00455 - Geography (M-Z)

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Humanities (cod. 8850)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide a solid knowledge of key-concepts, origin, development of Human Geography and of Cartography as a field of study. Students will be able to analyse social phaenomena in spatial perspective, according to the methodology of political, economic, urban geography and of cartography. Students will be able to analyse critically atlases, literary and historical sources to study territory and to achieve geographical information in the digital environment.

Course contents

The course is organised in two distinct parts.

The first part will introduce the key concepts and approaches in Human Geography: space, place, landscape, maps, regions, the territorial nation state, the globe. We will also reflect on the geographies of tourism, consumption, heritage, together with the methodologies adopted by geographers in their fieldwork.

In the second part we will analyse a series of geographical topics which have a significant impact on our society and on our daily lives. In particular, the lectures will propose a critical analysis of the relationship between space, power and the new geographies of global mobility. By using multiple empirical cases, this part of the course will also discuss the relationship between geographical thought and orientalist, colonialism, and post colonialism. The final part of the course will be devoted to the relationship between geopolitics and biopolitics in contemporary global space.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS

To prepare for their exam, attending students are required to study the material discussed in class and the following readings:

1) C. Minca, Appunti di Geografia, CEDAM, 2022

2) Readings made available during the lectures

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

To prepare for their exam, students who did not attend the lectures in class are required to study the following readings: 

1) C. Minca, Appunti di Geografia, CEDAM, 2022

2) F. Farinelli F., Geografia, Torino, Einaudi, 2003

3) Harvey D., La crisi della modernità, Milano, il Saggiatore, 20

Teaching methods

The course is largely based on frontal teaching/lectures. During the first class the lecturer will provide detailed instructions on how the course is organised, the content, the readings and the exam.

Students who intend to take the exam as 'attending students' are expected to attend no less than 75% of the lectures.

Assessment methods

The assessment consists of a written exam with open questions.

There are different sets of question for attending and non attending students. 

Attending students will be asked questions focussed on the materials discussed in class and on the relevant list of readings.

Non-attending students will be asked questions focussed on topics and subjects treated in the textbook and the other readings.  

The assessment will consider:

1) the level of knowledge and critical understanding of the content addressed in the questions;

2) the strength of the argument and the capacity to identify links between the main topics discussed in the responses;

3) the use of the appropriate terminology.

The students who receive an insufficient mark are requested to take the exam again.  

The results will be communicated to the students via almaesami.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint presentations, websites, video clips, readings and relevant documents from the media.

Office hours

See the website of Claudio Minca