DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEO-INFORMATION SCIENCES

SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

MODULE : THEMES IN GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

CODE : GEO 2642
PREREQUISITES : GEO 1641
CREDIT VALUE : 16
NQF LEVEL :6
SEMESTER : TWO
YEAR : 2021
LECTURER : MR E. KORI

AIM : To teach students about general issues relating to Africa

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

On completion of the module students should be able to:

 explain and justify the diversity and dynamic nature of the African continent;
 examine the processes that have produced variations and give potential to future
developments on the continent;
 analyse key environmental and politico-socio-economic issues using a thematic
approach.
 link the various thematic elements displaying for the understanding of the spatial
patterns found in Africa.
 analyse the impact of globalization on development of African people.

COMPETENCIES PROMOTED

 analytical thinking through thematic study of issues in Africa

 integrative skills in linking different issues
 team building through group work

CONTACT : 3 hours per week

MODULE CONTENT

WEEK 1-4

1. Introducing the themes in the Geography of Africa: Location, Place, Human-

environment interaction, Movement and Region.
2. Africa as a Place – the map of Africa and its implications on development
2.1 Characteristics of the physical environment of Africa - geomorphology,
climatology, biogeography
2.2 Human characteristics of Africa – population and population dynamics,
settlement patterns (including urbanisation), HIV/AIDS
3 Africa as a Region and Location
3.1 Historical and cultural dynamics
3.2 Industrial development, trade, and economic organisation
3.3 Globalisation and climate change
4 Formative test 1(end August)

WEEK 5-9

5 Human – environment interaction in Africa

5.1 The African environment as a resource
5.2 Environmental hazards - emphasis on land degradation and desertification
5.3 Tourism development and resource conservation
5.4 African agricultural development and the green revolution
6 Summative test (end September)

WEEK 10-14

7 Movement in Africa
7.1 Transport systems and transport hubs
7.2 Types of movement – goods, people, information (ICT)

8 Current and emerging issues

8.1 Political upheavals – the Arab Spring, EndSARS protests
 8.2 Service delivery issues – protests, knowledge about responsibilities
8.3 Prejudices and tolerance – xenophobia, Afro-phobia, gender (women rights,
gender based violence), violent crime.

Resources

Books

Cole, J., 1996. Geography of the World’s Major Regions, London: Routledge.

Wayne, A., 1997. Africa, South of the Sahara, London: Routledge.

Electronic Resources

http://www.sabinet.co.za

http://www.sciencedirect.com

http://journals.sabinet.co.za

Student Assessment

Assessment for the module will be comprised of

2 x assignments /essays

2 x class test

1 x presentation in groups

1 x end of semester examination

General assessment criteria (These guidelines are compulsory)

 A good essay should show a coherent and logical selection, structuring and
organisation of material from several sources; critical judgement; lucid
presentation; use of pertinent examples.
 All essays should be written in continuous prose. NO SUB HEADINGS. Work
with subheadings will be disqualified. This applies to all written work,
including tests.
 All work should have a standard cover page (provided below/next page). Work
without a cover page will not be accepted at submission and will not be
graded.
 In-text citation and end of essay referencing should follow Harvard system (see
below). Citation does not mean copy and paste of whole paragraph or sentence
verbatim, unless this is put in inverted (“”) commas. You are encouraged to
use own words but keep the author’s meaning.
 All essays should be between 2 (two) and 3 (three) A4 pages, excluding cover
page and references.
 All submissions should be handed in before 14H00. Do not slip any
assignment under the door.
 Typed essays should be justified, Arial 12 (font), 1.5 line spacing on 2 cm page
margins all round.
 Also refer to http://www.internationalstudent.com/essay_writing/essay_tips/ for
essay writing tips
 PLAGIASRIM IS AN ACADEMIC OFFENCE. Any plagiarised work will
automatically be disqualified.
 All online submissions should be saved using your surname, initial(s) and
student number. For example: Kori, E – 210000.

Essay questions and due dates

Question 1

Explain how the following themes increase the understanding of the Geography of
Africa:

a) Place (5)
b) Location (5)
c) Region (5)
d) Human-environment interaction (5)
e) Movement (5)

Due date – 10 September 2021

Question 2

Giving specific examples, examine how the environment influences people’s

livelihoods as viewed through the theme of human-environment interaction.
(25)

Due date – 24 September 2021

Question 3

Clearly illustrate the implications of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa on the following:

1.1 Education (5)
1.2 Health care (5)
1.3 Economy (5)
1.4 Society (10)

Due date – 8 October 2021

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REFERENCING - THE HARVARD SYSTEM

Introduction

As a student, it is important that you identify in your assignment when you are using
the words or ideas of another author. The most accepted way of acknowledging the
work of another author is to use a referencing system. At the University of Venda you
are required to use the Harvard Upgraded referencing system.

