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GEOG2581: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

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Type	Open
Level	2
Credits	20
Availability	Available in 2023/24
Module Cap
Location	Durham
Department	Geography

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

None

Aims

To introduce students to the field of academic political geography
Promote an appreciation of the relationship between politics and geography
Develop understandings of the politics of space - and the spaces of politics
Engage issues in contemporary global geopolitics

Content

An initial block of lectures on key concepts and then a number of lectures on topics drawn from the following list:
Space, Territory, Security
State and Nation
Contemporary Geopolitics
Performing / Representing Geopolitics
Terror, Borders, Dissent
Citizenship and the making of a people
Activism, resistance, and social movements
Feminist Geographies
Postcolonialism and Race

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

Students are expected to be able to:
Trace the emergence and evolution of academic political geography
Understand key political geographic concepts such as space, territory, power and security
Show an appreciation of the ways in which the political world is constituted through geographical representations

Subject-specific Skills:

Students are expected to be able to:
Think critically about the texts of academic and popular geopolitics
Think critically about contemporary global geopolitics
Think critically about how the international relates to the personal and vice versa

Key Skills:

Demonstrate expertise in critical reflection and analysis
Communicate effectively in oral debates (during tutorials) which lead towards the writing of the summative assessment
Evaluate sources of evidence in contemporary public debates
Demonstrate an ability to formulate critical and sophisticated arguments

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

The lectures will introduce students to the concepts, theories and contemporary issues of political geography and global geopolitics
Small group discussion in tutorials will allow students to work through theoretical understandings introduced in lectures and apply such understandings to contemporary examples
The summative coursework essay and the exam will test critical understanding of concepts and critical thinking

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total
Lectures	15	weekly	2 hours	30
Tutorials	4	2 in Term 1, 2 in Term 2	1	4
Preparation and Reading				166
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component: Essay		Component Weighting: 50%
Element	Length / Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Coursework essay	5 x sides A4	100

Component: Examination		Component Weighting: 50%
Element	Length / Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Online 24 hour unseen examination	2 hours (recommended)	100

Formative Assessment

Feedback and feedforward on the essays is provided through small group discussions in the tutorials occurring across the module, and in a dedicated lecture at the beginning of Term 2.

More information

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