The natural regions and cultural landscapes of Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies.

Field study of environmental and social change in selected landscapes in South America, such as protected areas; places of food production; transportation routes; migrant landscapes; urban areas; sites of cultural and historical importance; and issues of human rights.

Discuss the role of maps in the creation of Latin America as a specific sort of place. As such, allows familiarity with a broad overview of Latin American history from Pre-Columbian civilizations to the modern period.

An interdisciplinary approach, set right at the nexus of both physical and human geography, to studying the types of natural disasters that occur throughout Earth with a focus on tropical areas. Explore a region's susceptibility to natural disasters by studying the physical phenomena that incite specific hazards so that their spatial distribution can be outlined. Utilize theoretical frameworks that can expose the social causes of human vulnerability, the political repercussions of disasters, and how disaster response varies from country to country depending on varying political stances and economic conditions.

Explore landscapes, conservation, and human-environment dynamics in the Maya region of Central America from more than 10,000 years ago to modern times. Compare sustainable practices from the past with those of indigenous Maya communities today to guide the future.