ASSIGNMENT 2 Instructions

Assigned:  September 4, 2006.
Due:  In class Wednesday September 13, 2006.

        The second assignment has two parts. Part one requires you to read the following article:
Lewis, Martin W. (2000). Global Ignorance. The Geographical Review, Vol. 90(4):603-628. Available online as an Adobe file.
NOTE: If you have trouble finding Journals in the periodicals section of the library, it probably means that they're sitting in a "reshelf" area because somebody has just used them. Make sure you check with one of your student colleagues, as you can probably make a xerox copy of their copy.

After reading the article, prepare a 3-page analysis and critique (typed, one-inch margins all around, double-spaced, 12 CPI font Times Roman, numbered pages, with the article cited correctly in a bibliography at the end of the paper - doesn't need to be on a separate page) of the article's content, theory, and presentation. Address the following issues:
        (a) What was the main theoretical and empirical thrust of the Lewis article? On what existing concept or theory did the author base his analysis?
        (b) What was the working hypothesis in the article and how was it presented?
        (c) What was the key "so what" rationale that drives this article? Did the author make a convincing "scientific" argument to support the hypothesis?
        (d) What did YOU think of the article, its presentation, and findings? Were any biases or persuasive elements evident in the article?
        (e) What do YOU think the article suggest about the challenges ahead for geoscientists?

Be brief, yet concise. Analyze and critique the articles. Do not just repeat what you have read. I want to hear YOUR opinions. Be prepared to discuss your critique at our meeting on Wednesday September 13, 2006.

Part Two of this assignment requires you to build an introductory section to your thesis proposal. Identify a theme, issue, problem, or hypothesis that you want to research. Using the pyramid approach to research (macroscale, mesoscale, microscale), set out an introductory rationale to your research question - so what, why is this question or issue important?
Attach your bibliography from assignment one and continue to build on this beginning. Your bibliography should now contain approximately 20 academic journal articles and 5 books and/or book chapters. Academic sources are those with a working bibliography that appear in a scholarly journal (most often peer-reviewed, but sometimes not) or in book or book-chapter form. Examples of sources that are NOT considered "academic" in nature (that do not adhere to the principles of the scientific method) are Time, Newsweek, Oil and Gas Journal, The Economist, newspapers, most internet sources (unless in JSTOR, EPSCO-host, or similar subscription-based academic search engines), encyclopaedias, reference materials, government reports, etc.
Prepare a 2-page written introduction (typed, one-inch margins all around, double-spaced, 12 CPI font, pages numbered), with your bibliography attached.

For help on this assignment, call (270) 745 4555, or e-mail david.keeling@wku.edu.

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Last updated on July 13, 2006
Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University
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