LEC.101: Global Environmental Challenges

• Terms Taught: Full Year Course
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 8 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

At the beginning of a student's university experience it is important that a wide-angle view of the environmental world is taken. The importance lies in exposing students to the breadth of topic and approach taken to successfully characterise and solve environmental problems in the broadest context. The module deliberately links themes from the natural and social sciences to focus on key processes and issues in ways that are relevant to students on all LEC degree schemes. Whilst avoiding specialist technical and theoretical details (these are dealt with in subject-specific modules), the module avoids superficiality by placing emphasis on the complex interactions between key environmental and societal processes, and on breadth of new knowledge. Topical themes are taught at a variety of scales, with emphasis on linking the global and the local. At the end of the module students are very well informed of the subject diversity they could study on progression to Part 2 and, therefore, equipped to make educated decisions about the direction of their degrees.

Educational Aims

Through lectures and tutorials the module will teach students critical thinking skills and will require students to understand and evaluate key contemporary environmental issues from a variety of perspectives. Key research, communication and safety skills that underpin the attainment of environmental knowledge and understanding are delivered through small group, team and individual work.

Outline Syllabus

Global Environmental Challenges emphasises the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches that must be taken in order to understand and solve environmental problems. The module syllabus is aimed at providing LEC Part 1 students with an appreciation of these holistic approaches in relation to their individual backgrounds and degree schemes in terms of both introductory academic knowledge and foundation skills. The curriculum adopted is based around LEC's three research actions. This has the very important embedded benefit of giving new LEC students a clear view of LEC activities as well as introducing 60% of LEC academic staff and their associated areas of expertise. Delivery of academic material is through 38 bi-weekly presentations whilst key skills are nurtured through 11 fortnightly small-group tutorials that support a project-based approach. The generic curriculum is given below, followed by a more detailed specification.

Understanding a changing planet

The global environment and society are now threatened by unprecedented changes resulting from human activities, including intensive agriculture and fossil fuel use, as well as facing natural hazards such as volcanic eruptions or climatic extremes. "Global Environmental Challenges" explores these threats through a series of research-informed presentations from a broad cross-section of expert LEC staff. LEC recognises the need to balance disciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding that addresses the physical, chemical, biological and social aspects of "Global Environmental Challenges". We work together to contribute to finding sustainable approaches to resilience and adaptation. LEC.101 aims to start students on the road to understanding and contributing to addressing "Global Environmental Challenges".

Improving global stewardship

The environment supplies the resources on which the health, wealth and wellbeing of all societies depend; however, unsustainable resource use is damaging to societal wellbeing. Interdisciplinary interactions that embrace both the social and natural sciences improve environmental resource management in ways that respect not only the need for environmental protection but also sustainable development that is just, equitable and inclusive. "Global Environmental Challenges" explores sustainable approaches to food production, clean air and water; energy and essential minerals, as well as the ecosystems that provide a range of services from fertile soils and sustainable pest control to cultural wellbeing.

Innovation for a better environment

LEC recognises that sustainable development depends on promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production as well as protecting and managing the natural resources vital for economic and social development. "Global Environmental Challenges" encompass, therefore, eco-innovation, which is innovation that reduces the environmental impact of products, processes and services or improves the efficient and responsible use of resources.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 40%
• Exam: 60%

LEC.114: Society and Space - Human Geography

• Terms Taught: Full Year Course.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 8 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: This course must be taken with LEC.115

Course Description

The course focuses on the interactions between people and places at a variety of spatial scales, and in varied parts of the globe. Key issues include the social and cultural impacts of current demographic trends, processes of urbanisation, globalisation of the world economy, the spatial dimensions of social and economic inequalities, the influence of different political systems on contemporary society, and the ways in which different societies adapt and react to issues of sustainability and risk. These themes are explored within the context of different theoretical approaches current within human geography and are illustrated by examples from both rich and poor parts of the world.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Discuss key processes of geographical change affecting society, economy and environment in different parts of the globe
• Critically analyse key theories and arguments that inform the geographical analysis of society, economy and environment
• Apply appropriate models of geographical change to a range of topics in human geography
• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge in human geography to proceed to Part 2 of the Geography degree course
• Use and communicate key geographical concepts effectively

Outline Syllabus

• Introduction to course; Geographies of human populations: migration, mortality and fertility
• Urbanisation over time and space: processes and impacts
• Globalisation: economic restructuring, global processes and local impacts
• Social and spatial inequalities: race, gender, age, community and social justice
• Geopolitics: the nation state, geopolitical systems and the New World Order
• Sustainability and risk: climate change and society; environmental justice; environmental disasters and human vulnerability; social, spatial and political implications of environmental change.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 40%
• Exam: 60%

LEC.115: Geographical Skills in a Changing World

• Terms Taught: Full Year Course.
• US Credits: 6 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 12 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: This course must be taken with LEC.114

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the skills used by geographers to analyse problems in both human and physical geography. It begins by reviewing the principles of cartography and recent developments in the electronic delivery of map-based information through mobile devices and web-based services. This is followed by an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which have greater capabilities for the capture, storage, analysis and display of spatial information. Later in the course Remote Sensing is introduced and its relationship to GIS explained.

The course also considers quantitative and qualitative techniques of analysis (which are taught within the context of contemporary conceptual approaches), with emphasis placed on the study of both environmental and societal processes. These lectures are supported by fortnightly tutorials and two field days designed to allow you to develop geographical skills in a real-world setting. Assessment includes an oral presentation, field and project research, all designed to assess the application of geographical skills in the context of contemporary environmental issues.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to effectively present and interpret geographical data;
• Use a range of techniques to collect, analyse and interpret quantitative and qualitative geographical data;
• Design and execute a research project based on the critical use of secondary data sources
• Conduct field research using selected geographical skills
• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of geographical skills to proceed to Part II of a Geography degree course

Outline Syllabus

Key elements of the syllabus include:

• Cartography and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• Statistical and mathematical analysis in Geographical research
• Interpreting remotely sensed images
• Qualitative methods in Geographical research
• Multi-methods approaches to geography
• Introduction to group research projects (based on the use of secondary sources of information)
• One field day in Summer Term. This will be designed to introduce students to practical research problems in NW England. Locations will include the Lake District, Lune Valley, Fylde Coast, Lancaster District and Manchester.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.201: Introduction to Eco-Innovation

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

The aims and scope of the course are: a) to expose you to a rich mixture of experiential learning opportunities in considering the role of the environment and climate change in driving business innovation and commercialisation; b) to provide an understanding of the main features and types of businesses, their core operating activities, governance and regulation; c) to explore the specific commercial opportunities the environment and climate change adaptation and mitigation brings; d) to allow you to experience real business environments and meet people running businesses; e) to de-mystify what working with and in a business is like.

