Unit information: Geographies of Food in 2022/23

Unit name	Geographies of Food
Unit code	GEOG30011
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Glennie
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	GEOG20005 State, Economy and Society in Geographical Perspective OR GEOG20015 Geographies of Nature and Environment OR GEOG25110 Philosophy, Social Theory and Geography
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Geographical Sciences
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Unit Information

Geographies of food are considered principally through long-run and contemporary shifts in the framing of food practices; through shifting power-relations in food networks; and through debates about conceptualizing food-network powers and interests. Animal geographies are considered as a key component in post-humanist, post-environmentalist enquiry in geography, drawing on the co-construction of human/animal spaces and places, practices of human/animal association, and moral and ethical debates from animal welfare to biosecurity. Examination of traditional and contemporary forms of animal representation will be examined, leading to an assessment of ideas of hybridity, dwelling and co-constitutionism.

The aims of this Unit are to help students develop critical appreciations:

• of the historical and contemporary production of foods, food networks, eating patterns, landscapes, images of foods and of consumers;
• of ways in which diverse (inter-)disciplinary perspectives have been brought to bear in debates on foods and eating in diverse historical geographical contexts;
• of the importance of substantive, grounded investigation;
• of contemporary human geographical engagement (including the ontological and epistemological issues raised by that engagement) with non-human animals
• of the place of that engagement within the development of the discipline.

Your learning on this unit

On completion of this Unit students should be able to:

• understand the geographically distributed nature of food production and consumption, food cultures, and long-run food networks in relation to ecology/environmental factors and socio-cultural factors in food production, eating patterns and food choices
• appreciate the situated-ness of contemporaries’ understandings of the physiological and cultural meanings of foods, eating, and hunger in the past and today
• appreciate and analyse facets of their own eating practices and knowledges, with reference to substantive and conceptual literature on trajectories in food networks.
• critically appreciate geographical engagements with anthropological and other research on food and eating, including ontological and epistemological issues raised.

The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:

• Critical interpretative thinking
• Evidence-based argument
• Analytical skills
• Written communication

These objectives shape both the form and emphases of the course structure, component lectures, and examination questions. They are discussed in the opening lecture, in each block of the course, and through the stress on recent and current debates within each of the specific topics covered (both in lectures and via the course website).

How you will learn

The unit will be taught through a blended combination of online and, if possible, in-person teaching, including

• online resources
• synchronous group workshops, seminars, tutorials and/or office hours
• asynchronous individual activities and guided reading for students to work through at their own pace

How you will be assessed

3000 word essay (50%).

Take-home assessment (50%).

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. GEOG30011).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.