Introducing GIS for Undergraduate Social Science Courses

August 1-6, 2005: San Francisco, CA

This workshop is intended to introduce instructors in social science disciplines to spatial methodologies as a foundation for undergraduate-level instuction. Lectures topics include GIS fundamentals and concepts, the visualization and analysis of spatial data, and analytical cartography with accompanying labs using ArcGIS 9.x. Step-by-step exercises using material from urban studies, planning, public health, and social policy will teach participants basic GIS skills and operations. Participants will work collaboratively with workshop leaders and other participants to design course materials for use in undergraduate teaching and learning assessment. No familiarity with GIS or spatial analysis is required.

A short movie was created from discussions with workshop instructors and participants. The movie requires Quicktime to play. To download Quicktime

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Instructors: Richard LeGates (coordinator), XiaoHang Liu, Ayse Pamuk, and Barry Nickel (from San Francisco State University), and Donald Janelle (UCSB)

Keynote Speaker: Keith Clarke (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Co-sponsor with CSISS: The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science

Host institution: Urban Studies Program and the Institute for Geographic Information Science, San Francisco State University