You develop a 3,000-word business plan (worth 80% of the assessment, with the remaining 20% for a presentation) proposing a level of necessary investment from a potential investor for a new application of an existing environmental technology or service.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of the module, students will:

• Have developed a knowledge how government policy is shaping the role of UK Universities in wealth creation.
• Appreciate the specific market opportunities that climate change currently offers and the likely growth markets in the next 20 years.
• Understand the different kinds of trading entity, how they are enshrined in law and the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of trading entity.
• Be able to read and interpret basic company accounts and demonstrate an understanding of what such information reveals about a company's performance across a 3-year period.
• Understand the necessary components of a business plan, and produce a plan to attract new investment.
• Appreciate the need to protect intellectual property in a commercial strategy and understand the legal forms of protection available.
• Understand the value of a market-led rather than purely technologically-driven new product or service development.
• Appreciate the need for a range of human talents to develop effective teams capable of creating new businesses, products and services.
• Gain insights from real company environments and the people owning, managing and working within them.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.203: Research Methods in Human Geography

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.114 and LEC.115

Course Description

This module will consist of lecture material and workshops where you will learn about a range of human geography research methods, their merits and disadvantages and the appropriate research contexts in which to apply them. You will be introduced to a range of methods as well as research design, including ethics and analysis. You will apply this knowledge by carrying out your own research project. Workshops will explore types of methods you might use, including interviews, focus groups, ethnography and visual methods. You will gain skills in critically analysing your approach including assessing the appropriateness of different techniques in relation to the research objectives.

Educational Aims

This module will provide students with a broad understanding of methodological approaches to human geographical enquiry for the design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data. This module will provide specific knowledge on key methodological skills utilised by human geographers including data collection, data triangulation, ethics, data analysis and report writing. The skills to be taught will cover a range of methods commonly used by human geographers including questionnaire surveys, interviews, focus groups, participant observation, visual methods and online data analyses. As a whole, the module will play a key role in preparing students for their final year dissertation projects.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.204: Research Methods in Physical Geography

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.103 and LEC.115

Course Description

This module will address data collection, analysis and presentation (writing) skills, through a series of practical classes on physical geography research methods. This will cover data collection techniques (weeks 1-4) using observations, measurements and experimental approaches in both the field and the laboratory. Sessions on data handling skills (weeks 5-6) will allow student to analyse and interpret the data obtained. Finally, a session on writing techniques (taught in week 7) will allow students to understand how data findings can be communicated effectively through writing. Data and learning obtained through weeks 1-7 will then be used to produce a short research paper as a coursework assignment.

Educational Aims

This module will provide students with a broad understanding of methodological approaches to physical geographical enquiry for the collection, analysis and interpretation of data This module will provide specific knowledge on key methodological skills utilised by physical geographers for data collection, interpretation and dissemination. The skills to be taught will cover both field and laboratory environments. Data collection techniques will address field and laboratory work. Key techniques in statistical analysis will be taught as a mechanism to enable data interpretation, and writing skills will engender good techniques in data dissemination. As a whole, the module will play a key role in preparing students for their final year dissertation projects.

Assessment Proportions

Coursework: 100%

LEC.211: Spatial Analysis and Geographic Information Systems

• Terms Taught: Lent Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

More data has been generated in the last 2 years than over whole history of humanity prior to this. Of this data, 80% has spatial content. This module is about understanding properties of spatial data, whether derived from the map, an archive or the field or from space. The module will explore how these data are represented in computer systems and how, through spatial integration, new forms of information may be derived. There will be a focus on major sources of spatial data (topographic, environmental, socio-economic) and their properties, major forms of analyses based on spatial relationships, and on effective communication of spatial data through adherence to principles of map design.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will:

• Understand what makes spatial data special - through exposure to data from a variety of sources (primary and secondary, contemporary and historic) across the breadth of the geographic discipline
• Have an appreciation of common forms of spatial analysis and an understanding of which to use under given situations Understand the principles of map design and effective cartographic communication and practical experience of critiquing digital outputs
• Have had significant 'hands-on' experience of using state-of-the-art GIS software to capture, integrate, analyse and present geographic information

Outline Syllabus

Lectures/Practicals

Broad themes and running order as follows:

• What makes data spatial?
• Basic spatial data modelling
• Scale and generalisation
• Coordinate systems
• Data sources
• Topographic
• Thematic
• Socio economic
• Environmental
• Data capture
• Primary
• Secondary
• Big data
• Data analysis
• Proximity
• Interpolation
• Overlay
• Networks
• Cartography
• Effective communication
• Onscreen versus print

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.213: Glacial and Fluvial Landscape Processes

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

The aim of this course is to provide an advanced level overview of the processes that determine the nature of the Earth’s surface features and their interactions with human society, following from material covered in LEC 103. The course will cover atmospheric, hydrological, sedimentary, oceanic and glacial processes and will take a theoretical, process-based perspective, but will illustrate concepts with case studies and examples throughout. It will be assessed via laboratory and fieldwork exercise reports and a written examination.

Educational Aims

On completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the environmental process theories covered.
• Synthesise and manipulate these theories in order to elucidate complex environmental systems, and critically assess the efficacy of the theories in explaining those systems.
• Use effectively the quantitative tools and practical skills covered in the coursework.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the approaches adopted in models of the environment, and of their outcomes.
• Identify the key environmental processes that affect human-environment interactions in a variety of situations and explain their effects.
• Critically assess ways in which society might respond to these interactions.

Outline Syllabus

Lectures will be supported by background reading and web-based support material.Practical skills and application of course content will be practised through two 2-hour practical sessions on campus, and one full-day field trip (where practicable). The end of year examination will test students' abilities to integrate, synthesise, critique and apply course content.

Assessment Proportions

• Exam: 50%
• Coursework: 50%

LEC.218: Development, Geography and the Majority World

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

The course will explore how to interpret contemporary international changes in political and economic systems from the perspective of developing and developed world economies. You will be encouraged to relate the changes that are evident in the world political-economic system to deeper historical and geographical causal mechanisms that produce systematic changes in the organisation of work, commodities, consumption and production in different contexts, countries and times. The consequences of these changes for the lived realities of communities, producers and workers will also be examined. All of the above are explored in lectures and through a one day field trip (where practicable) to Manchester.

Educational Aims

• Students will be able to identify key contemporary development challenges (e.g., poverty, inequality, environmental change) and the ways in which development initiatives seek to address these problems, as well as critically evaluate the differential impacts (e.g., along gender lines, or rural vs. urban areas) these initiatives may have.
• Students will be able to articulate key changes in development thinking over time and relate these to changes in the global political economy. They will also develop an awareness of the ways in which development has been contested and challenged.
• Students will be able to identify different approaches to development and critically evaluate the potential impacts of development initiatives.
• Students will be able to identify how particular initiatives reflect different understandings of development.
• Students will appreciate the role of geographic imagination in creating categories such as North/South or developed/developing.
• Students will build on their fieldwork experience by designing a field trip (where practicable) on a similar theme to a new location.

