GV2EPG: Encountering Political Geographies

Module code: GV2EPG

Module provider: Geography and Environmental Science; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Anna Jackman, email: a.h.jackman@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

From the everyday to the global, political geography matters. It equips us with the tools to help make sense of a tumultuous world – a world convulsing under the pressures of a Climate Emergency and straining amidst the effects of war. This module introduces students to the sub-discipline of political geography. The module equips students with the tools to locate the geopolitical in unexpected spaces, placing the spotlight on the space of the bedroom as much as the battlefield; the body as much as the border; the school as much as the state. It also enables students to think critically about the geopolitical world, to challenge and resist dominant ideas, and to open out multiple ways of seeing, engaging, and being. When surrounded by such profound, catastrophic, and uneven change, such efforts are more important than ever. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Identify and deploy key lenses through which to engage with political geography and understand how the geopolitical is differently experienced, located and made meaningful.  
2. Understand key concepts which have shaped political geography as a discipline, and apply these to make sense of geopolitical phenomena and practices. 
3. Reflect on emerging and potential geopolitical futures, and the future of the sub-discipline itself. 

Module content

The module will be designed and delivered around three core blocks – approaches, concepts, and futures. After a session introducing both the module structure/format and situating political geography as a sub-discipline, the first block will introduce several approaches, key lenses through which to engage with political geography and to explore how the geopolitical is differently experienced, located and made meaningful (e.g. popular geopolitics, feminist geopolitics, decolonising geopolitics). The module will then move on to introduce several key concepts, those which have at once shaped political geography as a discipline and enable us to make sense of geopolitical phenomena and practices (e.g. borders, violence, peace and resistance). The module will then close with a reflection on both emerging and potential geopolitical futures, and the futures of the sub-discipline itself. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Students will be taught through a mixture of lectures and seminars. The lectures will include interactive elements (e.g. class polls, word clouds, think-pair-share exercises etc), and the seminars will be based around applying the lecture materials to specific case study examples through group work exercises. Small elements of the module will be delivered online (e.g. screencasts of key concepts, assessment drop-ins).  

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs