 | 5 | Tues-Feb-24 | Historical Geography – “The Right Place” | Chapter 10
 | 5 | Thurs-Feb-26 | Historical Geography – “The Right Place” | Chapter 10
 | 6 | Tues-Mar-03 | Economic Geography – Wealth, Consumption, & Equity | Chapter 8
 | 6 | Thurs-Mar-05 | Economic Geography – Wealth, Consumption, & Equity | Chapter 15
 |   | Tues-Mar-10 | NO CLASS – Spring Break | 
|   | Thurs-Mar-12 | NO CLASS – Spring Break | 
| 7 | Tues-Mar-17 | Health Geography – Issues, Access, Equity | ----
| 7 | Thurs-Mar-19 | Health Geography – Issues, Access, Equity | ----
| 8 | Tues-Mar-24 | Environmental Geography – Human-Environment Interface | Chapters 5 & 17
| 8 | Thurs-Mar-26 | Environmental Geography – Human-Environment Interface | Chapters 5 & 17
|   | Tues-Mar-31 | NO CLASS – Festival of Excellence | 
| 9 | Thurs-Apr-02 | Urban Geography – The Rural-Urban Continuum | Chapter 14
| 9 | Tues-Apr-07 | VR FIELD TRIP – Utah’s Urban/Rural Geography | Wander Instructions
| 10 | Thurs-Apr-09 | Recreation Geography – Parks and Special Places | 
| 10 | Tues-Apr-14 | Recreation Geography – Parks and Special Places |  
 | 10 | Thurs-Apr-16 | VR FIELD TRIP – Utah’s Parks and Recreation Areas | Wander Instructions
| 11 | Exam Week | FINAL EXAM Thursday, April 23 (Day 4) at 9:00am |  

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

LATE POLICY: Late assignments are accepted at the sole discretion of the instructor. If accepted, they may be penalized up to 10% per day and return time may be severely impacted.
MAKEUP POLICY: Technical difficulties are not acceptable excuses for missing due dates for quizzes, tests, and tasks unless the school or regional network is down for a prolonged period. If you encounter technical difficulties when taking a test, please contact me directly. If you experience a prolonged absence from school due to illness or personal situation, please let me know.

Attendance Policy

ATTENDANCE: Students are expected to regularly attend lectures. Lectures will start promptly, so please show respect to the instructor and other students by arriving on time. If you are ill, you may request access to Zoom or a recording of the lecture. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange with the instructor an opportunity to complete missed material during excused absences (SUU Policy #6.30).

Course Fees

3 Credit(s) | $40.50 Fee

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.