Geography and the Senses (U03225)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : GEO-3-GEOGSENS

This course examines the role of the senses in our everyday lives. It explores the dominance of vision in contemporary Western society and illustrates the extent to which our understandings of distinct sensual perceptions (e.g. smell, touch, hearing, etc.) can be historically and geographically situated. Through a series of lectures and group discussions the course provides an introduction to the key theoretical concepts and debates surrounding the body, embodiment, and the senses in geographical thought, and critically examines the ways in which some contemporary geographers have begun to work with these ideas in their research (e.g. performativity, non-representational theory). To illustrate, the course draws upon a number of historical and contemporary case studies including: GIS, CCTV, the internet, poetry, novels, installation art, and music. Students are encouraged to reflect upon their own lives and to develop their own interests in relation to the course through weekly readings and personal Weblogs.

This course will:-
- Introduce you to key theoretical concepts and debates on the body, embodiment, and the senses.
- Develop your appreciation of the validity of qualitative sources and methodologies.
- Develop your critical analysis skills and ability to apply theoretical and empirical knowledge to form coherent arguments in both written work and oral contributions.
- Encourage you to reflect upon your own life and make connections between knowledge gained in class and the wider world.
- Develop your writing, discussion and oral presentation skills.

Entry Requirements

? Special Arrangements for Entry : Requests for registration must be made by email to Shiela.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
Availability to Visiting Undergraduates may be dependent on demand from internal students.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Geography, (School of GeoSciences, Schedule N)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course students should:
- Be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of academic research and scholarship in the field of embodied-sensuous geographies.
- Appreciate the ways in which geographical knowledge, and its production, is specific to particular times and places
- Have further developed their critical analysis skills and ability to apply theoretical and empirical knowledge to form coherent arguments
- Have further developed their writing, discussion and oral presentation skills and the ability to adhere to the rigorous conventions of academic scholarship
- Be able to work effectively independently and within a group
- Have demonstrated self-initiative by completing a significant amount of independent study