Outline Syllabus

Lectures

Political economies of the developing world

• Geographical Political Economy: An Introduction
• Political Economy of Development
• Governing development
• Rising Powers
• Labour and Livelihoods in the Global South
• Gender and Development
• Non-state actors in development policy
• Colonizing Geographies' and Post-Development

Political economies of the developed world

• Industrial economies and Fordism I: the golden age of manufacturing
• Industrial economies and Fordism II: decline and its impacts
• Industrial economies and post-Fordism I
• Industrial economies and post-Fordism II
• Post industrial economies
• Post-industrial cities
• Uneven political economy

Lecture and seminar in preparation for fieldtrip

• Manchester: geographies of political economy at work
• One day field trip (where practicable) to Manchester.

Assessment Proportions

• Exam: 50%
• Coursework: 50%

LEC.222: Political Geography

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 semester credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

The contemporary world is full of intriguing political developments. Examples range from questions of national independence in the UK, through geopolitical concern with nuclear arms development, to humanitarian crises brought on by civil war. These political moments and their historical trajectories are united by an engagement with space and power; two themes that largely frame what might be called political geography. Against this background, this course will examine both the importance of politics to human geography and, indeed, geography to the study of politics.

A range of ‘classic’ staples of political geography will be covered including engagements with geopolitics, nationalism and border studies. Additionally, we will examine social movement activism and mobilisation, security and what it means to be a ‘superpower’. In all cases, theoretical grounding in these core themes will support empirical engagement with a range of case studies, both historical and contemporary.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Describe the emergence of political geography and articulate its place within the broader field of human geography
• Think critically about key concepts such as space, power and governance from a geographical standpoint
• Critically assess contemporary political developments through an understanding of the ways in which politics and (representations of) geographies intersect
• Orally communicate core ideas such as nation, governance and geopolitics with confidence and in a critical manner

Outline Syllabus

Following an introductory lecture, there will be three thematic sections of the course broken down as follows:

Making and un-making states

• Governance and security
• Nationalism and post-nationalism
• Colonialism and postcolonialism

Power and space

• Hegemony and superpower
• Classical geopolitics
• Critical geopolitics and the importance of discourse

Borders, conflict and resistance

• Borders and migration
• Conflict and post-conflict
• Social movements: resistance and negotiation

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework:100%

LEC.223: Cultural Geography

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 semester credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

This course consists of an advanced introduction to cultural geography. Cultural geography is a discipline that studies culture from a geographical perspective, while, at the same time, understands space and the spatial from a cultural point of view. The course focuses on the key geographical concepts of landscape, place, space, region, scale, together with ideas of justice, equality, fairness and aesthetics. Throughout the course these concepts will be explained and discussed in relation to contemporary understandings of culture, nature, nation, cosmopolitanism, multiculturalism, community, colonialism and postcolonialism.

The course is designed to give students an understanding of the practical utility of theories about culture, space, identity and power. The aim of the course is to provide students with a broad and critical understanding of theoretical concepts and debates in contemporary cultural geography. The idea is to give students a good knowledge of spatial concepts and of their related implications in terms of geographies of the present. The course will provide the students with the tools to critically assess and interrogate situations that they will encounter in the future in their professional activities.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Critically analyse, evaluate, and apply the concepts of landscape, place, space, scale and body
• Distinguish and criticize different theoretical traditions in cultural geography
• Criticize and assess contemporary debates in cultural geography in relation to previous research traditions in the discipline
• Critically analyse the relevant literature in geography and the social sciences and apply it selectively to the methodologies at the core of specific assessment

Outline Syllabus

This module examines cultural practices and associated politics in diverse contexts. This course explores the importance of variegated representations such as cultural materials, texts, art, landscapes, everyday objects, performances, etc. and how they interact and impact upon with e.g. race, class, gender and sexuality

Geography and Humanities

• Landscape
• Scissors, tea ceremonies and wind turbines: functional beauty and everyday aesthetics
• Narratives and cartography: mapping indigenous peoples stories
• Urban art
• Creative geographies

Post-colonial theory

• Foreign bodies: performance art in Africa and cultural translations
• Beauty and ugliness: representation of the African in museums
• Desert blues: guns and guitars in the Sahara

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.225: People and the Sea

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms Only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.114

Course Description

Oceans are central to peoples cultures and identities, generate significant wealth, and are vital to securing food. However, the oceans, and associated benefits, are increasingly under threat from human impacts. This module will examine the various relationships that people have and have developed with the marine environment, the threats facing these environments, and the policy narratives that have emerged.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Describe in detail the cultural significance, meanings, and relationships formed between people and the sea for a particular area.
• Interpret fisheries and ocean policy documents produced by different sectors (e.g. private, civil society, government) to identify the underlying values and assumptions contained, and evaluate the legitimacy of the proposed solution.
• Contrast two or more perspectives on ocean governance and coherently argue and defend the merits of a chosen perspective.

Outline Syllabus

Through a series of lectures that feed into seminars, this module will expose you to a range of topics that have informed ocean policy narratives. By digging deeper into the foundations of environmental thinking about the relationship between people and the sea, this module will facilitate an understanding of the key issues facing ocean policy and management.

Assessment Proportions

• Essay: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.226: Children's Geographies

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only
• US Credits: 4 US Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.114

Course Description

The ten lectures will follow a narrative structure that focuses on the lives of three fictitious children, living in very different circumstances. Over the course of ten weeks, the lectures will follow the three children from aged four through to adulthood and parenthood, through to the infancy and young childhood of their own children. This 'case study' approach allows us to build detailed and complex characters who, rather than being stereotypes, will demonstrate the vast differences, and the overlapping identities of children who may be all too often treated in academic literature and policy as homogenous groups. As such, we are able to engage with and unpack the notion of 'intersectionality', as we consider the different lived experiences of children growing up in different places, but also with different identities, social and economic capital and capabilities.

Educational Aims

• To introduce students to children's geographies core themes and concepts such as 'play', 'education' and 'rights'.
• To develop students' knowledge and interests in social and cultural geography, through developing their understanding of the experiences of a specific group of marginalised people.
• To develop students' understanding of core social and cultural geography concepts such as embodiment, affect and intersectionality, through applying these theories to the lived experience of children and young people.
• To provide both a theoretical underpinning, and practical methodological experience, to students interested in undertaking a children's geographies dissertation, or a dissertation that focused on the lived experiences of another marginalised social group.
• To develop students' confidence in undertaking research with children.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework 100%

LEC.227: Geosocial Spaces

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module explores a range of `Geosocial Spaces sites where social life meets and mixes with a dynamic Earth. While topics will be approached primarily from a social science perspective, we also highlight the connections between human and physical geographies, and explore insights from the Earth sciences.

