13710 - Geography (1) (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will possess the geographic expertise to handle historical and geographic atlases, as well as using IT tools and surfing the web to gain information and cartographic material or images. They will be organized and independent in their work, possess a spirit of self-criticism and an ability to spot connections by having dealings with experts from other subjects.

Course contents

By the end of the module, students will acquire skills in the fields of critical geographies and the history of geography, including their application to cases such as globalization, postcolonial and decolonial debates, migrations and the interpretations of landscape. They will be able to find their way in relevant written and online literatures, and will be able to read critically and autonomously elaborate on the aforementioned themes.

The course comprises five parts:

1. The first will introduce some basic notions of geography such as the definitions of place, space, geographical thought and geohistory.

2. The second will introduce the notion of critical geography starting from the construction of the idea of landscape according to classical authors such as Alexander von Humboldt and their successive readings by authors including Franco Farinelli.

3. The third will introduce the concepts of political geography and critical geopolitics with a special emphasis on the notions of state and territory.

4. The third will discuss postcolonial, decolonial and feminist geographies, through a critical look at the history of European expansion, at the construction of the Other and at the destruction of different worldviews.

5. The fifth will focus on population geographies especially related with current political and scholarly debates on global migrations.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS

For students attending at least the 80% of the classes there will be two texts to read, in addition to other shorter readings that will be indicated in class.

First book: Franco Cassano, Il pensiero meridiano, Roma/Bari, Laterza, 2021 [chapter 6 excluded] (preferably one of the latest editions, including the Author's Introduction)

Second book: choose one between

* Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Decolonizzare la storia, oltre capitalismo, colonialismo e patriarcato, Roma, Castelvecchi, 2023.

OR

* Massimo Livi Bacci, In cammino, breve storia delle migrazioni, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2019.

NON ATTENDING STUDENTS

Students who did not attend class must prepare three books for the exam:

First book: Claudio Minca (a cura di) Appunti di geografia, Padova, CEDAM, 2022. Chapters 2,3,4, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Second book: Franco Cassano, Il pensiero meridiano, Roma/Bari, Laterza, 2021 [chapter 6 excluded] (preferably one of the latest editions, including the Author's Introduction)

Third book: choose one between

* Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Decolonizzare la storia, oltre capitalismo, colonialismo e patriarcato, Roma, Castelvecchi, 2023.

oppure

* Massimo Livi Bacci, In cammino, breve storia delle migrazioni, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2019.

 

IMPORTANT: the learning supports uploaded to Virtuale concern ONLY the programme for attending students - for those who do not attend there are the readings indicated. It is strongly discouraged to refer to the PowerPoints, which are not useful to prepare the programme for non-attending students.

Teaching methods

The module is delivered through traditional classes. In the first class, the teacher will give details on the syllabus, on the assessment criteria, on the course's bibliography.

Those who wish to pass the exam as "attending students" must attend at least the 80% of the classes.

Given the presence of an option for non attending students, the recording of the classes is not authorized under any form.

Active and critical participation in class with questions and interventions is strongly encouraged.

Assessment methods

There will be an end-of-semester written exam. It will consist in discursive questions (no short answers, no MCQ) which will be different for attending and non-attending students. For those who attended, questions will focus on the themes addressed in class and will include the readings on specific parts of the course that will be discussed in class. For those who did not attend, the questions will focus on the contents of the textbook and books assigned in the bibliography.

I will especially consider:

1) Your level of in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of the module's themes.

2) Your capacity of building arguments and doing connections between different themes

3) Your capacity of using an adequate phrasing and an appropriate terminology.

I will assess with excellence grades the evidence of your acquisition of an exhaustive view of all the themes addressed and the capacity of dealing critically with them, in addition to the mobilization of a good written expression and correct use of specific terminology.

A mnemonic knowledge of the themes, accompanied by the capacity of analysis and synthesis expressed in appropriate language, will lead to average/good grades.

Lacunas in the key contents, and/or inappropriate language, in the context of a basic knowledge of the course's themes, will lead to grades that will not exceed the pass-mark (18 or so).

Lacunas, inappropriate language, lack of understanding of the course's materials will be assessed negatively. In case of fail grade, you will need to repeat the exam.

For attending students, active participation in class with questions and critical remarks will be appreciated.

