d.p wk 1 disc geog

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?

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• 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: