Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

This fieldtrip module is only available to students on L701/F800 Geography degrees, LK74 Geography and Planning or Y001 Combined Honours.

GEO1010 is a core module for L701/F800/LK74, and must be chosen by Y001 Combined Honours students to study this module.

Aims

The module aims to:
- introduce students to critical qualitative human geography methods, and how these are applied in the field.

- examine how qualitative mapping, as an example of critical qualitative human geography methods, helps understand the sustainable, cultural, economic and political geographies of coastal environments

- explore and understand the geographies of coastal communities in north-east England, as a case study of a site in which multiple geographical themes can be encountered

- provide students with an opportunity to grow as a learning community through engaging 'sea-school' field-course exercises

- introduce students to Newcastle geography's research strengths, and how these can be applied to a particular case

Outline Of Syllabus

Students will explore the intricacies of how coastal landscapes and communities mutually co-constitute one another.

Students will be introduced to themes around coastal communities which match broad subdisciplinary specialities of Newcastle geography. These will come from 4 of:

- Cultural geography
- Geohumanities
- Political geography
- Economic geography
- Social geography
- Energy geography
- Environmental geography
- Mobility geography
- Historical geography

Within these themes, students will be presented with challenges or problems that communities face, and will be tasked with producing a qualitative mapping research project that creatively documents or responds to these challenges. Students will undertake research for this project during fieldwork at coastal sites in the North-East of England.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

After studying the module, students will:
- Understand how communities interact with landscapes (and specifically, coasts as the module's worked case study) to shape social, political, economic and cultural geographies
- Have a critical understanding of environmental geographies
- Understand how geographical research can support communities to respond to challenges
- Have a stronger understanding of the geographies of North East England
- Understand how and why geographers use qualitative methods

Intended Skill Outcomes

After studying the module, students will be able to:
- Use some basic qualitative and creative research methods
- Work collectively with peers to produce a deliverable output
- Plan and carry out independent qualitative fieldwork
- Produce research designs that respond to challenges or problems

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The majority of teaching is delivered through 3 days of fieldwork, including 2 days of data collection and 1 day of data analysis. This will allow students to work with the taught methods (introduced through 3 workshops) and to explore the thematic content (introduced through lectures).

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The qualitative map will be a group-produced response to a challenge or problem faced by coastal communities. This will assess peer-learning and teamwork, as well as students' abilities to design and produce an output from qualitative research methods

The reflective log will allow students to show their understanding of the underlying geographical themes in more depth, and to individually reflect on the process of using qualitative methods.

In generating their qualitative maps, students will be encouraged to be creative and ambitious in their approach, with an aim of producing a collective portfolio of responses to the challenges of coastal communities

General Notes

N/A