Module GEOG3731: GEOGRAPHIES OF AGE AND THE LIFE-COURSE

Department: Geography

GEOG3731: GEOGRAPHIES OF AGE AND THE LIFE-COURSE

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To develop students’ understanding of the intersections between geography, age and the life-course in different cultural, historical and geographical contexts
• To explore with students how age and the life-course relate to socio-spatial inequalities and to the performance of identities
• To encourage reflection on the importance of geographical concepts and methods for understanding the relationship between geography, age and the life-course

Content

• The module will be delivered through lectures, seminars and tutorials. In term 1, conceptual frameworks and methodological issues of geographical research on age and the life-course will be explored in a first set of four core lectures and a staff-led seminar. Ethical aspects of research on the geographies of age and the life-course will also be examined in these lectures and the seminar. Three further sets of thematic lectures and seminars will be delivered in the second part of term 1 and in term 2. The thematic lectures and seminars will explore a variety of geographical aspects of age-related inequalities and the historically and culturally variable relationship between geography, age and identity.
• Student-led seminars and tutorials focused on course participants’ independent research projects will complement the lectures and staff-led seminars. Term 1 will conclude with seminar presentations by students on their proposed projects, while teaching in term 2 will include tutorials on students’ independent research projects and student-led seminars to present the results of their research. Reports on the independent research project will make up part of the first piece of summative assessment.
• In the third term, a revision lecture will conclude the course and prepare students for a seen exam paper that will encourage the integration of methodological and conceptual issues from learning across the module.
• Thematic Content:
• Conceptual approaches to the geographies of age and the life course: chronological, psychological, social-constructionist, ethnographic, relational
• Critical geographies of childhood and youth
• Critical geographies of old age
• Geographies of life transitions
• Intergenerational geographies
• Embodying age
• Age, gender and social reproduction
• Social inequalities, age and place
• Identity and place across the life-course
• Geographical approaches to biography and the life-course
• Researching age and the life course: methodological approaches and challenges

Learning Outcomes

• On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate critical understanding of different conceptual frameworks for research on the geographies of age and the life-course
• Explain how cultural identities and socio-spatial inequalities intersect with age in different geographical contexts
• Critically evaluate the methodological implications of different conceptual approaches for research on the geographies of age and the life-course

• On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
• Synthesise and critically assess interdisciplinary and geographical literatures on age and the life-course
• Identify and critically discuss the methodological and ethical implications of new theoretical approaches to age and the life-course for geographical research
• Communicate the results of an independent research projects by means of a written report

• On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate expertise in critical reflection and analysis
• Work collaboratively in a team to co-produce knowledge for an independent research project
• Use appropriate methods for conducting, analysing and presenting independent research

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

• Lectures and seminars will focus on key theoretical, methodological and ethical issues and concepts, introducing students to interdisciplinary and geographical literatures and using selected case studies in illustration. They will encourage students to reflect critically on the implications of different conceptual approaches for research on age and the life-course, as well as for policy and practice
• Fieldwork will focus on designing and implementing an independent research project on key issues in the geographies of age and the life-course. Fieldwork will be supported by a series of tutorials and seminars which provide guidance and will encourage students to reflect iteratively on their experiences and relate these to key concepts and critical debates
• Student preparation and reading includes time spent preparing for fieldwork; reading; report and exam preparation
• The formative assessment will require students to put their subject knowledge into practice and design an independent research project
• The research report will require students to develop research skills, critically analyse and present research findings, and identify policy implications of the research. It will also require students to practice critical reflection on the process of doing their project. It will also require students to practice critical reflection on the process of conducting their research collaboratively as part of a team
• The exam will require students to read widely and synthesise the literatures on geographies of age and the life-course in order to produce an advanced discussion of key theoretical, methodological and ethical issues

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Project plan, 2-page document to be submitted at the end of Term 1. Presentation of results of independent research project at the end of Term 2.

■ 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