Module Catalogue

GEO1223 : Environment and Society (Sem 2) Exchange students only

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Available to incoming Study Abroad and Exchange students
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Christopher Hackney
  • Lecturer: Dr Kathryn Manzo, Professor Andrew Henderson, Professor Alastair Bonnett, Dr Nick Cutler, Dr Seb Pitman
  • Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 2 Credit Value: 10
ECTS Credits: 5.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

This module will introduce students to a range of environmental issues within geography through both a human and physical geography lens. The main aim of the new module is to emphasize that an interdisciplinary approach is required to address the grand environmental challenges facing contemporary societies.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module content will be developed through detailed case studies embedded within the overarching conceptual framework of "The Anthropocene". Lecture content will be frammed around two main themes that will provide the broad content:

1) Pollution
2) Sustainability

The syllabus is developed in such a way that these two themes are broad enough to involve a large pool of colleagues, to make the long-term delivery of the module sustainable. Each of the two themes will be co-taught by human and physical geography colleagues, exposing students to varying perspectives and lenses on the issues taught.

The content would then be broken into the two overlapping themes, each corresponding to a contemporary ‘crisis’ in the environment. Each theme will consist of a block of lectures split evenly between a Human and Physical Geography lens. Examples of what may be included within each block include (but are not limited to):

1) Pollution - Racialisation of pollution, UK rivers (sewage discharge), microplastics, mine waste and exotic pollutants, 'acid rain', etc.
2) Sustainability - Food and soils, aggregates (sand, gravel), renewable energy, production, the build environment, etc.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture111:0011:0011 hours PiP lectures
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion115:0015:00N/A
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading168:0068:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesDrop-in/surgery21:002:002 x 1 hour drop in surgeries targetted to assessments (one each for Human and Physical Geography) tied to the second exam assessment in Semester 2.
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesScheduled on-line contact time22:004:002 x 2 hours scheduled online Q&A session at the end of each block of themed lecture delivery with one hour delivered each by a Human and Physical Geographer.
Total100:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures will provide an overview and introduction to the environmental issues being discussed from a human and physical geography perspective.

Guided independent activities will allow students to enhance their learning by engaging through critically assessing academic and grey literature, media reports and popular science material around key themes discussed in the lectures.

Timetabled Q & A sessions will allow the students to discuss the content of each theme of teaching thereby consolidating their learning and strengthening interdisciplinary knowledge.

Drop in sessions will be arranged around the assessments

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams
Description Length Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Digital Examination1202A100Open book examination
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The open book exam will ask students to select from a range of questions focus with each question based on an issue discussed in the lectures.

Reading Lists

Timetable