Educational Aims

This module will enable you to apply theories and concepts to help make better sense of real world problems. This will be achieved by what you learn in the classroom (lectures) and then relate to activities outside in the field (through fieldwork opportunities). It will further developed your critical thinking, demonstrated through writing and independent research activities. It will provide you with the ability to think across disciplinary perspectives and gain greater awareness of its importance.

Outline Syllabus

Topics to be taught include:

• Changing ways of thinking about the Earth: from a stable planet to a shifting, changeable Earth system.
• The Anthropocene: human impacts on the Earth system and the question of how humans acquired the power to impact upon Earth processes.
• How thinking through deep time and large-scale geological processes can change our understanding of social life.
• Engaging with the subsurface: what it means to inhabit the Earth `vertically as well as dwelling on the Earths surface
• Controversies over the use of geological resources: how they emerge and how they might be addressed.
• Living with geohazards: the volatile Earth as both a threat and an incitement for social change
• Future possibilities: exploring new options such as using the heat of magma as an energy source and mining asteroids for their minerals.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.228: Economic Geography

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.114

Course Description

In this module students will gain an in-depth understanding of key concepts and applications of economic geography. Economic geography is a lively, vibrant and sprawling subdiscipline that has seen its profile grow amongst the social sciences in recent years. Geographical thought and research provides useful tools for developing and critically analysing political responses to the inevitable dislocations and structural changes wrought by geographical economic processes. Every class meeting will visit and revisit the importance of critical thinking and the utility of heterodox theory for understanding abstract processes that have substantial ramifications for everyday lives. The module is organized around activities that link across theoretical approaches to the economy to come up with a coherent understanding of how capitalism operates in space.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Discuss through different writing formats - the contribution of economic-geographical knowledge to more nuanced understandings of the economy
• Critically evaluate literature from a range of academic disciplines contributing to contemporary debates in heterodox economics

• Show a critical and reflective understanding of economic geography as a body of knowledge and as a community of practice, historically and in the modern world
• Outline not only key geographical-economic processes, but understand how they interact with one another to shape economic conditions
• Explain the unevenness of economic growth and prosperity for different spaces and social groups
• Apply theoretical concepts to emerging contemporary economic topics
• Link course material to central themes in human geography (e.g. space, place, time)
• Link course material to economic concepts in cognate disciplines (e.g. economics, anthropology, sociology)

Assessment Proportions

Coursework: 100%

LEC.277: Geoscience in Practice

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer Terms Only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to  LEC.172 

Course Description

The landscapes we see today are the consequence of interaction between tectonic uplift (endogenetic) processes and denudational (exogenetic) processes. These processes are continually in flux resulting in a dynamic landscape which evolves and adjusts through time. This course examines tectonic processes and products (rocks), the interaction between uplift and denudation, and looks at how we can recognise and quantify the amounts and rate of change. This is a strongly practical-based course, designed to provide students with key geological skills. Lectures are designed to provide introductory background to the practical and field skills required for the assessed assignments.

Educational Aims

On completion of this module students will be able to:

• Synthesise data from a number of different sources and compile it into a coherent picture.
• Carry out independent thinking, and interpretations of data for which there may be more than one potential answer.
• Be able to identify rocks in the lab, identify minerals in thin section, interpret structural, sedimentological and field data, understand how to interpret isotopic data to date rocks, interpret basic geological maps.
• From the above information, determine how rocks can be used to determine past sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic environments.
• From this information, determine the processes by which deformation and uplift occur, the interaction with erosion in the development of earths surface features, and how the rates at which these processes occur can be quantified.
• Carry out field measurements (structural and sedimentary) and interpret the data.

Outline Syllabus

Lectures

• Introduction
• Endogenetic processes and product. Epeirogenesis and orogenesis
• Assessed assignment introduction
• Recognising and interpreting exogenetic processes: sedimentary rocks
• Recognising and interpreting endogenetic processes: metamorphic rocks
• Recognising and interpreting endogenetic processes: igneous rocks
• Field trip (where practicable) introduction: determining tectonics and sedimentary facies in the field
• Using a stereonet to determine stress direction from fold data
• Using a stereonet to determine palaeocurrent information from sedimentary structures
• Determining rates of endogenetic and exogenetic processes: isotopic techniques
• Video: tectonic processes. Focused on the Himalaya.
• Compulsory day field trip (where practicable) to Tebay (Assessed Assignment 3)
• Determination of tectonics and deformation from fold, fault and way-up structures
• Determination of facies from palaeocurrent data and depositional environment assessment

Practicals

• Practical sessions to develop skills needed to complete the assessed assignments (see below), emphasis on developing microscopy skills.
• Development of field skills, measurements and interpretations related to tectonics and sedimentary rocks.
• This module is designed to develop generic skills required by Earth Scientists. Assessment is therefore 100%cwa (no exam) in order to maximise the amount of time available for the development of these skills.
• Substantial amounts of private lab study are required in order to complete the cwa.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.282: Energy, Economy and Environment

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms Only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

As a result of increasing energy demand, concerns regarding security of supply and the need to de-carbonise energy supplies to mitigate climate change, sustainable energy provisioning is one of the challenges society faces. This module provides an overview of energy technologies and the energy system within the UK. Following an introduction on why energy is important, forms of energy, energy units and basic calculations and how it is used, the module focuses on each of the key energy technologies in turn. The specifics of each energy technology including how it works, how much is produced, economics, environmental impacts and its current role in the energy mix will be outlined. Energy distribution networks, overall policy drivers and future energy mixes will also be detailed.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Detail the importance of energy
• Outline the forms and uses of energy
• Understand energy units and be able to make basic calculations
• Describe the key energy technologies, including costs and environmental impacts
• Outline the energy distribution system
• Describe the potential role of carbon capture and storage in low carbon energy production
• Describe energy policies
• Discuss potential future energy mixes

Outline Syllabus

The provisioning of affordable, low carbon and secure energy is a central challenge for the UK Government. This module provides an overview of energy technologies and the energy system within the UK. Following an introduction on why energy is important, forms of energy and how it is used, the module will focus on each of the key energy technologies in turn. The specifics of each energy technology including how it works, how much is produced, economics, environmental impacts, relevant policies and its current role in the energy mix will be outlined. Energy distribution networks, overall policy drivers and future energy mixes will also be detailed. The aim is to equip students with a broad understanding of energy technologies and the energy system.