The following guide tells you why you need to use a referencing system, shows you
how to insert references in the text of your assignments, and shows you how to
compile a reference list. While there are many variations on the ‘Harvard’ system,
the one presented in this guide is the simplest. It does away with most usages of ‘p’
and ‘pp’ to signify page numbers and it replaces some of the commas with colons.
This guide is also by no means an exhaustive list of all the referencing conventions
that you will require in your academic life.

Why you should use a referencing system

As a part of an academic community, it is important that you show the reader where
you have used someone else’s ideas or words. Failure to properly reference using
the Harvard system may make the reader think that you are cheating by claiming
someone else’s work as your own. In the academic environment, we call this
plagiarism and it is a very serious offence. Please remember that plagiarism is not
just when you directly copy words from another student’s or expert’s work.
Plagiarism also occurs when you re-word someone else’s ideas in your own work
and you do not give credit to the original source.

Plagiarism can have disastrous consequences for students. If you are suspected of
plagiarism you may find that your assignment is disqualified.
On a more positive note, referencing is important for reasons other than avoiding
plagiarism. When you reference correctly you are demonstrating that you have read
widely on a topic. You are also supporting your hypothesis with comments from
expert authors. This gives credibility to your own work. By correctly referencing you
also allow the marker or reader to follow-up your references and to check the validity
of your arguments for themselves. This is an important part of the academic process
as it leads to student accountability.

Collecting all the details: Accurate referencing

To have an accurate record of what you have researched and therefore an accurate
reference, it is important that you write down the details of your sources as you
study. When taking notes, use a separate page for each new book, journal article, or
electronic source. At the top of each page, clearly record the following information for
future reference.

For books, record:

The author’s or editor’s name (or names)

The year the book was published

The title of the book

If it is an edition other than the first

The city the book was published in

The name of the publisher

Writing the assignment: What do I need to reference?

When you are writing your assignment, be sure to type in reference information as
you add in the ideas of other authors. This will save you time and will ensure that you
reference all sources properly. Whenever you use someone else’s ideas or words,
you must put in a reference. The only exception to this rule is when the information
you have read somewhere is common knowledge or ‘public domain’ information. For
example, you would not need to include a reference if you stated in an assignment
that South Africa achieved majority rule in 1994.

Referencing in the text of your assignment

The following section shows you several different examples when quoting and
paraphrasing in the text of your assignment. In all references, you will need to list the
author/editor name(s) and the year of publication. The year of publication can be
found on the first couple of pages of the book, along with the other bibliographic
information. Look for the author’s name, a copyright symbol and then a date. This
will be the date of publication. In most references, you will also need to list the page
number(s) where you found the specific information. The only type of reference
where this is not required is when you paraphrase a summary of an entire piece of
work.

As a hypothetical example, fictitious author John Phillips might have written a history
book in 1999 that examines generational changes. You might summarise and
correctly reference the entire gist of his book in the following way.

Creating a reference list

All the sources you refer to in the main body of your assignment need to be listed at
the end of the assignment in a reference list. In a reference list, you only need to list
those sources from which you have either quoted or paraphrased. For example, you
do not have to list books you used for background reading purposes.

When creating a reference list, the sources should be listed alphabetically by

author’s surname, should be left justified, and the references should never be
preceded by a bullet-point or number. All sources should be listed together. There
should not be separate lists for books versus journal articles versus electronic
sources. The reference list should be on a separate page from the rest of the
assignment and should be simply titled ‘References’ and the title should be in the
same font and size as the other headings, if any, in your assignment.

The following is a guide to how to list references in a reference list. If you have an
example that is not covered by the list below, please check with me. You can also
follow the way the reading resources are written.

Book with one author

Adair, J., 1988. Effective time management: How to save time and spend it wisely.
London: Pan Books.

Book with two authors

McCarthy, P. and Hatcher, C., 1996. Speaking persuasively: Making the most of
your presentations. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.

Book with three or more authors

Fisher, R., Ury, W. and Patton, B., 1991. Getting to yes: Negotiating an agreement
without giving in, 2nd Edition. London: Century Business.

Book – second or later edition

Barnes, R., 1995. Successful study for degrees, 2nd Edition. London: Routledge.

Conclusion

It is extremely important that students correctly reference by paraphrasing and direct

quotations. While there are many referencing rules and conventions under the
Harvard system, in most cases it is generally important in the text of an assignment
to show the reader the author’s name, date of publication and page numbers of the
original source, if necessary. In the reference list, it is important that the author’s
name, the year of publication, relevant titles, and other access information is
faithfully reproduced. At first, the referencing system may seem time-consuming and
fussy but it will soon become second nature to you and will become part of the long
list of skills you will have gained as a university student.

If you have any queries about additional Harvard system conventions, please contact
me in Office G03, Ground Floor, Environmental Science Building.