Welcome to the Introduction to Geography course. I will begin by introducing myself.

Roger Pearson: Unlike many of the "e-learning" instructors, I am not a full-time faculty member. I am retired from the University of Alaska Fairbanks where I was a Professor and occasionally "Department Head". I am now Professor Emeritus of Geography at UAF. For the last several years, I have also been a Senior Fellow at the Institute of the North which is based in Anchorage. https://www.institutenorth.org My work at the Institute focuses on Geography issues and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.   Currently I live on the Kenai Peninsula in the area of Nikiski, near the shore of Cook Inlet.

My hope is that you will find the course informative and interesting and that it will encourage you to learn more about the changing nature of geography. Geography literally means "description of the earth", but it is much more than that. It involves spatial perspectives; the physical and human characteristics of places; the analysis of how different places are connected; and it examines why features are found in some places and not others.   We hope that this course encourages you to continue your study of geography and that it helps you see the world in new ways.