Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Human Geography
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Before each session.
Introduction
This course is a brief history and evolution of geographical thought and its main schools and approaches (determinism, possibilism, etc.), highlighting geography as a scientific discipline.
We will also approach the theoretical foundations of geography of population, economic geography, rural geography, geography of tourism and urban geography, making a special emphasis on the latter.
Critical thinking is encouraged in order to analyse the relationships between humans and the territorial structures that they created: cities, croplands, states and infrastructures. Focus will also be placed on the relationship between human activities, landscape and natural environment.
Pre-course requirements
They are not required
Objectives
That students develop a sense of place, curiosity towards the geographical environment and interest in seeking explanations for the phenomena and territorial, social and cultural processes of the world around them.
That the students are able to evaluate and analyze the transformations and impacts that the human imprint has left on the territories and landscapes, being able to argue about how these transformations have taken place, when and why.
That the students can identify and value some whys of the main economic, demographic, political and social problems that affect the world and reflect on the possible causes.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CN02 - Students will be able to identify models and policies specific to different cultures and migratory groups, as well as their historical context.
- CN03 - Students will be able to establish relationships between the concepts of heritage, territory and cultural identity.
- CP01 - Students will be able to apply the knowledge acquired in the professional field by coming up with and defending arguments, as well as resolving problems within different areas of humanistic study.
- CP04 - Students will be able to encourage cultural visibility as a resource in institutions, markets, industries and companies.
- CP05 - Students will be able to analyse socio-cultural, historical and artistic structures, from a respect for the fundamental rights of equality between men and women, using language that avoids androcentricity and stereotypes.
- HB05 - Students will be able to problem solve based on reasoned judgements.
- HB10 - Students will have the ability to manage economic resources and digital skills in cultural organisations and projects.
- HB12 - Students will be able to adequately and effectively apply methods and techniques specific to different humanities disciplines when problem solving and when elaborating critical and well-founded arguments.
- HB16 - Students will be able to interpret spaces, territories and landscapes that are either real or represented.
- HB20 - Students will be able to use sources of information in an international context.
Syllabus
1. Introduction. Origins of geography
1.1. Definitions. What we know about the world. General descriptions.
1.2. History of the knowledge of the world. First geographers, travellers and explorers: from Herodotus to Magallanes through Marco Polo.
1.3. The great explorations of the 19th and 20th centuries. From the heart of Africa to the Moon in a century: Livingstone, Amundsen, Hillary, Piccard...
2. Geographical Schools
2.1. Pioneers: Humboldt, Ritter and Ratzel. The scientific method in geography.
2.2. French school: possibilism. Anglo-Saxon school: determinism.
Huntington’s reading: Civilisation and climate.
2.3. The theoretical-quantitative thinkers. Walter Christaller. Radical geography.
2.4. Geographies of postmodernity. Theory of non-places.
3. Geography of the population
3.1. The distribution of the population. Concentration and dispersion, history of the settlement of the planet. From the Palaeolithic to the information age (agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, technological revolution...).
3.2. The growth of the population: birth rates, fertility rates, mortality rates. The demographic transition.
3.3. Structure of the population. Analysis and study of population pyramids.
3.4. Migrations and movements of the population throughout history.
3.5. Future projections.
4. Economic geography
4.1. The old regime. Colonial empires. Neo-colonialism, the centre-periphery economic model.
4.2. Development and underdevelopment. Globalisation. Industrial relocation.
4.3. Rural geography. Agricultural landscapes: agriculture, agroindustry and food production to the world. Food sovereignty.
4.4. Geography of tourism. Tourist landscapes of before and now. Touristic destinations. The tourist flows in the world.
5. Urban geography
5.1. What is the city? The urban fact. Urbanisation. Towards an urban world.
5.2. The pre-industrial city, the industrial city. City and modernity. The global city.
5.3. The urban hierarchy, theory of the central place. Networks of cities. Concept of urban area, metropolitan area, metropolitan region. Trains, highways and airports; geography of transport. Maps and graphs.
5.4. Plans and urban projects.
5.5. Analysis of some examples. Barcelona and Cerdà’s Eixample (option of excursion).
5.6. Main city models in the world: the European city, the American city. Diffuse city and fragmented city. The global city. The unreal city.
5.7. Study of some cases: Mega-cities of the world.
6. Environment. The human response to the environmental challenge
6.1. Definitions (environmentalism, environment...). Main anthropic impacts on the environment. New visions of the world and nature.
6.2. Sustainability and global actions. NGOs. Rio Conference. Brundtland Report. Kyoto Protocol.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
40% Essay on the student’s city of choice (20% written essay / 20% oral presentation).
20% Other small essays, homework and presentations.
40% Final exam (must be passed).
According to faculty regulations, at least 0.10 points will be deducted for each misspelling in exams and papers.
Bibliography and resources
Paul Claval: Evolución de la geografía humana. Editorial: Oikos-tau, s.a. (1996). ISBN 9788428107976
Claval, Paul (2002). Geografía humana. Ariel. Barcelona
Marco Polo: Libro de las maravillas del mundo. Editorial: Cátedra (2008). ISBN 9788437624686
Marc Augé (1993). Los no lugares: Espacios del anonimato, antropología de la sobremodernidad. Gedisa
Massimo Livi Bacci (2002): História mínima de la población mundial. Editorial Ariel
A.E.J. Morris, Gustavo Gili (2001). Historia de la forma urbana: desde sus orígenes hasta la revolución industrial. Editoral: Gustavo Gili
Soja, Edward (2008). Postmetroplis: estudios críticos sobre las ciudades y las regiones. Editorial traficantes de sueños
Holt-Jensen, Arild. (2018). Geography: History and Concepts: A Student's Guide (5th ed.). London: SAGE Publications.
Gade, Daniel W. (2011). "Curiosity, Inquiry, and the Geographical Imagination of Alexander von Humboldt." GeoJournal, 76(5), 651-663.
Boyle, M. (2014). Geografía humana: cultura, sociedad y espacio. Oxford University Press. Oxford
Rubenstein, J. M. (2019). The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography (13th ed.). Pearson. Boston.
Brenner, Neil (Ed.). (2014). Implosions/Explosions: Towards a Study of Planetary Urbanization. Berlin: Jovis.
Scott, Allen J. & Storper, Michael. (2015). The Nature of Cities: The Scope and Limits of Urban Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press..
Mehrotra, Rahul (Ed.). (2012). The Kinetic City and Other Essays. New Delhi: CEPT University Press.
Glaeser, Edward. (2012). Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Brenner, Neil & Keil, Roger (Eds.). (2017). The Global Cities Reader (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Sassen, Saskia. (2014). Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.