Module Identifier GGM2540  
Module Title POSITIONING HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY  
Academic Year 2006/2007  
Co-ordinator Dr Heidi V Scott  
Semester Semester 2 (Taught over 2 semesters)  
Co-Requisite GGM2240 , PGM0210 , PGM0520 , PGM0410  
Mutually Exclusive GGM2640  
Course delivery Lecture   42 Hours. (14 x 3 hour timetabled sessions)  
  Seminars / Tutorials   28 Hours. (Reading Group, 14 x 2 hour timetable sessions)  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment PROJECT ESSAYS Two Project Essays of no more than 7,000 words, demonstrating a scholarly appreciation of key philosophical, epistemological and theoretical debates in cultural geography (one at the end of each semester - 35% for each essay).70%
Semester Assessment RESEARCH JOURNAL (8,000 words submitted in two stages) that reviews and critically evaluates the articles discussed within the human geography reading group and connects these to wider debates in human geography and cultural geography.20%
Semester Assessment ORAL PRESENTATION Within the reading groups.10%
Supplementary Assessment RESUBMISSION  100%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Sessions on Positioning Historical Geography (see assessment)_
1. Identify the intellectual development of, and discuss key issues concerning, historical geography as a sub-discipline of human geography, along with its link to the discipline of history;
2. Show a critical understanding of the relation of concepts of time and concepts of history;
3. Display a scholarly appreciation of the evolving historiography of historical geography, paying particular attention to the influence of print and literature on this evolution;
4. Exhibit knowledge of a range of theoretical perspectives on the historical geographies of power and resistance, as evidenced in the transformation of empires and states;
5. Demonstrate a critical awareness of a range of key themes that are of critical importance in contemporary historical geography, namely issues relating to collecting, travel, mobility and landscape.   
6. Express an individual understanding and position on debates in historical geography, especially in relation to their own field of enquiry.

Human Geography Reading Group (see assessment)_
7. Demonstrate competency in reviewing and critiquing key readings in human and historical geography;
8. Develop a range of skills in individual study, oral discussion and written presentations;
9. Evaluate these knowledges and positions within small group discussions containing both postgraduates and staff.

Content

Section 1: Introduction_
Session 1. Geography and History: Positioning Historical Geography
Session 2: Time and Historical Geography: Continuity and Change   
Seeion 3: Current Theoretical and Methodological Debates

Section 2: Writing Historical Geography_
Session 4: History of Geography: Methods, Historiography and Debates
Session 5: Geography and Print
Session 6: Geography and Literature: Some Interactions

Section 3: Historical Geography and Power_
Session 7: Empire and Historical Geography
Session 8: State Formation: Power and Space
Session 9: Historical Geographies of Resistance

Section 4: Key Themes in Historical Geography_
Session 10: Cultures of Collection
Session 11: Cultures of Travel
Session 12: Mobility and Marginality
Session 13: The Historical Geography of Landscape

Section 5: Futures_
Session 14: Where Next for Historical Geography?

Brief description

This module will provide Masters-level students with knowledge of debates within the broad sphere of historical geography. Students will acquire an understanding, through reading and seminar-based discussion, of the following contemporary themes in historical geography: time; historiography; communication and print; empire, states, power and resistance; and collection, travel, mobility and marginality.

In addition to the 14 sessions detailed below, students on this module also attend a Human Geography Reading Group, which involves selected readings from across geography and seminar presentations by visiting speakers. They are required to complete a journal that covers selected readings and also participate in oral debate and discussion with academic staff.   

Module Skills

Problem_solving Developed through the 7,000 Project Essays - an independent piece of work demonstrating an appreciation of connections between philosophical, epistemological, and theoretical debates in historical geography.  
Research skills Developed through the 7,000 Project Essays (see above) and the Journal, which requires readings, noting taking, and critical reflection.  
Communication Oral skills will be developed through the seminars attached to the main sessions and more specifically in relation to individual participation in the Human Geography Reading Group. Oral skills are assessed in the Oral Presentation. Communication skills are also assessed through the marking of the Journal, which communicates critical evaluations on selected readings. Written skills will be assessed through the written submissions.  
Improving own Learning and Performance Students will be expected to undertake a significant amount of self-directed study, including extensive reading for the project essay. Students will be required to develop self and time-management skills and will receive guidance from the MA coordinator, the module coordinator and the coordinator of the session.  
Team work Both elements of this module involve group-based discussions and activities. Team work is also required in the module main sessions and the reading group, where students are frequently required to discuss concepts and ideas within pairs and within a group setting. The key skills developed here: listening, reflecting, negotiating and debating.  
Information Technology Students will be expected to use Information Technology in the presentation of their coursework. They will also become familiar with the use of the Internet and the Web of Knowledge in the provision of academic writing¿for example on-line journals (assessed through the Project Essays).  
Application of Number Some reading by students will discuss empirical research based on numerical analysis.  
Personal Development and Career planning Students who wish to pursue careers within the discipline of historical geography, i.e. through further research and study, will be encouraged to situate themselves and their work within the particular aspects of the module.  
Subject Specific Skills None: most of the above key skills straddle the boundary between generic M-level skills and subject specific skills in historical geography.  

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Graham, B. and Nash, C. (eds) (1999) Modern Historical Geographies Prentice Hall
Livingstone, D. (1992) The Geographical Tradition Blackwell
Mayhew, R. (2000) Enlightenment Geography: The Political Languages of British Geography, 1650-1850 Palgrave Press
Mayhew, R. (2004) Landscape, Literature and English Religious Culture, 1660-1800: Samuel Johnson & Languages of Natural Description Palgrave Press

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7