Geography

This module will introduce you to a range of social, political and environmental risks in the contemporary world. You will analyse specific types of risk, the way they are assessed by national and international organisations, impacts on the environment and society, and responses to them. Specific issues will include (but not be limited to) climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, population growth, financial risks and food security.                                                                 

The module introduces human geography through the lenses of the local and the everyday and primarily explores the contributions of social and cultural geography. It focuses on the relationships that people have with place in the contemporary world. It covers issues such as the meanings of place, the enduring nature and importance of place in a globalised world, the ways in which people experience and know places, the deployment of exclusive notions of place and the representation of place.                                                                

This module will introduce you to landscape and environmental change over millennial and shorter timescales, building an understanding of the links between physical processes and landscape form. It will then consider the ways in which environmental issues are managed at a variety of scales and the roles of the United Nations and other supranational organisations, governments, NGOs, business, local communities and individuals.                                                                

This module provides the foundation for your final year project whether that will be in human, physical or environmental geography. You will learn both quantitative and qualitative methods that you will use to collect your data and then apply to that data to aid your analysis. You will become familiar with standard laboratory practices and consider how scientific data is conventionally reported. You will get a taste of working semi-independently and communicating your original research.                                                                 

The module is a foundation for final year projects whether they cover human, physical or environmental geography. In this module, you will learn both quantitative and qualitative methods that can be used to collect your data and then applied to that data to aid your analysis. You will get the opportunity  to work on a coherent collection of samples and/or undertake a small-scale field project using Earth and natural science approaches/techniques.                                                                

This module enables you to understand and demonstrate skills in research project design and successfully identify and undertake a small piece of independent project work within the UK and a group project abroad.                                                                

This module takes a critical approach to issues of development and sustainable resource management at multiple scales, ranging from the global to the local. Through reference to diverse case studies and geographical contexts the module will explore links between development theory, policy and practice and their implications for the environment in the global south.                                                                

Students can choose EITHER Option Module A or B that will run across semesters 1 and 2

Option Module A: Climate and Landscape Change

This module will enable you to gain a critical understanding of climate change processes and their products over timescales of millions to hundreds of years. You will evaluate critically proxy datasets that provide indicators of past environments by applying science techniques in a field and laboratory setting.                                                                

Option Module B: Diversity in Society: Race, Ethnicity and Migration  

This module introduces you to a comparative sociological study of race, racism, ethnicity and migration. The module examines the diverse forms of migration, such as labour migration, forced migration or displacement, as well as the social consequences of different forms of migration processes. In the second semester, the module traces the origins and development of the concept of race by exploring the importance of slavery and European colonialism in producing modern understandings of race and racial difference. It explores the role of race as a major source of social divisions and aims to show the significance of racism in the reproduction of structural inequalities and exclusions.

Race/ethnic categories vary significantly across time and place and it is crucial to explore national and global empirical examples to gain a critical understanding. Therefore, an important aspect of this course is its focus on the global dimensions and manifestations of racism, ethnicity and migration. The module addresses a range of contemporary debates related to ‘race’ and ethnicity such as racism, multiculturalism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, nationalism and national identity.                                                                

The module is a foundation for final year projects whether they cover human, physical or environmental geography. In this module, you will learn both quantitative and qualitative methods that can be used to collect your data and then applied to that data to aid your analysis. You will get the opportunity  to work on a coherent collection of samples and/or undertake a small-scale field project using Earth and natural science approaches/techniques.                                                                

This module enables you to understand and demonstrate skills in research project design and successfully identify and undertake a small piece of independent project work within the UK and a group project abroad.                                                                

This module takes a critical approach to issues of development and sustainable resource management at multiple scales, ranging from the global to the local. Through reference to diverse case studies and geographical contexts the module will explore links between development theory, policy and practice and their implications for the environment in the global south.                                                                

Students can choose EITHER Option Module A or B that will run across semesters 1 and 2

