GG36920 - GEOGRAPHIES OF RURAL POLITICS

Module Identifier	GG36920
Module Title	GEOGRAPHIES OF RURAL POLITICS
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Dr Michael Woods
Semester	Semester 2
Course delivery	Lecture	20 Hours 10 x 2 hrs
	Seminars / Tutorials	2 Hours 1 x 2 hrs
Assessment	Essay	A research essay of 3,000 words to be submitted in week 8. Late submissions subject to a departmental penalty of 5% points per day.	50%
	Exam	2 Hours A 2 hour final exam paper, answering 2 questions from 4. Both elements to be completed to obtain a pass; mark based on the aggregate performance.	50%
	Resit assessment	Resit: For a condoned (medical grounds) non-completion of examination or coursework involves the completion of the missing component(s) for the full range of marks on dates set in the Supplementary Examination period. Resit due to aggregate failure or non-completion of part of the assessment requires re-examination of each component if marks of <40% in both were obtained, or re-examination or re-submission of the failed component (examination or assignment(s) to obtain a maximum mark of 40% for the module).

Module Outline (Lecture Themes)

Introduction
1. Introducing rural politics: the myth of the apolitical countryside

The Evolution of the Rural Power Structure
2. Property, paternalism and power
3. Contemporary rural local politics
4. Rural governance
5. Rural policy
6. Contesting rurality
7. Agricultural politics
8. Hunting and field sports
9. Debate
10. Houses, roads and travellers
11. Rurality and Nationalism

Module Aims

This module aims to examine the contemporary political process in rural areas and its historical development. It seeks to critically analyse contemporary rural politics, drawing on a range of social and political theories which will be discussed in the context of empirical examples.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

Demonstrate a critical appreciation of contemporary political processes in rural areas

Discuss and evaluate theories of the State, governance, policy-making and rurality

Discuss major contemporary political issues effecting the British countryside

Demonstrate competence in individual study and in oral and written presentations.

Reading Lists

Books
P. Cloke & J. Little. (1990) The Rural State. Oxford: Oxford University Press
H. Newby, C. Bell, D. Rose & P. Saunders. (1978) Property, Paternalism and Power. London: Hutchinson
J. Murdoch & T. Marsden. (1994) Reconstituting Rurality. London: UCL Press
M. Winter. (1996) Rural Politics. London: Routledge

Articles
M. Mormont. (1983) The emergence or rural struggles and their ideological effects. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 7, 559-575.