Unit name | Philosophy, Social Theory and Geography |
---|---|
Unit code | GEOG25110 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Dr. Joe Gerlach |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
All mandatory Year 1 Geography units |
Co-requisites |
N/A |
School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
The unit situates contemporary debates in human geography within broader traditions of social theory and philosophy. In so doing, the unit addresses critical theorising in the fields of materialism, idealism, politics, ethics, and knowledge-production. The unit also examines the ways in which social scientific and geographical knowledges have been informed by debates in and across Marxism, post-structuralism, pragmatism, and feminism. The unit introduces and interrogates the work of specific philosophers and theorists, namely - but not limited to – Baruch Spinoza, Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, Karl Marx, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Donna Haraway, Jane Bennett, Frantz Fanon, Jacques Ranciere, and Henri Bergson. In each case, the aim is to explore the implications of each theorist for understanding key concepts in geography, notably; space, society, and subjectivity.
The aims of the unit are:
On completion of this Unit students will be able to:
The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:
Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials
One 5-minute individual presentation (25%); one 3,500 word essay (75%). Both assessments assess all ILOs.
Essential:
No single book covers this course. Specific references will be attached to each lecture.