Category: Geography

ESSAY #2 (Due Feb 8th @11:59pm)

MINIMUM: 500 WORDS

Prompt:

You should now have a pretty good grasp of how hegemonies and counter-hegemonies are expressed through cultural productions, both material and non-material.

For this second essay, I want you to find two (2) material cultural productions: one (1) you would consider hegemonic and one (1) you would consider counter-hegemonic. These cannot include any examples I have already used in this class (Old Spice campaign, Barbie Doll, all Disney Princesses. Beauty Standards in East Asia, Vaping, Crop tops on both women and men, makeup brand called fluid, Black Lives Matter Movement, James Charles on makeup on men, Live action Mulan movie). For each material cultural production, be sure to clearly describe:

1. Where did you find this production and why did you choose it?

2. What is going on in this material production? Who is the intended audience?

3. What ideologies are represented by the cultural production? What messages are being conveyed?

4. To which cultural group(s) are those ideologies considered hegemonic or counter-hegemonic? Could it possibly have elements of both?

5. Do you think this cultural production will remain hegemonic/counter-hegemonic over time? Why or why not?

Recall how I analyzed the Tiffany diamond ring ad in last week’s lecture as an example of how to do this (among many other examples from Lecture I this week).

Be sure to attach a picture (or link) of your two (2) cultural productions for me to reference. Keep in mind that a material cultural production can be anything such as an advertisement, book, commercial, song, music video, movie, or anything else that is materially produced by a culture, among endless possibilities.

Hello and welcome to the first Discussion forum of class! For this week’s forum, please 1) introduce yourself and 2) explore what Geography is as an academic discipline. Your initial post will address both of these. Your post must be at least 250 words. **See Forum Rubric below** All work must be completed by Sundays at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. No late submissions can be accepted for this first forum, as APUS uses it as proof of your enrollment in the class.

For your initial post (normally due Wednesdays, but I’m lenient Week 1):

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself, such as: What you do, where you are or where you’re from, what you’re studying, what your favorite vacation spot is, what you would like to get out of this course, etc. Then tell us about a “geographical” experience you have had. By that, I mean any type of experience that you think would be of interest to a geographer or relates to what you think geographers do.

2. Conduct an Internet search to find an academic “explanation” of the term “Geography”. Do not simply find definitions of the term – it roughly means “study of the earth” but that doesn’t “explain” the term. Instead, look for sites about geography, sites with geography books, organizational websites (like National Geographic), or other geographic sources. PARAPHRASE or SUMMARIZE the explanation you have selected and provide specific examples of how this explanation illustrates the concept of “geography”. Finally, write about how your research into the explanations of the concept of “geography” has changed your interpretation of what is a geographic experience. Have you had other experiences that you now consider “geographical” that you didn’t before your research?

ATTRIBUTE A SOURCE: **For all forums in this class – and explained in the rubric provided in the Syllabus – you MUST attribute your source. You’re encouraged to discuss the topic/tell us your thoughts – but with all forums, you MUST also back up what you say with credible source material. In forums, it does not have to be a formal citation (although that’s good practice!) – you can simply attribute your source with author and source location (i.e., Nat Geo’s TV program entitled “xxx”). Contact me if you have questions about this.

For your replies to classmates (30 points):

Read your classmate’s posts and reply to at least two of them, providing any comments you may have on their analysis or explanations of Geography. These must be “substantive”, which means 100 words minimum.

Make sure you provide SUBSTANCE in both your primary post and the replies you give to classmates. Be sure to show that you have considered the concept of “geography” through a variety of explanations and that you can apply your knowledge by using to assess your personal geographic experiences.

Welcome to Class!

reply to:

W1:Introductions and What is Geography?

• Contains unread posts
• Maroline Waygbeh posted Feb 3, 2026 11:14 PM
• Introduction
• Hello everyone, my name is Maroline Waygbeh. I work in the Army and my position in the army is supply. We order parts and other stuff for our company. I am from North Dakota and I now live in Alaska. This is my first contact in the army so I am gonna be here for 4 years in Alaska. I dont really like being in Alaska but it is what it is. Right now I am studying to be a psychologist, like my main goal is to be a therapist. I want to be able to help people with their mental health. I dont really know what I want to gain from this class other than passing it. I think if I have to say I guess it would be to get a good grade or become more knowledgeable about science. I dont really know what a geography is so I am answering by the experience I know. My geographical experience I had is living in Liberia. I really enjoyed the culture and the vibe. I loved the food and everything. The weather was nice and the people were nice and sweet.
• Geography simply focuses on the relationship between people, places, and environments and it tells how these interactions change over time. Before researching academic explanations, I always thought that geography mainly meant learning maps or memorizing places. But now I understand that it’s really about understanding relationships and how people interact with their environment and how the location shapes the culture, history, and everyday life. But instead it’s more about the patterns and connections than simple facts. But my new understanding made me realize that many experiences I never considered geographical actually are.
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Week 1: Introductions and what is Geography?

