Education

• Archaeology and Palaeoecology (UG)
• Geography (UG)
• Disability Officer

Course Content

At its most fundamental level, Human Geography is defined as the study of human processes that occur on – and in relation to – the earth’s surface. In Level 1 human geography modules we explored how understandings of this definition have evolved in the modern world. But how have these understandings shaped the modern world? Looking through the lens of ‘landscape’, Cultural Geographies explores the material transformations wrought by processes of modernisation through spatial practices, and how people imagine and represent the particular places, spaces, times and environments they inhabit. This tension between understanding the world as lived and experienced, and as a product of specific cultural and historical genres, is central to much recent research in human geography and is at the heart of this module. Specifically, the module addresses geographies of cultural change, especially (1) the relationship between the local and the global; (2) questions of identity, belonging and social exclusion in the landscape; (3) the significance of place and space in inventing and policing the ‘memorialisation’ of the past; and (4) a politics of landscape and environment. Combining texts, observations and field research in critical yet creative ways, the module evaluates how culture is both a product of and also creator of our geographies.

Learning Outcomes

By successfully completing the module you should: (1) have acquired a broad understanding of ideas, approaches and methods in contemporary and historical cultural geography; (2) appreciate the different ways in which the world is socially and culturally constructed through practices and representations; (3) understand that landscape is created through both performative and material practices; (4) appreciate the complex and contested ways in which landscape is written and mobilised in geography and the humanities; (5) be able to combine textual sources, field-observations and research findings in researching cultural geographies.

Lecturers

Skills
(T: taught; P: practiced; A: assessed)

Subject specific skills

• plan, design & execute independent research & study (TPA); combine & interpret different types of geographical evidence, especially texts, visual representations, maps & landscapes (TPA); apply geographical and social theories to field settings (TPA).

Key skills

• the ability to think and argue critically and undertake problem solving (TPA); the ability to undertake self-directed learning (TPA); the ability to perform assigned tasks within a group setting and take part in group discussions and oral presentations (TPA); independent thought & self-reflection (PA); development of reflective skills with regard to module-related tasks and personal fieldwork and research experience (TPA).

Employability skills

• problem-solving; teamwork and leadership (PA); self-management (PA); project planning (PA); report writing (TPA); verbal communication and presentation (PA).

Pre-requisites

GGY1005

Supplementary notes

This module includes a requirement to participate on a residential field trip (Sussex). Normally this is scheduled for the first week after the Easter vacation. Students must make themselves available to attend the field class, which will be at their own expense. The equivalent class in Sussex in 2010-11 saw students being required to contribute £260 towards the cost of hostel accommodation, breakfast and evening meals and all local transport (minibus hire and fuel). This fee did not include flights to Gatwick (an additional cost). The field class charge is subject to change, and this may be dependent upon matters outside our control such as the price of fuel.

Assessment