Lecture schedule (50 min each)

• The importance, types and uses of energy
• Energy units and calculations
• Traditional energy sources - coal, oil and gas.
• Nuclear and fusion
• Solar
• Bioenergy
• Wet renewables - hydro, tidal and wave
• Wind
• Geothermal
• Anaerobic digestion and energy from waste
• Carbon capture and storage
• Energy storage
• Energy networks
• Energy policy
• Future projections

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.313: Coastal Processes

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS 
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

To be able to define and understand the shoreline change and the environmental issues facing the coastline, you need a basic knowledge of physical coastal processes. This course aims to develop such an understanding through the study of hydrodynamics, sediment transport and morphology. The importance of their interactions and complexity will be also addressed.

The course consists of lectures, fieldwork and seminars. Working in small groups, you will address practical problems from around the UK coast. Coursework will consist of your proposed solutions to these problems.

Educational Aims

On completion of this module a student should:

Specific Skills:

• Demonstrate the comprehension of waves, currents, sediment transport, their interaction and role in shaping the coastal environment.
• Evaluate different theories and models describing coastal processes and coastal behaviour.
• Synthesise theories, models, evidence and past experiences in order to explain complex coastal systems.

Transferable Skills:

• Analyse coastal problems from the real world by applying the learned material.
• Collect the field data, perform laboratory and numerical analysis of collected data and interpret the results.
• Effectively use practical skills, quantitative tools, communication and team work skills.
• Demonstrate the comprehension of waves, currents, sediment transport, their interaction and role in shaping the coastal environment.
• Evaluate different theories and models describing coastal processes and coastal behaviour.
• Synthesise theories, models, evidence and past experiences in order to explain complex coastal systems.

Outline Syllabus

The module is divided into following parts:

• Part 1: Coastal systems: properties and characteristic of coastal systems, value of coastal systems, morphodynamic approaches to coastal systems, morphodynamic behaviour of coastal systems, coastal systems and long-term changes.
• Part 2: Processes: tides, tsunamis, wind waves (generation, propagation and transformation), wave breaking, wave set-up and set-down, long-period waves in surf zone, wave run-up and swash, longshore and cross-shore currents, measurements and predictions.
• Part 3: Sediment transport: sediment properties, sediment dynamics, bedforms, cross-shore and longshore sediment transport, measurements and predictions.
• Part 4: Nearshore morphodynamics: general beach morphology and variations, beach profiles and slopes, beach berms, longshore bars, crescentic and welded bars, inter-tidal bars, beach cusps, embayments, measurements and predictions.
• Part 5: Coastal management: coastal hazards, pressures and risks, vulnerability, resilience and adaptation, coastal state indicators, coastal protection, erosion management, shoreline management plans.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.314: Geographical Information Systems: Principles and Practice

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography, including introductory GIS

Course Description

This course covers both the principles of GIS and GIScience and practical experience in the use of GIS using ArcGIS, a leading windows-based package.

Lecture topics address theoretical issues, such as the problems of representing real world phenomena in GIS databases. We also consider emerging trends within the discipline such as the growth of location-based services and related developments in data sharing. Also explored is the use of GI in government, commercial and academic sectors and related employment opportunities.

Lectures are complemented by a series of practical sessions in ArcGIS. Initial exercises are concerned with creating and manipulating spatial databases using the core functionality of the software. Subsequent exercises demonstrate more sophisticated forms of spatial analysis using a range of extension products including spatial analyst and network analyst.

You will devise and undertake an individual project. A handbook on project design and implementation is issued midway through the course

Educational Aims

On completion of this module students should be able to:

• Understand how data may be captured, stored, manipulated and retrieved from with a GIS and be familiar with simple and advanced forms of spatial analysis.
• Developed practical skills in the use of GIS through the design and implementation of a GIS project.
• Been made aware of the latest developments in GIS and GIScience, and emerging issues.
• Gain an insight into careers in GIS.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.315: Environmental Remote Sensing and Image Processing

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 semester credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

The course has four aims:

• To illustrate the increasing importance of remotely-sensed data in extending our understanding of environmental processes;
• To enable students to understand the principles on which remote sensing systems operate and how we can derive useful environmental information from remotely sensed data;
• To compare the information provided by remote sensing to that from other means of sampling;
• To develop the image processing skills of students taking the course.

The aims are fulfilled by initially examining the physical basis of remote sensing, electromagnetic radiation and its interactions with the Earth's atmosphere and surface and the sensors and systems, which are used to acquire data. The techniques used to analyse and interpret imagery are then explored.

This is followed by an examination of the environmental applications of remote sensing. Here, examples are used from several areas, in order to illustrate the increasing importance of remotely sensed data in extending the scope of existing studies.

Educational Aims

On completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Understand the basic principles of remote sensing, in terms of the characteristics of electromagnetic radiation and its interactions with the Earth's atmosphere and surface and how sensors and systems operate.
• Recognise the increasing importance of remotely-sensed data in extending our knowledge of environmental processes.
• Be able to critically evaluate the information from RS, particularly by comparison with that from other means of sampling.
• Understand and apply a range of image processing techniques in order to analyse and interpret remotely sensed imagery.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.320: Africa: Geographies of Transformation

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

The aim of this course is to examine the processes of socio-economic, political, environmental and legal transformations of African societies. The course provides a critical assessment of colonial and post-colonial theories involving the study of rural and urban African landscapes and acknowledges the many challenges to be faced in areas of political, socio-economic and environmental governance. The challenges and crises that African countries are facing are explored and also the resilience and resurgence that characterises the African experience. You will learn to critically assess different methods of development ranging from high-tech market-based Western solutions to programmes that strengthen indigenous and local skills and knowledge systems. The course is designed in such a way that you will experience the huge cultural, political, economic and social diversity of Africa though engaging with voices that have so far been kept subdued such as women and indigenous peoples through a diverse set of case studies.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Demonstrate in writing (exam and coursework) a concise understanding of the topic
• Analyse news facts from Africa in different sorts of media by applying the learned material
• Effectively learn practical skills such as debating and group discussion
• Synthesise the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history of Africa
• Understand different models of development
• Critically engage with current perceptions of Africa in newspapers, film, television, visual art, literature, etc.
• Evaluate different sources of academic writings and research; specifically understand the different approaches towards the subject from a Euro-American versus African perspective.

Outline Syllabus

Each week will consist of an introductory lecture followed by a linked class workshop/seminar discussion based around key readings and case studies.

• Introduction to the course
• Global Health in sub-Saharan Africa (guest lecture by Dr Ulrike Beisel)
• Transformations and change (Pre, Colonial and Post-Colonial Africa)
• Representations of Africa
• Postcolonial theory
• Urban landscapes
• Rural landscapes
• Land Tenure Reform
• Geo-power, governance and politics (role of the chief)
• Geo-power, governance and politics (identity and violence)

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.321: Glacial Systems

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

The aim of this course is to give insight into the physical dynamics and ecological interactions within glacial systems. Understanding begins with the concept of glacial mass balance; glacial energy balance; thermal regime and glacial hydrology; glacier dynamics; glacial geomorphology; glacier hydrochemistry; the concept of the glacial ecosystem; Ice core records of palaeoclimate; the response of glacial systems to climatic change.

