| Unit name | Multispecies Geographies: Travels with Donna Haraway |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOG30032 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Franklin Ginn |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Successful completion of one of these Year Two units: EITHER 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 | |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Multispecies Geographies explores the politics, cultures and ethics of entangled human and non-human life. It does so through close engagement with the work of Donna Haraway, a key philosophical and geographical thinker. The unit aims to address the processes informing the production and circulation of nature, life and the nonhuman with a focus on the last 50 years. The course is structured through a genealogy of Haraway’s work from the 1980s to the present day, building understanding of her recurrent thematic concerns (story, power, capital, ethics, bodies, science, feminism, technology, knowledge). These are interrogated through a diverse series of empirically grounded cases drawn from across Haraway’s work and the work of related scholars. Indicative topics include but are not limited to: primatology and heteronormativity; cyborg being; animals and other critters; evolutionary theory; space exploration; art-science; objectivity and research ethics; biology and microbiology; veganism; science fiction; planetary geohistory. The course emphasises close engagement with primary texts.
The aims are:
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:
Links between learning outcomes and methods of assessment:
The main spine of the course consists of 10 two-hour sessions. These feature lecture content, group discussion and occasional workshop-type exercises. Class preparation through reading and watching lectures is required. The range of formats is designed to help explain and consolidate conceptual learning. There are five assigned one-hour group seminars; four of these take place in the first half of the course and are designed to support learning towards the first assessment. There are also spaces for small group or 1-1 tutorials with the course organiser. There is also an ongoing virtual reading group to build regular reading time through the teaching block.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Seminars and additional timetabled writing support sessions will be formative spaces for developing ideas, trialling arguments, and exploring possible topics.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The unit will be assessed by one 2500 word essay (50%) and one unseen exam essay (2 hours) (50%). One essay will be due mid-TB and an end-of-unit exam with 1 question answered from a choice of 4. The first essay will require critical exposition of Haraway’s approach/philosophy. The second assessment will have a wider choice and focus on specific cases.
When assessment does not go to plan:
Alternative individual re-assessments will be assigned. They will normally be in the same format as the original assessments.
In the event COVID or other restrictions prevent in-person timed examinations, an on-line timed 2-hour examination will be assigned.
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. GEOG30032).
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.
