Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course introduces students to political geology, a new subfield in human geography. The course takes a broadly cultural and historical perspective on the role of geologists in shaping the modern world, politics, the climate crisis, and visions of the earth. The course will consider the cultural significance of ideas of deep time from the 18th century onward, the importance of the Anthropocene debate, and the geological sciences role in processes of industrialisation, colonisation, and territorial dispossession. The course will also consider key contemporary debates around the geopolitics of 'critical' metals for the energy transition, the rise of new planetary social thought in the social sciences, and the decolonisation of geology.

2-hour lecture per week over 10 weeks

3 research workshops 

1 field class: This will involve a single local site visit of approximately five hours to a Glasgow site relevant to the themes of the course. Students will be responsible for local travel and travel costs.

Fulfilment of entry requirements to Level 3 Geography

None

None

Essay 1 (40%)

This assessment asks students to research and write a report of approximately 1,000 words about the geopolitics of a 'critical metal.' The assessment asks that students identify a critical metal of their interest and locate a site where that metal is mined. The student will then trace the processing and end result of the metal in a commodity. The student will critically analyse the 'criticality' of the metal, including the geopolitical context of the extraction site and its use in 'green' and 'renewable' energy technologies.

Essay 2 (60%)

This assignment asks that students write an essay of 1,500 words on one of three suggested topics.

The course introduces students to the core issues of the geological turn in the humanities and social sciences. Students will gain critical knowledge of key conceptual debates relating to the cultural and political role of geological knowledges. The course will also introduce students to advanced qualitative research methods in cultural and historical geography.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically reflect in written and oral form on the core themes and arguments of the geological turn.

■ Demonstrate a critical understanding of the cultural and political context of the modern geological and earth sciences.

■ Produce sustained arguments on the geopolitics of geological resources.

■ Critically reflect on the use of undergraduate research methods in cultural and historical geography.