GG36020 - THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE

Module Identifier

GG36020

Module Title

THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE

Academic Year

2004/2005

Co-ordinator

Professor Robert A Dodgshon

Semester

Semester 2

Course delivery

Lecture

20 Hours 20 x 1 hour

Seminars / Tutorials

2 Hours Seminar. 2 x 1 hour seminars

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	2 Hours Written examination.	50%
Semester Assessment	Project Work: 3000 word project on a designated section of the module. Late submissions subject to a departmental penalty of 5% points per day. Both elements to be completed to obtain a pass; mark based on the aggregate performance.	50%
Supplementary 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).

Learning outcomes

On succesful completion of this module, students will have:-

a basic grasp of the patterns and processes through which the history of the British rural landscape can be interpreted.

Students will also:-

acquire experience in handling, evaluating and cross-matching qualitatively different types of evidence, and in dealing with both the intellectual and practical aspects of debates that embrace sharply-conflicting viewpoints.

Aims

The module will introduce students to the geographical patterns and processes around which the long-term development of the British countryside has been structured. It will develop the student's understanding of change particularly the interaction between the forces of continuity and discontinuity. In addition, it will demonstrate the importance of seeing the core problems of the course through different types of evidence (documentary, cartographic, place names, field-based, photographic) and as a product of different type of processes (social, economic, political and environmental).

Content

The course will be organised around the following themes:

Early Britain: Continuity-Discontinuity debate.

Medieval Settlement and Landholding in Lowland Britain: Village origins, settlement shifts, regular villages, open fields and desertions.

Medieval Settlements and Landholding in Upland Britain: Wales, northern England and Scotland.

Trends in the Countryside 1086-1350: Growth and Contraction.

Changes in Key Habitats: Woods, Wetlands and Heath.

Changes in the Rural Landscape of Lowland Britain since 1500.

Changes in the Rural Landscape of Upland Britain since 1500.

Reading Lists

Books
Thirsk, J. (ed.) (2000) Rural England: An Illustrated History of the Landscape Oxford ISBN-0-19-8606192
Aston, M. (ed.) (1997) Interpreting the Landscape Routledge ISBN 0415151406
Hooke, D. (ed.) (2001) Landscape: the Richest Historical Record, (esp. chaps. 3-7 and 9) SLS ISBN 0-9539711
Rippon, S. (2004) Historic Landscape Analysis. Deciphering the Countryside ISBN 19027771 44 3
Dodgshon, R.A. and Butlin, R.A.(eds) (1990) An Historical Geography of England and Wales Academic Press, chaps. 1,3,4,7,17. ISBN 0-12-219253-2
Hodges, R. (1991) Wall-to-Wall History. The Story of Royston Grange Duckworth ISBN 0-7156-2342-7
Rackham, O. (1986) The History of the Countryside ISBN 0-460-04449-4
Rackham, O. The Illustrated History of the Countryside 1995 ISBN 0-297-83392-8
Roberts, B.K. (1987) The Making of the English Village ISBN 0-582-30143-2
Taylor, C. (1983) Farmstead and Village Philip ISBN 0-540-010715

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6