This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Undergraduate Handbook 2012-2013 (archived)

Module GEOG2641: ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Department: Geography

GEOG2641: ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	2	20	Available in 2012/2013	None.	Durham

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

None

Excluded Combinations

None

Aims

Introduce students to developments in the academic field of economic geography
Promote an appreciation of the changing and diverse ways in which geographers have theorized, conceptualized and debated the economic
Develop understandings of the spaces and spatiality of economies across both the Global North and the Global South
Engage critically in issues in contemporary economic geography, with particular reference to global production, global finance, and worlds of work

Content

Introduction: What is ‘economy’?
Monopolies, Markets and Production Networks
Resources, Commodification and Commodity Chains
Postcolonial Economies
Finance Capital, Cities and Speculation
Financialization, Production and Work
Labour and Work
Work, Women and Bodies
Alternative and Proliferative Economies
Conclusion: Theories and Themes

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

Students are expected to be able to:
Trace the development of the academic field of economic geography
Understand key theories, concepts and debates in economic geography
Show an appreciation of the ways in which space and spatiality matters in global economies

Subject-specific Skills

Students are expected to be able to:
Understand and synthesize key literatures in economic geography
Reflect critically about issues in contemporary economic geography, with particular reference to global production, global finance, and worlds of work
Evaluate sources of evidence in contemporary public economic debates

Key Skills

Students are expected to be able to:
Demonstrate expertise in critical reflection and analysis
Communicate effectively in written form
Demonstrate an ability to formulate critical and sophisticated arguments

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

Lectures will introduce students to the academic field of economic geography, theoretical and conceptual debates, and contemporary issues in production, finance, and work
Discussion in workshops will allow students to work through theoretical and conceptual understandings introduced in lectures and apply such understandings to contemporary issues
A fieldtrip will allow students to develop their own first-hand critical reflections on one of the issues in contemporary economic geography studied in the module
Examination and coursework (fieldtrip report) will test critical understanding of concepts and critical thinking

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total Hours	Attendance Monitored
Lectures	12	Weekly (unless workshop)	2 hours	24
Revision Class	1	Term 3	1 hour	1
Workshops	4	Approx 2 per term	1 hour	4
Fieldtrip	1	Term 2 (weekend)	1 day	7	Yes
Preparation and Reading				164
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Unseen written examination	67%	Unseen written examination	2 hours	100%
Fieldtrip report	33%	Fieldtrip report	Max 5 sides A4	100%

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is provided through feedback on a piece of written work prior to summative assessment

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.