Unit name | Study and Field Skills for Human Geographers (Bristol) |
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Unit code | GEOG20018 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. David Manley |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
GEOG10002 Geographical History, Thought and Practices, GEOG10003 Key Concepts in Human and Physical Geography, and GEOG10004 Introduction to Quantitative Geography. |
Co-requisites |
Either GEOG20012 Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography or POLI20001 Conducting a Research Project using secondary data |
School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
This field-based unit links theory, policy and practice through work in and on a UK city – Bristol – and its population and hinterland. The unit will introduce students to a variety of human geography methods, both quantitative and qualitative, encouraging them – through structured and unstructured field encounters – to reflect on their strengths and limitations, the ethics of different methods, the forms of data generated, and their use in addressing a range of questions and problems. Research design, sampling, analysis and interpretation will also be considered.
The course provides material for the basis of day-projects in the field and will give students an opportunity to develop their methodological skills and awareness.
The aims of the unit are to:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will have:
1. developed their field skills;
2. put their learning into practice in a field setting;
3. reflected critically on their field encounters;
4. integrated their results and experiences into a report;
The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:
• Written communication
• Team work
• Numeracy
• Computer literacy
• Problem solving
• Analytical skills
Briefing lectures, workshops, non-residential field work (including briefings in the field), drop-in discussion sessions
Percentage of the unit that is coursework: 100%
Fieldwork portfolio consisting of three mini-reports (100%).
Essential Reading:
• Steve Pile and Nigel Thrift, eds. (2000) City A-Z: Urban Fragments
• Jennifer Robinson, (2005) Ordinary Cities: Between Modernity and Development
• Ash Amin and Nigel Thrift, ed. (2002) Cities: Reimagining the Urban
• Walter Benjamin (1997) One-way Street and Other Writings