Courses

SSCI 204 States, Markets, and Society

This course examines theoretical explanations for the relationship between the global urban economy, governments, and society. It considers structural industrial shifts and the impact of technology on production, urban economic competitiveness, and social welfare. Themes include labor value, new economic geography, the internationalization of capital, the systems of cities, externalities, and urban amenities. This course provides a clear and concise presentation of the economic forces that cause the development of cities, determine the spatial form of cities, cause urban economies to grow or shrink, generate urban problems such as poverty, crime, and congestion, make the market for urban housing unique, and shape the tax and spending policies of local government. Besides developing the basic concepts of urban economics, this course uses economic analysis to evaluate the merits of policies designed to address our most vexing urban problems.  

SSCI 225 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Fall 2016 flyer

Geographic information (GI) has become pervasive in our society. From navigational and thematic maps to geotagged tweets and photos, we are interacting with geo-referenced information daily. Social scientists, urban planners and designers, engineers, business executives, environmental scientists, computer scientists, human scientists, and many other professionals will encounter digital geographic information in some form in their future careers. This course is an introduction to GIS focusing on how GI is collected, manipulated, analyzed and presented. The lectures cover concepts, principles, and applications, and an associated lab provides hands-on experience using a commercial GIS (e.g. ArcGIS) to address real-world problems. Join us and discover how GI and GIS are transforming our world!

SSCI 325 Intermediate Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Built on the course SSCI225 Introduction to GIS, this course explores intermediate use of a GIS to support geographic inquiry and decision making. Students will strengthen your theoretical knowledge of geospatial information concepts and methods through this course. Students will learn to apply this knowledge and expand your practical skills in operating a GIS. Upon completing this course, students will have the ability to use GIS to answer real-world geospatial questions in a professional context. This course will introduce topics through a combination of lectures, hands-on exercises, and projects. The course objectives include: (1) Understanding vector and raster data models and conversions; (2) Understanding common map algebra functions in ArcGIS; (3) Developing advanced skills for raster data manipulation in ArcGIS; (4) Learning about surface analysis and relevant applications; (5) Understanding network analyses and solve network problems; (6) Developing GIS spatial modeling skills to solve real-world problems and reviewing associated career opportunities.  

SSCI 355 Regional Economic Development

This course is to provide a basic theoretical framework for understanding regional economies and exposure to tools, methods, and sources for applied regional analysis. Besides discussions about theories of regional development, we will discuss tools, methods, and data sources for analyzing regional economies. This course will provide a venue for working with regional economic data and analytical tools that students will use as part of assignments for this course. Students will learn to access data for a metropolitan region which they will use for their term project.

SSCI 385 Geospatial Health, Spring 2020 syllabus

Human health can be understood as the physical, mental, and behavioral aspects of well-being, and can be explored at both the individual- and population-levels. Space and place are essential factors to consider when studying human health, as health occurs within particular geographic and environmental contexts. Geospatial data is data that has locational information attached to it, for example, data associated with zip codes, GPS data, or satellite imagery. These data represent the rich information about the place that humans possess. Contemporary environmental and socioeconomic concerns (particularly global environmental change and globalization) have brought unprecedented attention to the connection between human health and factors at the landscape and even the global levels. As a result, in the past two decades, geospatial analyses increasingly have been used to understand health. This course will explore the application of geospatial analyses, including spatial epidemiology, accessibility, and utilization of healthcare services, and interactions between such factors, to understand the health of individuals and populations. Together, we will explore the integrative construct of Geospatial Health, which is a relatively new, important, and burgeoning field. The course will be divided into three parts: First, we will explore the foundational theory and core concepts from each field–Geographic information Science and Health. Next, we will discuss contemporary examples of Geospatial Health, e.g., spatial characteristics of cancer and geographic access to healthcare. The final part of the course will challenge students to develop their own research questions and execute a study related to Geospatial Health.