Animal Geographies
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| GEOG3064 | Geography | 3 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- GEOG3064
- School
- Geography
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
In this module students will examine the complex and shifting relationships between humans and animals, nature, and culture. The module will examine the history of animal geographies and explore the ethical, moral, and cultural issues embedded in human-animal relationships. Working through both historical and contemporary examples the module explores how animals shape and are shaped by our ideas about place and identity. Students will study how animals’ figure in human society and culture in multiple ways, while frequently being marginalized or reduced to commodities, production units, symbols, and tools. They will be introduced to the theories used to explore the complex entangling of human-animal relations with space, place, location, environment, and landscape.
Target Students
• Part 2 (Final Year) Geography (F800, L700, L7N1, F759) and Part 2 Liberal Arts.• Masters in Social Science Research (Geography) students where the module was not taken at UG level (subject to timetabling considerations and pathway lead approval).
Classes
This module will be a combination of lectures and seminars.
Assessment
- 100% Report 1: A creative/written project on a specific animal/more-than-human geography
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
Aims:• To assess contemporary human geographical engagement with non-human animals and the place of that engagement within the development of the discipline.• To critically engage with key theoretical perspectives and concepts in the field of animal geographies.• To evaluate the contribution of geographical enquiry to the broader ethical and moral issues associated with animals and animal-focused research.Learning Outcomes
a) Knowledge and Understanding
Demonstrate a critical understanding of:
• Key themes in animal and more-than-human geography.
• Changes animal and more-than-human geography and their impacts on society and natural environments
• The role of animal and more-than-human geography in wider debates in the history and philosophy of Geography
• The interface between animal and more-than-human geography and applied politics in the Anthropocene
• Selection of diverse case-studies for exploring animal and more-than-human geography.
• Diverse methods and technique for animal and more-than-human geography.
• Future scenarios for animal and more-than-human geography.
b) Intellectual Skills
• Collect and analyse information critically.
• Focus on issues and assess priorities.
• Demonstrate an appreciation of the complexity of animal and more-than-human geography issues.
• Write in an articulate and cogent manner.
c) Professional Practical Skills
• Demonstrate an ability to work in a team of mixed backgrounds and skills.
• Present ideas through a range of media, including written, visual and spoken forms.
• Undertake independent, self-directed study/learning (including time management)
• Assess work output critically.