Welcome Message to Geography of Virginia Students

I'm glad you registered for the Geography of Virginia (GGS380) class at George Mason University.

In this class, we will explore Virginia geography with in-class discussions and blog postings. Your reading assignments will require sitting in front of a computer monitor... but please don't be a couch potato. When you go about your normal routine, notice the places you're passing. On the Fairfax campus, notice the names of the dorms. You'll see those names in the political geography section, when we talk about governors. Notice the names of the roads too - you'll recognize them when we discuss the rivers and watersheds.

New River Trail (Wythe County)

Big Schloss (Shenandoah County)

Most Americans will live if several different places during in their lives. Once you develop your skills for getting the sense of Virginia, you can apply those skills to lots of other places. (Think the professionals who choose the locations for fast food restaurants, Wal*Marts, shopping malls, etc. focus on how people shop in just one state?)

The first quiz (using Blackboard) is due at the end of the second week of the class, but the Labor Day holiday makes that the third week of the semester. If you register too late to take that quiz - that's OK, because I drop the lowest 2 quiz grades anyway. The class schedule is online. To get started:

1. check PatriotWeb at https://patriotweb.gmu.edu to confirm you are officially registered for GGS380. If the tuition check bounces and the GMU computers don't have you registered after the last date to add the class, I can not allow you to register late.
2. schedule enough time each week to study the required Geography of Virginia material, according to the class schedule. Arrange now for planned business trips/vacations, backup babysitters, and all the scheduling you need to do so you can attend class on Mondays, each week.
3. Expect lots of short quizzes, to measure progress throughout the semester. You can't wait until a vacation break and try to catch up on the readings...

There is more material on the Web site than we will discuss this semester - be careful to read the assigned material. Feel free to wander off to examine other interesting links on the Internet, but understand that the quiz questions are based on the assigned material, including content on the blog.

You have only so much time in your semester. Don't try to read every one of the existing Geography of Virginia Web pages, or to follow every link to the end of the Internet. Regional geography offers lots of opportunities for tangents, and the richness of online information about Virginia is far more than we can cover in depth before the Final Exam is posted.

Also, expect new material to be added throughout the course - reading ahead is encouraged, but remember to check the online material for each week at the start of that week to ensure you're looking at the final version.

Feel free to contact me at for further assistance.