GEOG209 (HAM)
Contemporary Cultural Geographies
20 points

Stream: Society, Culture and Place
Lecturers: Professor Robyn Longhurst and staff
Emails: robynl@waikato.ac.nz

Paper description

This paper introduces students to new developments in cultural geography. It examines the contested nature of culture as an aspect of social relations. The paper draws on critical theory, including feminist, Marxist, postmodernist, anti-racist, post-colonial and queer theory, to explore the ways in which gender, sexuality, ‘race’, class and (dis)ability are integral to the cultural and social ordering of, and thinking about, spaces. During the semester we will pay attention to a range of places at a variety of scale, for example, ‘the body’, homes, neighbourhoods, shopping and recreation centres, streets, suburbs, workplaces, nations, and the globe.

Paper Objectives

• to examine the ways that places and spaces, and the way people occupy them, are affected by gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and (dis)ability
• to offer a  range of explanations for social difference and inequality
• to illustrate the importance of culture in structuring social life.

Assessment

Paper work to final examination ratio: 70:30

Paper work comprises of one assignment worth 20%, one essay worth 25%, and a second essay worth 25%.

Required Reading

Valentine, Gill (2001) Social Geographies: Space and Society, Prentice Hall, Harlow.

Prerequisites

None.

Timetable and Organisation:

Refer to the Online Timetable.