Undergraduate Course: Scotland's Futures (GEGR08016)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | How do we apply concepts in particular places? This is a key question for geographers. This course will show how a number of concepts can be applied to understand the past, present and future of a place. It will foster interpretation and analysis based on observation, contextual reading, and the collection of data. Students will be encouraged to think of the future as contested and that our fieldwork is a way of both understanding and giving shape to future geographies. |
| Course description |
Research helps us to make sense of our world. This course will help students to apply ideas from previous coursework to a particular place. Students will be asked to use concepts to make sense of the place's past and different visions for the future. The course will first provide an overarching set of readings that deepen students understanding of what geography can tell us, the links between research and impact, and the ways research can help understand and shape the future.
Students will be introduced to three particular geographical topics and associated literatures, and asked to make connections between insights from the literatures and observations in the field. Each topic will be a major idea or public issue, and will be explored through an introductory lecture and related readings, and correspond with one day of dedicated fieldwork visiting sites that pertain to that topic. Students will be asked to consider an understanding of the difference between how a topic could be approached through the physical sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Year to year, the structure of the course will remain the same, but the themes will change. Introductory lectures will provide 5 weeks of lectures preceding the trip and will include:
- An introduction to fieldwork in geography.
- An introduction to the histories and geographies of the locality.
- Introductions to the key themes.
Indicative Topics Include:
- Future Natures: rewilding and the carbon economy.
- Energy Futures: the changing social relations of peat, coal, oil and wind,
- Community Futures: the struggle for land, from the Clearances to community ownership.
- The Future of Memory: negotiating the cultural past from statues to place names.
- Future Borders: UK borders are contested and undergoing change.
Teaching will consist of a combination of lectures, small group project learning and field work. The field trips are designed to gain first-hand experience of the issues covered, and to develop the skills of observation as a prelude to interpretation and analysis.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is only available to 2nd year students on the Geography (MA Hons) Degree Programme. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 120 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 5,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5,
Fieldwork Hours 50,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 4,
Other Study Hours 68,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
64 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Directed learning
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Group Presentation (40%):
Using observations and gathered evidence to support a particular academic argument.
Degree Essay (60%):
1,500 word essay addressing a particular question relating to one of the key themes and drawing on fieldwork data acquired on the course.
Students must attain an overall mark of 40% (or above) in order to pass the course. |
| Feedback |
All students will receive written feedback on their individual assignments, with grades provided, for their course assessments. Students will also be able to request meetings to discuss the feedback provided about their assessments. The class will also be provided general feedback on their assessments, highlighting elements that could use improvement as well as where they succeeded. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate the capacity to observe and interpret the dynamism of places by attending to their changing social and cultural characteristics.
- Relate theoretical frameworks within human geography to a field site in order to notice, gather and interpret supporting evidence.
- Develop collaborative argument-building and communicate research findings thoughtfully and respectfully.
- Consider the ethical and practical considerations of fieldwork, including risk, safety, teamwork and time management.
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Reading List
Johnston R. (2009) 'Geography and the Social Science Tradition' in eds Clifford N., Holloway S., Rice S., and Valentine G., Key Concepts in Geography, pp.46-65.
Blunt A. (2009) 'Geography and the Humanities Tradition' in eds Clifford N., Holloway S., Rice S., and Valentine G., Key Concepts in Geography, pp.66-82.
Cresswell T., (2015) Place, Wiley: Chichester.
Hunter, J (1976) The Making of the Crofting Community, John Donald, Edinburgh.
Gall, G. (2022). Ed. A New Scotland: Building an Equal, Fair and Sustainable Society. Pluto Press.
www.ambaile.org.uk |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Compare and contrast different conceptual frameworks; link conceptual frameworks and data to impact; understand plurality of research approaches; cooperate and learn with others; understand different viewpoints. |
| Special Arrangements |
This course is only available to 2nd year students on the Geography (MA Hons) Degree Programme. |
| Keywords | Future,Conceptual Framework,Impact,Fieldwork,Research |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Fraser MacDonald
Tel: (0131 6)57 3887
Email: Fraser.MacDonald@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Leigh Corstorphine
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: lcorstor@ed.ac.uk |
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