Geographies of Race and Racisms, Injustice, Difference and Identity (L022GRS)

30 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

This module considers geographical research on race and racisms.

There will be a focus on what the axes of injustice, inequality, difference and identity influence in everyday geographies. The module will engage with a range of theoretical tools with which to conceptualise such differences. This includes space, place, embodiment, intersectionality, essentialism vs non-essentialism, representation, non-representational theory).

Themes will include:

  • race and the politics of landscape (public space, the national park, the city)
  • race and geographies of the street
  • race and Black histories
  • race at the museum
  • race and visual culture
  • race and the politics of the environment
  • race and environmental justice (North and South)
  • race and the politics of Indigeneity.

This experience of race in the cultural politics of the everyday is routed through histories of empire, land, earth, identity and the body. The intersections of ethnicity, identity, race and the theorisation of geographies of whiteness are explored. The module uses case study examples in published research in geography, sociology, cultural studies and beyond to focus on the specificities of racialisation and identity.

By the end of the module, you’ll have developed a critical understanding of different social, cultural and political issues arising in research on the geographies of race, racism, difference and identity. And you'll be able to apply such understandings to an in-depth case study of your own choosing.

Teaching

100%: Practical (Workshop)

Assessment

30%: Coursework (Report)
70%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.