Module GEOG3581: TERRITORY AND GEOPOLITICS

Department: GEOGRAPHY

GEOG3581: TERRITORY AND GEOPOLITICS

Prerequisites

• Any Level 1 or level 2 module in Geography or other appropriate evidence

Corequisites

• NONE

Excluded Combination of Modules

• NONE

Aims

• To enable students to learn about the relationship between territory and geopolitics in a variety of contexts.
• To provide historical and theoretical background to the understanding of territorial issues and contemporary geopolitics.
• To rpovide students with an understanding of contemporary disputes and agreements concerning territory, borders and geopolitics.

Content

• Concepts of territory.
• Ancient Greece.
• Ancient Rome.
• The Middle Ages.
• The Renaissance.
• Early Modern Europe.
• Birth of the Nation-State.
• Colonialism.
• Borders, Frontiers and the Politics of Map-Making.
• Geopolitics:
• The Birth of Modern Geography and the Birth of Geopolitics.
• Mackinder, Mahan and Imperial Geopolitics.
• German Geopolitics and the idea of Mitteleuropa.
• Cold-War Geopolitics.
• The "new geopoliticians" of the New World Order: Fukuyama and Huntington.
• The Geopolitics of Security and Surveillance.
• Terror and Territory.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate an understanding of the notion of territory and contemporary geopolitics.
• Demonstrate knowledge of a range of territorial issues, their representation, and their influence on politics.
• Use case study material effectively in relation to learning outcomes 1 and 2.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures will provide necessary breadth of coverage, overview and study guide required by the aims and objectives. These will be supported by additional reading lists, which will enable the student to build on information provided in the lectures. Seminar discussions following the lectures will provide students opportunity to discuss and develop ideas covered in the lectures. Presentations will allow students to demonstrate their knowledge with reference to particular disputes or agreements over territory and geopolitics, as well as improve key skills.
• The 1.5 hour unseen examination will enable students to demonstrate their ability to critically evaluate the historical development of the notion of territory, some contemporary issues surrounding territory and geopolitics and demonstrate their knowledge of case studies. The essay will enable the students to examine and to write about an issue of interest to them in depth.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

1000 word analysis of a contempoary geopolitical issue.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University