Module Identifier GG36020  
Module Title THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE  
Academic Year 2006/2007  
Co-ordinator Professor Robert A Dodgshon  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   20 Hours. 10 x 2 hour  
  Seminars / Tutorials   2 Hours. Seminar. 2 x 1 hour seminars  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours Written (seen) examination.50%
Semester Assessment Project Work: 3000 word project on a designated section of the module. Work submitted after the deadline set for the essay, without prior approval for late submission from the scheme tutor, Dr. Mark Whitehead, will be classed as 0%.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).50%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, you will (i) have a grasp of the different stages through which the development of the British rural landscape has passed, (ii) have a basic understanding of the different processes and events through which this development can be interpreted, (iii) acquire experience in handling, evaluating and cross-matching qualitatively different types of evidence and (v) experience in dealing with both the intellectual and methodological 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:

Reading Lists

Books
** General Text
Aston, M. (ed.) (1997) Interpreting the Landscape Routledge 0415151406
Dodgshon, R.A. and Butlin, R.A.(eds) (1990) An Historical Geography of England and Wales Academic Press, chaps. 1,3,4,7,17. 0122192532
Hodges, R. (1991) Wall-to-Wall History. The Story of Royston Grange Duckworth 0715623427
Hooke, D. (ed.) (2001) Landscape: the Richest Historical Record, (esp. chaps. 3-7 and 9) SLS 0009539711
Rackham, O. (1986) The History of the Countryside 0460044494
Rackham, O. The Illustrated History of the Countryside 1995 0297833928
Rippon, S. (2004) Historic Landscape Analysis. Deciphering the Countryside 19027771443
Roberts, B.K. (1987) The Making of the English Village 0582301432
Taylor, C. (1983) Farmstead and Village Philip 0540010715
Thirsk, J. (ed.) (2000) Rural England: An Illustrated History of the Landscape Oxford 0198606192

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6