Undergraduate Course: Geography Fieldwork: Foundations (Istanbul, Turkey) (GEGR09015)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Geography |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | As a field course with a visit to Istanbul, Turkey, the course will introduce students to key theoretical debates and perspectives for the study of the relationships between society and nature, primarily in urban spaces. The course will also explore some of the theoretical and methodological issues that come with doing field research in a nation-state located at the cusp of Europe and the Arab world. We draw on a range of theoretical perspectives from the non-European world in an attempt to conceptually think through what it means to be learning across space and cultural divides. Even as we use established qualitative and quantitative research methods, doing so in a non-European context will make us attentive to its limits as we work in hybrid spaces. This knowledge will assist us to interrogate human geography concepts as we revisit ideas and arguments about non-Western societies from a subaltern perspective. Drawing on historical sociology and contemporary geography, we explore particular case studies within Istanbul that fall within the genre of urban political ecology and gender politics.
Students will gain valuable skills in designing and executing a fieldwork based research project, as well as analyzing and presenting results from this exercise. Moreover, students will develop new insights on methodological issues of positionality and researchers¿ relationship with the "field". Our hope is that by raising questions about the way in which intellectual labour is institutionalized and deployed, we can democratise social sciences and the ways in which we view our global world. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | A contribution to cover travel and subsistence is required from students. Approximately £250.00. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Learn enabled: No |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Fieldwork Hours 40,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
58 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. An ability to make connections between theoretical concepts in geography and case-studies drawn from the field
2. An understanding of the relationship between alternative/Southern theories and how it contests dominant thinking
3. A grounding in a range of methodologies, and an ability to critically assess their weaknesses and strengths
4. Practical experience of designing and completing a small research project
5. Experience of teamwork and collaborative research, with attentiveness to ethics, safety, and respect for peers and your research constituents |
Assessment Information
Degree assessment: 100 % coursework.
1) A written essay of 2500 words related to one of the staff-led fieldwork days will needed to be handed in. {Students will need to choose from the three essay question topics offered, although each question will be answered by an equal number of students [i.e. no more than 12 students will get to answer each question ¿ which would be decided upon while on the field]}.
2) A field notebook ¿ non-assessed but required to be handed in with the written essay
3) Group presentation ¿ non-assessed but feedback provided immediately after presentations.
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Guiding Principles:
1. Qualitative research methods (archival work, discourse analysis, visual methods, organizational interviews, observation methods, semi-structured interviews)
2. Quantitative research methods (secondary data gathering and analysis)
3. Participatory Action Work
4. Urban Political Ecology (Social Justice and Conflicts over Urban Space)
5. Water Politics
6. Gender Politics
7. Modernity and Nationalism
8. Subaltern Debates and Contributions |
| Transferable skills |
1. To develop skills in analysing case studies by data collection, analysis and interpretation.
2. To read a variety of sources and to do so critically and creatively
3. To develop communicative skills around communicating ideas to larger groups.
4. To develop interactive skills and collaborative spirit around teamwork. |
| Reading list |
Bozdogan, Sibel and Resat Kaba (Eds.) (1997)Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey (relevant chapters)
Cloke, Paul, Philip Crang and Mark Goodwin (2014) Introducing Human Geographies (relevant concepts and sections)
Connell, Raewyn (RW) (2007) Southern Theory: Social Science and the Global Dynamics of Knowledge (relevant chapters)
Crang, Mike and Ian Cook (2007) Doing Ethnographies
Heynen, Nik, Maria Kaika and Eric Swyngedouw (Eds.) (2006) In the Nature of Cities: Urban Political Ecology and the Politics of Urban Metabolism (relevant chapters)
Pamuk, Orhan (2006) Istanbul: Memories and the City
Rose, Gillian (2011) Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
One week of intensive fieldwork
Group work
Project activity
Maintaining a daily field notebook
Daily seminars while at the field
Group presentations
Reading & Writing |
| Keywords | Fieldwork, Qualitative Methods, Istanbul, Gender Politics, Urban Political Ecology |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kanchana Ruwanpura
Tel:
Email: Kanchana.Ruwanpura@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Beth Muir
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: beth.muir@ed.ac.uk |
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