Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

•       To introduce cutting edge research exploring the human geography of the United Kingdom;

•       To present the range of world-leading geographical scholarship undertaken at Newcastle University;

•       To enable students to develop critical insights into a range of historical and current geographical trends, shaping economics, politics, society and culture in the United Kingdom;

•       To explore the skills required to trace uneven geographical processes;

•       To cultivate a sense of wonder and curiosity at the varied approaches to human geography.

•       To develop an ability to undertaken meaningful fieldwork and connect to the broader learning aims and objectives of the taught materials.

Outline Of Syllabus

Lecture 12 – Empire and Imperialism
Lecture 13 – The UK in the world today
Lecture 14 – The UK state, borders and nationalism
Lecture 15 – Protest and privilege
Lecture 16 – Fieldwork briefing on “contested citizenship”
Fieldwork 3 (Political geographies)
Lecture 17 – New cultural geography: Landscape and Identity
Lecture 18 – Landscape: Nature and Society
Lecture 19 – Geohumanities: Landscape and Embodiment
Lecture 20 – Geographies of Performance
Lecture 21 – Fieldwork briefing on “land art”
Fieldwork 4 (Cultural geographies)
Lecture 22 – Revision Lecture

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the course students will be able to:

•       Understand some of the key spatial variables in the UK economics, society, politics and culture;
•       Understand the range of geographical concepts and theories that have been used to analyse and describe these variations;
•       Understand the significance of geographical approaches to correcting and confronting inequality;
•       Be able to identify key areas of human geographical research at Newcastle University.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the course students will:

•       Have the skills to explain the nature of spatial variations in the human geography of the United Kingdom;
•       Have the ability to identify some of the causes behind these variations and their change over time;
•       Demonstrate an array of fieldwork techniques and forms of analysis;
•       Be able to evaluate the role and limitations of regional geographical approaches within the wider discipline of geography.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This module is taught through a mixture of lectures and fieldwork in order to meet the learning outcomes.

The fieldwork in the form of student-led small group activity offers an important first experience of fieldwork at this stage 1 level of the geography programme.

It is expected that students will complete this work around Newcastle upon Tyne. The political geographies fieldwork will be largely based with student’s working online analysing secondary source materials. The cultural geographies trip will involve a virtual visit to the Northumberlandia site. The worksheets completed as part of these fieldwork activities will each account for 10% of the module assessment.

It is important to note that the fieldwork material will be easily adapted for students who do not travel to Newcastle for reasons of shielding or have other medical constraints on their mobility. These fieldtrips successfully ran as virtual events in academic year 2020-2021 and as hybrid activities in 2021-2022.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

24 hour take home exam. Answer 2 questions (up to 1000 words).

General Notes

N/A