Open-Source Geography

Below is a list of Geography term paper titles generated by students at Piedmont Virginia Community College. These selected titles were chosen because the students that prepared them approached the topic from a personal level while applying the geographic principles we learned in class. They acted like Geographers:

1. Internet Infrastructure: The Tangled Web We Weave - M. Murphy
2. The Geographic Variation of Tattooing Technology - C. Motley
3. Globalizing “Miller Time”: Industrial Location of the American Beer Industry - S. Oberhauser
4. The Geography of Golf: Conquering the World and the Environment - S. McKeown
5. The Changing Political Landscape of Post-Katrina New Orleans - K. Kiss
6. The Spatial Diffusion of Reggeaton - J.Cortez
7. A Nursing Shortage in The United States - P. Catlett
8. The Geography of the Hearing Impaired - C. Rosenberry
9. The Geography of Jazz -J. Pleasant
10. The Geography of Counter-Stike: A Global Phenomenon - M. Murphy
11. The Dances of North Africa and the Middle East - J. Jackson
12. Cancer Incidence Around the World - J. Stathos
13. The Geography of Beatlemania: The Atlantic Echo-Chamber - M. Schaeder
14. Disparity of Internet Access in Urban and Rural America - P. Thompson
15. Invaded Country: The Pre-September 11 Military Invasions of Afghanistan - T. Lacy
16. A Cultural Geography of the Diffusion of Opera - J. Slohada
17. The Geographic Signficance of High School Drop Out Rates - D. Bryant
18. The Ukrainian Diaspora: One Family’s Journey - F. Bakke
19. The Forum of Sao Paulo: a 2005 Assessment of Communism’s Resurgence in Latin America
20. Where is Margaritta-ville? The Geography of Jimmy Buffett songs

Having taught four semesters (18 credit hours) as an Adjunct Geography Professor at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, VA, I have come up with a few conclusions about the relationship between a students and their professors. These few points are intended for both students and aspiring professors. As a student, remember these so that you can walk into the classroom with confidence that you are an adult. As an aspiring professor, keep these tips in mind as your prepare for your student’s.

• A student’s work has value beyond the classroom.

• Student’s should tailor their work, papers and presentations, to the class not the professor.

• The professor is no more intelligent than you. They have only read more than you.

• The professor should not view themselves as a lecturer but as a developer of colleagues.

• Conversations are more informative than lectures.

• Its not what you know, but how to find it.

• Focus on quality, not the grades.

• You learn more by being wrong than you do by being quiet. Speak Up!

• A student is an early stage of professional life and should be expected to act and work in a professional manner.

• A professor should be able to use the tools of their students and vice versa.

• To Reiterate: A student’s work has value beyond the classroom. The professor’s job is to show the student that value.