Option Module A: Climate and Landscape Change

This module will enable you to gain a critical understanding of climate change processes and their products over timescales of millions to hundreds of years. You will evaluate critically proxy datasets that provide indicators of past environments by applying science techniques in a field and laboratory setting.                                                                

Option Module B: Diversity in Society: Race, Ethnicity and Migration  

This module introduces you to a comparative sociological study of race, racism, ethnicity and migration. The module examines the diverse forms of migration, such as labour migration, forced migration or displacement, as well as the social consequences of different forms of migration processes. In the second semester, the module traces the origins and development of the concept of race by exploring the importance of slavery and European colonialism in producing modern understandings of race and racial difference. It explores the role of race as a major source of social divisions and aims to show the significance of racism in the reproduction of structural inequalities and exclusions.

Race/ethnic categories vary significantly across time and place and it is crucial to explore national and global empirical examples to gain a critical understanding. Therefore, an important aspect of this course is its focus on the global dimensions and manifestations of racism, ethnicity and migration. The module addresses a range of contemporary debates related to ‘race’ and ethnicity such as racism, multiculturalism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, nationalism and national identity.                                                                

The dissertation/project is the largest single piece of work you will undertake at undergraduate level. It is the pinnacle of your academic studies, providing you with the opportunity to study a geographical topic of interest to you on which your will produce a report.                                                                

This module provides a historical background and ecological foundation to enable you to understand the factors controlling species distributions and how species interact with each other and their environment. The module also investigates the impact that humankind has on biodiversity that will be examined through the lens of conservation. We will explore the causes of biodiversity loss and how conservation efforts can slow or reverse declines in species numbers and population abundances.                                                                

Students can choose EITHER Option Module A or Option module B that runs across semester 1 and 2 and EITHER Option Module C or Option Module D in semester 1 and EITHER Option Module E or Option Module F in semester 2. 

Option Module A: Resource Competition and Development in the Global South 

More information coming soon.. 

Option module B: Drylands: Processes, change and population mobility

Drylands cover 40-50% of Earth’s terrestrial surface and are home to around 2 billion people. This module will introduce students to the factors that contribute to the global distribution of drylands. The environmental processes (chemical, physical and biological) that operate in deserts, what the controls on these processes are, and their temporal and spatial dynamics will then be explored in detail. We will look at how humans have adapted to live in these harsh conditions through time and how mobility is central to this. The course will conclude by examining the effects of climate change on deserts and exploring what the future may hold for the humans and other species that live there.                                                                

Option Module C: Managing Environmental Hazards

This module is global in scope, covering a wide variety of natural and man-made hazards and how they can be managed. Learning is based around a series of contemporary regional case studies.                                                                 

Option Module D: Critical Geopolitics

This module explores the history and current concerns of geopolitics, examining a range of contemporary geopolitical issues from a spatial perspective. It will use a variety of contemporary and historical case studies to illustrate and explain the development of different intellectual traditions of thinking about geopolitics. The course encourages students to develop a critical understanding of the key perspectives and debates surrounding the relationship between geopolitical ideas, space and the practice of international politics; the ability to critically assess the production of geopolitical knowledge, and in particular the inter-relations between formal, practical and popular geopolitical ideas and practices; and an ability to apply key concepts in critical geopolitics to critically evaluate and explain a range of contemporary geopolitical issues.                                                                

Option Module E: New Geographies of Crime

This module considers the geographies of a variety of forms of crime occurring within multiple environments across different scales; from local / volume crime, through forms of organised crime such as drug production and cybercrime, environmental crime and crimes of the powerful. It is global in its perspective, developing a comparative perspective through the critical examination of crime in the global South and recognising the contingencies in definitions of crime within different spatial contexts. The module critically explores the history of geographical approaches to crime and advocates an expanded, multidisciplinary approach which recognises the illicit and illegal as central elements of many mainstream economic, political and environmental processes in a global age. The module is delivered through a blended learning approach with online materials preceding practical classroom based sessions.                                                                 

Option Module F: Environmental Hydrology

This course will give you a detailed understanding of the science of hydrology as it relates to the development of landforms through fluvial processes. Groundwater hydrology will also be covered, with an emphasis on the relationship between geology, climatic zone and history. The catchment will be the fundamental unit of study, with the application of hydrology to society a principal theme (e.g. water resources and the effect of climate change). By the end of the course you will understand processes operating at a variety of space and time scales, including basic river hydraulics and groundwater flow principles.                              