Specific skills include: being able to manipulate raw data sets for use in solving models of energy balance and mass balance calculations; using raw data to analyse the hydrochemical regime of meltwater within a glacial catchment; interpret this in terms of reconstructing melt water flowpaths through a glacier and potential chemical weathering reactions; using isotopes to interpret palaeoclimate records from ice cores.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to demonstrate in-depth understanding in the following areas of glacial processes:

• Glacial mass balance
• Glacial energy balance
• Thermal regime and glacial hydrology
• Glacier dynamics
• Glacial geomorphology
• Glacier hydrochemistry
• The concept of the glacial ecosystem
• Ice core records of palaeoclimate
• The response of glacial systems to climatic change.

Specific skills include being able to manipulate raw data sets for use in solving models of energy balance and glacier dynamics. Using raw data to analyse the hydrochemical regime of meltwater within a glacial catchment and interpret this in terms of reconstructing melt water flowpaths through a glacier and potential chemical weathering reactions. Using isotopes to interpret palaeoclimate records from ice cores.

Outline Syllabus

The course consists of 25 contact hours comprising lectures, seminars and computer practicals. The structure is designed as follows (subject to minor change):

• The formation, distribution and mass balance of glaciers
• Energy balance and melt processes
• Computer practical; Energy balance modeling
• Thermal regime, Supraglacial and englacial hydrology
• Subglacial hydrology Part 1
• Mass balance
• Computer practical; Ice flow dynamics
• Subglacial hydrology Part 2
• Dynamics of glaciers Part 1
• Computer Practical; Thermal forcing
• Dynamics of glaciers Part 2
• Energy balance / hydrology
• The glacial legacy in the landscape
• Computer Practical; Glacial Hydrochemistry
• Glacial hydrochemistry and weathering
• The glacial ecosystem
• The interactions of fire and ice
• Glaciers in palaeoclimate reconstruction
• Glacier dynamics

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.322: Environment, Politics and Society in Amazonia

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

This course aims to introduce you to the human (indigenous and non-indigenous) and natural complexity of the Amazon as a region currently at the centre of debates in environmental politics. Whilst the focus will be upon social, political, economic and environmental issues which are currently topical, it will encourage you to observe contemporary Amazonia as the outcome of intertwined histories of humans and non-humans (animals, forests and rivers). The course will draw upon literatures from social anthropology, human geography and ecological science and, in so doing, provide you with different but related approaches to the relationships between human social and political organisation and styles of natural resource.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Refined their intellectual, practical and discursive skills by preparing for and practicing individual presentations and group discussions
• Demonstrated an ability to weigh up and consider the array of sometimes polemic accounts of past and current approaches to human-natural relationships in the Amazon.
• Demonstrate in writing (exam and essay) a sophisticated understanding of a range of topics which relate human social, political and economic organisation to environmental management strategies and politics in the Amazon.
• Develop a critical appreciation of the Amazon as firmly located in and shaped by global political and economic forces.

Outline Syllabus

Lectures will draw upon and illustrate the readings selected for each week. Given the complex nature of some of the topics introduced during lectures, students will be challenged to engage critically with the recommended literature in order to develop further insights on the material delivered during the lecture. This process will be facilitated by discussion and debate during seminar sessions which will be organised around particular problem-based issues. Seminars will often involve group work and sometimes students will be expected to prepare a presentation (either individually or in a group) through which they will be expected to learn to critique academic positions on specific issues and to critically analyse concerns of current interest. Films will be occasionally used as complementary and sometimes provocative material for further analysis.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.323: Lakes, Rivers and Estuaries

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: College geography or equivalent subject preferred.

Course Description

The course will be split into three topics, lakes, rivers, and estuaries. Focus will be on physical (hydrodynamic) processes but there will be strong links between these and related geomorphic, biological and chemical processes in the three environments.

There will be:

a) three 50-minute classroom sessions on post-graduation employment potential related to each topic, which will link to the science/physical geography covered subsequently

b) five 50-minute classroom sessions covering scientific and physical geography aspects

c) a 3-hour practical session based on the analysis of field data

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module you will have gained:

• Specialist knowledge of the topics covered and their relationship to their wider context (via the lectures)
• Experience of writing concise, information-dense pieces of work on current research topics in this field (via the coursework)
• Experience of analysing large sets of environmental field data (via the practical sessions)
• Experience of producing work-processed reports of interpretations of environmental field data under time pressure (via the exam)

Outline Syllabus

• Lakes: global distribution & importance, formation and basin morphology, inflows & outflows, retention time, heat fluxes, stratification, convective processes, wind mixing, fetch effects, internal waves, Coriolis effects, transport and mixing of sediment, fluxes and budgets of nutrients & dissolved gases, ecological structure, physical influences on plankton & macrophyte populations & distributions
• Rivers: flow in open channels, boundary layer flow structure & flow resistance, types of river, secondary flow structure, flow interactions with channel morphology, flow in vegetated channels - physical & ecological impacts, flow in compound channels, flood flows, ecohydraulics, hydromorphology, influences of flow on nutrients & pollutants in rivers
• Estuaries: tides and their manifestation in estuaries, tidal fronts, tidal mixing, ROFIs (regions of freshwater influence), tidal limits, estuarine morphology, saltmarshes, benthic filter-feeder beds, seagrasses, mangroves and their interactions with flows & waves, influence of estuarine flows on pollutant, nutrient and ecological distributions in estuaries

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.325: Urban Infrastructure in a Changing World

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term Only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: No pre-requisite, but college level Geography preferred

Course Description

As the world becomes increasingly urbanised, the power of urban infrastructure to shape the dynamics of cities and the experience of everyday life also increases. Urban infrastructure is key to sustaining much that we take for granted, for example travel, food, water, energy, communications, waste. It follows that changes to the way infrastructure is managed will impact both the city as a whole and the experience of everyday urban life. This course examines ways of understanding urban infrastructure as a socio-technical assemblage, including exploring the role that disruption can play in revealing the hidden, taken for granted, logics of infrastructure management. Using case studies from around the world you will engage with the changing pressures on infrastructure and the challenges of building resilient futures. You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, and a workshop and field course.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Explain and understand the process of transition from the integrated ideal to forms of splintered urbanism
• Describe and review case studies that illustrate the processes of transition across a range of infrastructures (water, energy, transport, telecommunications)
• Identify and discuss the different challenges facing different sorts of infrastructures
• Demonstrate an ability to identify the different pressures facing the future of infrastructure and the different drivers
• Analyse the relationship between infrastructure change and the impacts on everyday life
• Apply knowledge from the course to new areas
• Critically discuss academic and policy literature on infrastructure change

Outline Syllabus

Part 1 – Thinking about urban infrastructure

• Introduction and overview
• The city as a socio-technical assemblage
• The modern city, the “integrated ideal” and liberalisation
• Infrastructures in transition and the power of disruption
• Field Course: Lancaster: a transition town?