The results will be notified by email

 

SOME TIPS FOR ANSWERING THE EXAM QUESTIONS

1. In principle, the questions will suggest a transversal reflection on the topics covered in the different weeks of the course, therefore they imply the ability to make CRITICAL LINKS.
2. Rather than the mere description of a single theme, author or anecdote, REASONING on concepts will be required. It is therefore highly appreciated to make connections between different parts of the programme.
3. Direct or indirect quotations from texts are appreciated. That is, when you discuss a concept, please also state who said this and in what context. In particular, for each concept, it is recommended to mention the reference authors, in order to mention all the "players" on the field, not just the final result
4. If you quote information, say from which book or article you take it and put it, if possible, in its spatial and temporal context [and not: "I read it in the photocopy"]
5. Critical comments and personal considerations are appreciated, including links to other courses you are taking. The production of knowledge is never neutral or "objective": if you disagree with any concept expressed by the teacher or by the authors of the readings, do not hesitate to say it, constructing your own argument
6. There is no need to write much. Rather, it is important that the sentences are clear and have substance (example, do not digress inventing on the spot, nor repeat the same concept ten times to fill a sheet).
7. Again and again, please be aware that doing ALL the mandatory readings indicated in the programme (and in particular the assigned chapters of the textbook for those who bring the program from non-attending students) is ESSENTIAL to address this exam. It is strongly discouraged to show up just to "try".

Teaching tools

PowerPoint, websites, teaching materials in pdf for attending students.

Complementary bibliography

Braudel, Fernand, Il mediterraneo. Lo spazio, la storia, gli uomini, le tradizioni, Milano, Bompiani, 2017.

Camus, Albert, L’uomo in rivolta, Milano, Bompiani, 2010.

Cassano, Franco e Zolo, Danilo (eds.) L'alternativa mediterranea, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2007

Chambers, Iain, Mediterraneo blues: musiche, malinconia postcoloniale, pensieri marittimi, Napoli, Tamu, 2020.

Deleuze, Gilles e Guattari, Félix, Che cos’è la filosofia? Torino, Einaudi, 2002.

Farinelli, Franco, I segni del mondo, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1992.

Farinelli, Franco, Geografia, Torino, Einaudi, 2003.

Farinelli, Franco, L’invenzione della terra, Palermo, Sellerio, 2017.

Febvre, Lucien, La terra e l’evoluzione umana, Torino, Einaudi, 1981.

Ferretti, Federico, Da Strabone al cyberspazio. Introduzione alla storia del pensiero geografico, Milano, Guerini, 2014.

Ferretti, Federico, “Geography, pluriverse and ‘Southern Thought’: engaging with decoloniality from the Mediterranean”, Political Geography, 107, 2023, 102990 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962629823001683

Gambi, Lucio, Una geografia per la storia, Torino, Einaudi, 1973.

Kothari, A et al., Pluriverso, dizionario del post-sviluppo, Nocera, Orthesis, 2021.

Kropotkin, Peter, Il mutuo appoggio, un fattore dell’evoluzione. Milano, Eleuthera, 2020.

Humboldt, Alexander von, Viaggio alle regioni equinoziali del Nuovo Continente, Macerata, Quodlibet, 2014.

Livi Bacci, Massimo, Storia minima della popolazione del mondo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016.

Livi Bacci, Massimo, Conquista, la distruzione degli Indios americani, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009.

Lugones, Maria, Jiménez-Lucena Isabel, Tlostanova Madina, Genere e decolonialità, Verona, Ombre Corte, 2023.

Matvejević, Predrag, Breviario mediterraneo, Milano, Garzanti, 2020.

Mignolo, Walter, L'idea di America Latina : geostoria di una teoria decoloniale, Milano: Mimesis, 2013.

Monceri, Flavia (ed.), Modernità e trans-modernità. Percorsi di lettura nel pensiero decoloniale. Pisa, ETS, 2021.

Morelli Federica e Venturoli Sofia (eds.) Geografia, razza e territorio. Agostino Codazzi e la Commissione Corografica in Colombia. Bologna, Il Mulino, 2021.

Reclus, Elisée, Storia di un ruscello, Milano, Eleuthera, 2020.

Reclus, Elisée, Scritti di geografia sovversiva, Milano, Eleuthera, 2022.

Said, Edward, Orientalismo, l’immagine europea dell’Oriente, Milano, Feltrinelli, varie edizioni.

Sousa Santos, Boaventura de, Epistemologie del Sud : giustizia contro l'epistemicidio, Roma, Castelvecchi, 2021.

Zwer, Nepthys e Rekacewicz, Philippe, Cartographie radicale, explorations. Paris, La Découverte, 2021.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Ferretti