This module uses a range of contemporary social geographical approaches to understand how, why and in what ways individuals and organizations act in an increasingly globalized world.
The module will elaborate a critical geography approach with regard to current socio-economic developments at a range of scales including the global, national, local environments, cities, neighbourhoods, and individual bodies, paying particular attention to social differences and axes of power. A geographical critique of neoliberalism and its discontents will form the conceptual core of the module, utilising the wide body of scholarship in this field. Building on human geography concepts introduced in Year 1, the module will aim to take the students beyond a mere descriptive understanding the basic themes and issues in contemporary social geography, by giving them the skills - mainly through EBL methods - to actively question taken- for-granted assumptions regarding the relationship between society, economy, and the everyday.
By the end of the module students should be able to:
- Be able to recognise the social implications, elements and functioning of neoliberal policies at a global scale, and understand the core components of critical geographic thought with regard to contemporary social geography issues as these affect different social groups.
- Relate critical geography approaches to questions of social equity and justice, migration, citizenship, urban change, and contemporary socio-demographic change, connecting the global scale with everyday life.