The dissertation/project is the largest single piece of work you will undertake at undergraduate level. It is the pinnacle of your academic studies, providing you with the opportunity to study a geographical topic of interest to you on which your will produce a report.                                                                

This module provides a historical background and ecological foundation to enable you to understand the factors controlling species distributions and how species interact with each other and their environment. The module also investigates the impact that humankind has on biodiversity that will be examined through the lens of conservation. We will explore the causes of biodiversity loss and how conservation efforts can slow or reverse declines in species numbers and population abundances.                                                                

Students can choose EITHER Option Module A or Option module B that runs across semester 1 and 2 and EITHER Option Module C or Option Module D in semester 1 and EITHER Option Module E or Option Module F in semester 2. 

Option Module A: Resource Competition and Development in the Global South 

More information coming soon.. 

Option module B: Drylands: Processes, change and population mobility

Drylands cover 40-50% of Earth’s terrestrial surface and are home to around 2 billion people. This module will introduce students to the factors that contribute to the global distribution of drylands. The environmental processes (chemical, physical and biological) that operate in deserts, what the controls on these processes are, and their temporal and spatial dynamics will then be explored in detail. We will look at how humans have adapted to live in these harsh conditions through time and how mobility is central to this. The course will conclude by examining the effects of climate change on deserts and exploring what the future may hold for the humans and other species that live there.                                                                

Option Module C: Managing Environmental Hazards

This module is global in scope, covering a wide variety of natural and man-made hazards and how they can be managed. Learning is based around a series of contemporary regional case studies.                                                                 

Option Module D: Critical Geopolitics

This module explores the history and current concerns of geopolitics, examining a range of contemporary geopolitical issues from a spatial perspective. It will use a variety of contemporary and historical case studies to illustrate and explain the development of different intellectual traditions of thinking about geopolitics. The course encourages students to develop a critical understanding of the key perspectives and debates surrounding the relationship between geopolitical ideas, space and the practice of international politics; the ability to critically assess the production of geopolitical knowledge, and in particular the inter-relations between formal, practical and popular geopolitical ideas and practices; and an ability to apply key concepts in critical geopolitics to critically evaluate and explain a range of contemporary geopolitical issues.                                                                

Option Module E: New Geographies of Crime

This module considers the geographies of a variety of forms of crime occurring within multiple environments across different scales; from local / volume crime, through forms of organised crime such as drug production and cybercrime, environmental crime and crimes of the powerful. It is global in its perspective, developing a comparative perspective through the critical examination of crime in the global South and recognising the contingencies in definitions of crime within different spatial contexts. The module critically explores the history of geographical approaches to crime and advocates an expanded, multidisciplinary approach which recognises the illicit and illegal as central elements of many mainstream economic, political and environmental processes in a global age. The module is delivered through a blended learning approach with online materials preceding practical classroom based sessions.                                                                 

Option Module F: Environmental Hydrology

This course will give you a detailed understanding of the science of hydrology as it relates to the development of landforms through fluvial processes. Groundwater hydrology will also be covered, with an emphasis on the relationship between geology, climatic zone and history. The catchment will be the fundamental unit of study, with the application of hydrology to society a principal theme (e.g. water resources and the effect of climate change). By the end of the course you will understand processes operating at a variety of space and time scales, including basic river hydraulics and groundwater flow principles.