The "International Conference on Human Geography: The Third U.S.‹China Symposium," hosted by Cal State Northridge's geography department, will take place on March 23 and 24 at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills.

"The purpose is to have an international exchange of ideas, share our research and our experiences since we are coming from different countries," said CSUN geography professor I-Shou Wang, one of the conference's coordinators.

"Human geography is a very broad term that covers all aspects of human activities," Wang said. "So the conference will cover such subjects as urbanization, regional development, migration not just in China, but anywhere Chinese may be found."

Other conference topics include tourism, cultural issues, foreign investment and technology and rural development and Chinese cities in transition. The presenters include faculty members from universities across the United States as well as China.

For more information about the conference, call (818) 677-3532 or visit its web site at http://www.csun.edu/geography/conference.html.

California State University, Northridge has more than 31,500 full- and part-time students and offers 63 bachelor's and 51 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."