Part 2 – Case studies

• Energy and the production/consumption nexus
• Networked society: IT and Telecommunications
• Mobile cities
• Urban metabolism and Waste
• City of flows and the profitability of water

Part 3 - Futures

• Workshop: Designing the perfect city
• Review: Resilience and transformation

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.326: Cities and Globalization

• Terms Taught: Lent Term Only.
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: No pre-requisite, but college level Geography preferred

Course Description

All cities are shaped by flows and forces that connect them to other places. These connections help make cities vibrant and creative: sites where strangers meet, new associations take shape, and cultural expressions emerge. But these same connections also generate problems. Increasingly, cities face challenges that are far-reaching or even global in scope – such as economic instability, environmental change and security threats. These predicaments put pressure on individual places to adapt and remake themselves. How then might the cultural and political life of cities contribute to the process of urban transformation? Using case studies from across the globe, this module looks at the ways in which cities are attempting to reinvent themselves in response to the challenges and opportunities of a globalizing world. Through a combination of readings, lectures, group activities and fieldwork, students will learn how critical spatial thinking can help make sense of complex urban issues.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Demonstrate how critical spatial thinking can help make sense of complex urban issues.
• Identify the deeper causes of problems or challenges that cities face in a globalizing world
• Understand and explain how cities are shaped by far-reaching flows and connections to other places
• Analyse how cultural processes contribute to urban politics
• Discern the forms of agency by which urban actors are able to make a difference in the world
• Describe and compare the experiences of cities in different parts of the world
• Apply knowledge from the module to explore urban problems and issues of their own choosing

Outline Syllabus

• Introduction: Urban issues in a global context
• Critical spatial thinking and the city
• Assembling the urban: flows and materials
• Embodied citizens and everyday life
• City life and political issue formation
• Circulating models for urban transformation
• Urban securitization and the globalization of risk
• Movements in transition: dissent, uprising, social change
• Transnational connections, mobile solidarities
• Review: Experimental urbanism in an uncertain world

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.331: Food and Agriculture in the 21st Century

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: No pre-requisite, but college level Geography preferred

Course Description

This module will explore the social, political and environmental challenges facing food systems in the world today. We will look at the history, culture and development of contemporary food systems through a focus on our interactions with plants, animals and the landscape before bringing the discussion up to the present with an analysis of key debates surrounding food security and food sovereignty. Through an exploration of case studies from across the globe, we will consider the connections between changing diets, landscapes and agrarian reform and challenge you to develop innovative and alternative solutions for the future.

The knowledge and understanding on the history, contemporary debates, and future of food and agriculture that you develop in this module will be transferable to contemporaneous or further study across the spectrum of human-environmental relations. This is because food and agriculture have always been fundamental to society while at the same time being principal drivers of environmental change at multiple scales. Learning would hence be applicable elsewhere in examining the nature and evolution of 'global assemblages' and landscape-society inter-relationships. This module will develop your skills of debate and analysis drawing on environmental history, human geography, anthropology, sociology, historical and political ecology and cultural studies.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Debate current issues around the origins of food and agriculture and their relationships to human evolution and history
• Describe how the post Columbian world system (e.g. post 1491) and colonialism profoundly transformed food and agriculture worldwide
• Describe how conventional agriculture and the world food system emerged and how it functions today
• Describe with the nature of and debates around alternative agricultures such as organic and agroecology
• Describe the social, ethical, economic and environmental challenging facing food systems today
• Understand the key differences between approaches based on food security and those based on food sovereignty, fair trade and food justice
• Understand the connections between production and consumption and how these shape the food systems that we see in place today
• Describe and evaluate some of the potential 'alternative' solutions to food security and how these sit in relation to more 'conventional' perspectives

Outline Syllabus

This 10 week course consists of 1 lecture and 1 hour of workshop per week for 9 weeks, with a local fieldtrip in week 8. Weekly topics are as follows:

• The Origins of Food and Agriculture: Evolutionary, Archaeological and Historical Perspectives
• Food and Agriculture in the Post-1491 World
• Conventional Agriculture: Industrial Agriculture in Europe; the Asian Green Revolution; Biotechnology in Africa
• The Global Food Economy 1: Hunger and Obesity
• The Global Food Economy 2: Animals and Meat
• Alternative Agricultures
• Food Sovereignty, Fair Trade and Food Justice
• FIELDTRIP: Food System Transformations in Practice
• The Future of Food in the UK
• The Future of Food and Agriculture Globally in the face of Climate Change

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 100%

LEC.332: Perspectives on technology and environment

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 US Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS

Course Description

Technology is ubiquitous. Technology is very visible and much talked about, as hyped emblems of progress, power and masculinity, a current example of which is self-driving cars. At the same time, technology is often taken for granted and invisible, as a necessary backdrop to everyday life, e.g. heating systems. In both cases, there is a need to use social science to challenge taken for granted assumptions about technology. The module will draw on a range of theories and concepts to achieve this.

Technology mediates our relationship with nature, and therefore, we need to understand how it is implicated in - both causes of and responses to environmental, climate and sustainability issues. The use of technology to fix environmental problems has been debated since at least the 1960s, and there is a range of positions in this ever-lively, relevant and politicised debate. This module explores the ambiguous and contradictory role of technology in relation to environmental issues.

Educational Aims

The aim of this module is to develop knowledge and skills to critically examine the roles of technology in relation to environmental, climate and sustainability issues. This involved getting acquainted with a range of perspectives from the literature about the relationship between technology and the environment, ranging from the ecological modernisation perspective that dominates policy and public debates. Against this, the module contrasts deep green environmentalist perspectives, as well as radical political economy perspectives. The module will provide detailed cases from across the housing, transport and energy sectors, based on recent literature. The students will also be engaging with current affairs through reviews of media content.

Outline Syllabus

Indicative lecture topics:

• Introduction to module. What do we mean by technology?
• Geographies of technology
• Technology optimism and pessimism
• Ecological modernisation
• Case #1: Smart meters
• Environmentalism and technology: alternative technology
• Transitions theory
• Case #2: Electric vehicles
• The cultural political economy of technology and environment
• Case #3: Carbon removal technology

Assessment Proportions

Exam: 50%

Coursework: 50%

LEC.333: Geographies of Health: understanding and tackling inequity

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.114 and LEC.202

Course Description

Health and healthcare are central to living a good life yet huge inequalities can be seen, whether locally to Lancaster in the North-West of England or in the Global South. In this module, students will gain an in-depth understanding of the concepts, methods and applications of Health Geographies. Geographers and scholars from related disciplines have made important contributions to defining these inequalities as ethically unacceptable (i.e. inequitable), and providing insights into their causes (political, social, economic and environmental). Geographical thought and research also provides useful tools for developing and critically analysing appropriate policy responses to tackling these inequities.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to...

