GEOG2561: Social and Cultural Geography

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• To develop an understanding of contemporary social and cultural geographies
• To introduce the different ways in which geographers have approached social and cultural issues
• To explore why geography matters to how we think about social relations and cultural identities
• To unpack how social and cultural differences play out in lived experience.

• Social and cultural geography is a vibrant and wide-ranging sub-disciplinary area of research which critically engages with how our worlds are lived, experienced and represented. It draws attention to the interconnections between identities and different spaces, which involves attending to a range of actors and influences including (human) bodies, animals, objects, infrastructures, feelings, governance, politics and art/media. The module is taught through engaging with geographical research and real-world examples, drawn from both contemporary and historical contexts, and is framed within relevant theoretical work. Students who enjoyed the home or landscape blocks on Level 1 Human Geography will find an opportunity to deepen their understanding of related topics.
• The module begins with an introductory lecture which provides a brief historical background to debates in contemporary social and cultural geographies, as well as a discussion of core themes including: the geographies of difference; embodiment and the materiality of the body; emotions and the senses; social inequalities, inclusion and exclusion; activism and justice; contested representations and categories of identity; more-than-human geographies; landscapes; consumption practices; and care and wellbeing.
• These core themes are then explored through four blocks of lectures which are organised around specific social and cultural relations and identities. These may include:
• Geographies of species
• Geographies of body size and shape
• Geographies of sexualities and gender
• Geographies of age and the life-course
• Geographies of (dis)abilities
• Geographies of class
• Geographies of race

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students are expected to be able to:
• Demonstrate understanding of key approaches, theories and debates in social and cultural geography
• Critically assess and debate a number of the current questions facing social and cultural geography
• Demonstrate appreciation of the spatialities of social and cultural phenomena, and of competing explanations for these, and develop clear lines of argument
• Show a detailed understanding of selected areas of social and cultural geographical research through extended reading

Subject-specific Skills:

• Understand and synthesise key literatures in social and cultural geography
• Demonstrate detailed understanding of a selection of key issues covered by the module

Key Skills:

• Demonstrate information management skills, including gathering information from a range of sources
• Demonstrate the ability to plan an effective and well-argued essay
• Demonstrate critical assessment and analysis skills in relation to key literatures and debates
• Demonstrate the development of ideas and argument in written work

• Teaching and Learning:
• Social and Cultural Geography will be delivered through a set of in-person lectures and a workshop for each of four blocks
• The workshop for each block will help develop a more detailed understanding of the lecture material through engaging with academic work in the field and real-world example.
• Engagement with the workshop material will involve small group and whole class discussions to help facilitate critical thinking and evaluation skills through discussion of key issues.
• Independent learning, including reading widely, is supported with reading lists and other learning resources for students to deepen their understanding of different perspectives and explanations
• Assessment:
• Oral formative feedback provided during the workshops and lectures will encourage independent learning and practice of the skills that enhance learning outcomes.
• The summative essay enables students to practice and develop further their literature-related and critical appraisal skills, and to demonstrate detailed understanding of specific topics and debates.
• The summative exam enables students to demonstrate broader understanding of the subject in the construction of substantiated arguments and connection of themes across the module.

Formative feedback is provided through oral feedback on workshop activities.Feedback is also given on summative coursework that will help students in exam preparation.

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