• Contains unread posts
• Christian Celeste posted Feb 2, 2026 7:29 PM
• Hey everyone,
• My name is Christian Celeste, and I was born and raised in the beautiful Island of Guam. I enjoy playing basketball, cutting hair as a side hustle, and playing with my dog. I am currently stationed in Minot, ND and this cold is definitely not it! I’m in pursuit of my CCAF so with that being said I’m currently doing my general education requirements right now. Living in Guam gave me opportunities to fly around the world much cheaper than flying out of the mainland. With that being said, Philippines is definitely my favorite vacation spot. To be specific, 100 islands in Alaminos City, Pangasinan. It’s not just the islands that amazes me it’s also the people and the many cultures I came across.
• From my understanding, geography derived from the Greek word “geographos”. “Geo” means earth and “graphy” means to describe. Together it means to describe earth. Geography is a wide topic, and its study branches out to other different topics such as Physical Geography, Human Geography, Environmental Geography etc. When you think of geography the first thing that pops in your head are land structures, which is essentially physical geography. This topic focuses more on the study of mountains, natural features, rivers and how these things would change over time. But what took my attention more was Human Geography. This study is steadily focused on human activity, culture, and how us humans impact the environment around us. With the benefit of being in the military, traveling to different countries gives me the opportunity to learn about different cultures, different backgrounds, and even different people.
• Before knowing all of this, all I knew about geography was that it was about knowing why land structures are the way they are and what’s to come of that. But now I have a better understanding that Geography is so vast and there’s always something new to learn. Dating back, when I used to go snorkeling in Guam, I remember how beautiful the corals were and just how cool the different species there were. Thinking about it now, I went snorkeling a few months ago in Guam and the corals were not as healthy and there was less fish because of pollution.
• Sources:

this is student project work. Check the plagiarism

This documentary looks at specific species in the United States that are endangered including many in California.

You need to provide a college level paragraph analysis for each question using appropriate grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Your paragraph answers need to be double-spaced using 12 points font. Just watching the documentary and providing one or two sentences will not receive the full 5 points. Since you can’t answer most of the questions without using information learned from the video, you must provide the time stamp citation in your writing. You will be uploading your typed up answers at the link below just like we did for Homework 2 & 3. Your document must be saved in one of the following formats: .rtf, .pdf, .doc, .docx, or .odt. To watch the documentary, click on the title of it above.

Bibliography

National Geographic. America’s Endangered Species: Don’t Say Goodbye. 2010. Accessed through Saddleback College Library.

Citation Information

For your paraphrasing citation at the end of your paragraph, please provide the time stamp from where within the video you learned the information. For example: (National Geography 9:50). The time stamp, here shown as 9:50, provides where in the video you heard/learned the information.

Your paragraph answers need to be double-spaced using 12 points font. Similar to Discussion 3, you must provide the time stamp citation in your paragraph answers. You will be uploading your typed up answers at the link below just like we did for Homework 2. Your document must be saved in one of the following formats: .rtf, .pdf, .doc, .docx, or .odt. To watch the documentary, click on the title of it above. Absolutely no extra credit will be accepted after the due date, no exceptions.

Bibliography

National Geographic. America’s Endangered Species: Don’t Say Goodbye. 2010.

Citation Information

For your paraphrasing citation at the end of your paragraph, please provide the time stamp from where within the video you learned the information. For example: (National Geography 9:50). The time stamp, here shown as 9:50, provides where in the video you heard/learned the

Questions

Based on the information learned from watching the documentary:

1. What endangered species were you not aware of that were discussed in the documentary (discuss at least three)? You are required to provide a citation in this paragraph based on where in the video the species are discussed.
2. Prior to watching the video, what endangered species were you already aware of?
3. What aspects of the video surprised you? (Citation in the form of a time stamp is required).
4. What topics did not surprise you in the video? (Citation in the form of a time stamp is required).
5. What are some of the endangered species in California? Did you already know about these endangered species? What are your thoughts on how many endangered species there are in California? (Citation in the form of a time stamp is required).
6. Has information in this video changed the way you look at how humans interact and affect the environment and the rest of the biosphere?
7. What if any of the information you have learned in the video will you share with other people?

Important Reminder: If any portion of your submitted extra credit is flagged for using any apps, software, or programs to assist in your writing, it is an automatic zero.

FILM LINK:

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=ac8dc95cd3d12e0a&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS936US936&udm=7&fbs=ADc_l-aN0CWEZBOHjofHoaMMDiKpmAsnXCN5UBx17opt8eaTXz9awvmwbLijfri5gfg3jJCJPQ0h4oA7srHripsC9qMhOaJO871LC9_g9gX8FjjC7RPAmkv67J21gFVFSnPy-yL0ohL_NUv54foBIdSL7vC30VmJEn64E30Jh2USIu4iRrr8bAl_GKO5YhtCc2_bDQ0FH7Ugy0DOG7PofcUySKbew-hWPw&q=america%27s+endangered+species+don%27t+say+goodbye&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiYl-qK06ySAxUsATQIHfXrAl4QtKgLegQIDhAB&biw=1440&bih=718&dpr=2&aic=0#fpstate=ive&ip=1&vld=cid:a596fb72,vid:Fh4kXukWiEM,st:0

this is a lab assignmnet from GEOG 1402 LAB #1 Soils. all the instructions are in the files below.