• Discuss through writing and oral presentation - the contribution of knowledge from Geography and cognate disciplines to the understanding of health, health inequities, and health-policy.
• Outline social and economic determinants of health and, using appropriate evidence, explain how these may differ by place (e.g. Global North vs Global South).
• Demonstrate understanding of merits and weaknesses of qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods approaches to health research, applied to well-known, emerging and neglected diseases.
• Awareness of theoretical underpinnings to different approaches to health (including structural perspectives focusing on power and capital) and develop arguments in support of alternate perspectives.
• Show a critical, reflective understanding of Health Geographies as a fast-moving, plural and contested sub-field.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.334: Environmental governance and the biodiversity crisis

• Terms Taught: Weeks 12-17 of Lent Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.114, LEC.210a

Course Description

This module will introduce fundamental concepts and debates in environmental governance, including with insights from across economics, geography, conservation science and psychology. It will further explore a range of real-world policy contexts that are being used to protect biodiversity, such as multilateral agreements, payment for ecosystem services, advocacy, national legislation. Students will consider the design of these diverse options, evaluate and justify their own policy preferences, and reflect on the underlying assumptions about what it means to manage the environment.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Explain in writing the different challenges associated with governing biodiversity at different scales
• Define common pool resources and the limitations of common explanations for the Tragedy of the Commons
• Identify and demonstrate, via analysis and writing, the appropriate use of methods and frameworks for studying environmental governance
• Explain, in writing and presentation, the relative merits of different types of institutional arrangements for conserving biodiversity, and justify their own proposals for specific approaches

Outline Syllabus

This module will draw on lectures, interactive workshops and reading across a range of fields. These will explore the relationships between biodiversity and governance (e.g., common pool resources, rules and norms, equity in decision-making), and a range of institutional arrangement for governing biodiversity (e.g., protected areas, community conservation, multilateral agreements, judicial action). Three highly interactive workshops will explore key governance concepts and their applications for biodiversity conservation.

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.351: Coral Reef Ecology

• Terms Taught: Weeks 6-10 of Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.241

Course Description

This module will expand the range of topics covered in the LEC ecology portfolio. Specifically, the module will expand our coverage of marine systems, which is a growing topic across different disciplines in LEC. Although the new module will focus on the ecology of coral reef systems, which are currently not covered elsewhere in LEC, it will nevertheless provide students with the opportunity to apply ecological principles learned in previous years and expose them to some of the global environmental challenges that are a key feature of LECs mission. It will also complement modules on terrestrial tropical systems and link to the new LEC.225 People and the Sea module, which addresses common challenges from a social science perspective.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of how coral reefs form geologically
• Identify key strategies that have enabled evolution of a hyperdiverse ecosystem
• Demonstrate an understanding of coral and reef fish ecology from individual, to ecosystem, scales
• Describe how multiple coral reef associated species interact and coexist
• Identify the broad-scale environmental factors that determine where coral reefs are distributed globally
• Critically assess the impact of threats to coral reefs and the interaction amongst those threats
• Develop the flexibility to think across disciplines to solve contemporary challenges and critical thinking through problem-based learning workshops

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.372: Hydrogeology

• Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits.
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.174 and LEC.275

Course Description

This course aims to provide a good understanding of groundwater within the hydrologic cycle; aquifers and the unsaturated zone; introduce and discuss Darcian flow and physical implications; introduce pollutant transport in ground water and the most common contamination instances. It includes 12 hours of lab work.

Educational Aims

• To establish groundwater within the hydrologic cycle
• Discuss aquifers and the role of the unsaturated zone in hydrogeology
• Introduce and discuss Darcian flow mathematical models of groundwater flow
• Outline tools and techniques available for groundwater investigation
• Introduce concepts of groundwater transport
• Highlight the linkage between rivers and aquifers
• Introduce modelling tools for groundwater applications

Outline Syllabus

Lectures

• Groundwater fundamentals
• Aquifer properties
• Mathematical models of groundwater flow
• Unsaturated and density dependent flow
• Groundwater investigation techniques
• Groundwater geophysics
• Flow to a well: basic principles
• Flow to a well: practical solutions
• Groundwater-surface water interactions
• Natural groundwater quality
• Groundwater transport
• Groundwater pollution remediation and protection
• Groundwater models
• Using models: parameterisation, calibration and application
• Course Summary

Practical/Workshop

• Flow nets and simple groundwater model solutions
• Field visit
• Analysis of slug test data

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%

LEC.378: Global Change and the Earth System

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only
• US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Equivalent to LEC.175 AND (LEC.181 OR LEC.183 OR A level Maths)

Course Description

This module is intended for students who wish to learn about the ways in which humans are affecting the chemical and physical composition of the Earth's atmosphere, and about the effects these changes are having on Earth's climate. The aim of the module is to introduce the principal sources, reactions, sinks, control methods and effects of the major air pollutants. This includes gases and aerosol particles. Some of these gases and aerosol particles in the atmosphere also affect global climate, and so the module starts with an examination of the global radiative balance (i.e., climate). The module aims to provide an introduction to the physical processes which control the atmospheric aerosol, and the chemical processes affecting gaseous pollutants, leading to a better understanding of the science behind climate prediction. Includes 9 hours of lab.

Educational Aims

On successful completion of this module students will be able to demonstrate subject specific knowledge, understanding and skills and have the ability to:

• Calculate a global 2-compartment radiative budget
• Discuss the major parts of the Earth system and how they interact
• Describe what an Earth system model is
• Discuss pollutant sources and sinks

Outline Syllabus

Lectures

Fundamentals of climate change science:

• Concept of the Earth system
• Climate dynamics
• Observations
• Energy balance
• Climate sensitivity

Earth system models:

• Construction and application
• Forward and back projections

Atmospheric composition and climate:

• Tropospheric ozone as a greenhouse gas
• Aerosols: nature and climate effects
• Stratospheric ozone depletion and recovery
• Acid rain

Earth system components and feedbacks:

• Atmosphere, oceans and biosphere
• Links/feedbacks between the components
• Volcanoes and atmospheric composition and climate

Practicals

• Radiative balance of the atmosphere at the Hazelrigg field station
• Computer exercise visualising climate model data
• Short presentations related to main coursework

Fieldtrip (subject to availability)

Assessment Proportions

• Coursework: 50%
• Exam: 50%