| Unit name | Contemporary Debates in Human Geography |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOGM1402 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. MacLeavy |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Bristol Human Geography research covers a wide range of themes, practices and problematics, from the highly theoretical and philosophical to the empirically rich and technically sophisticated. Our scholarship is clustered into three research groups - Historical-Cultural, Political Economy and Spatial Modelling – each of which has a long standing reputation for theoretical and methodological innovation. We are also fostering cross-cutting research programmes in fields such as the geography of health; geographies of identity, subjectivity and the body; geographies of knowledge; and global change. This course will expose you to contemporary geographical debates, and profile the diversity of our research content, process and practice, through a series of seminars with Human Geography staff.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:
Students will complete the required reading, then participate in a two hour discussion based seminar that explores research focus, content, process and practice with the relevant staff member.
Nature of the formative assessment:
The seminars provide an opportunity to monitor and feedback on student learning. Seminars will start with a presentation on the week’s readings and be followed by group discussion/debate on the issues raised within. The course instructors will provide verbal feedback in the seminars and answer questions and points of clarification as necessary.
Nature of summative assessment:
The summative assessment consists of a 4000 word research essay (100%). This will assess the students’ knowledge of the key themes and concepts outlined in the unit, and their application to empirical case studies. It will also require students to be capable at written communication, critical thinking, organisational skills and making effective use of wider literatures to support their argument.
Explain how the Learning Objectives for this Unit are linked to the methods of assessment
Each member of staff will provide a forthcoming/in progress article of their own, supplemented by two background readings by geographers. The readings will be selected in order to situate research by Bristol Human Geographers in relation to broader disciplinary debates. These readings will uploaded and available on Blackboard (our unit website) for students to download.
