Course Catalogue

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Using an environmentalist framework, this course offers various cultural explorations of perceiving, engaging and sustainably interacting with built and "natural" space. Using examples from housing and planning, ecocritical theory, and phenomenological research, and applying them to literary and cinematic sources, this module will engage with intertwined environmental and social crises at a local and global scale. Glasgow and the Scottish landscape will be used to investigate the past, present, and future implications of climate change, in relation with wide-ranging societal and political questions.

10 x 2 hours weekly seminars as scheduled in MyCampus

All classes will include frontal teaching alongside seminar discussions.

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Presentation (also as Group Presentation) - 15mins - 30%
Reflective Essay - 2500 words - 70%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ Provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of how humans have perceived and impacted on their environment over time.

■ Explore how culture and art have contributed to shaping these perceptions historically and how they may contribute to shaping the future.

■ Enable students to apply key environmental and ecocritical theory and creative practices to their surroundings in order to explore and identify creative solutions towards climate change, housing issues and the provision of green spaces.

■ Allow students to apply theoretical and creative approaches to the Scottish environment using Glasgow and Scotland as a lens.

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

■ Critically examine how humans have perceived and impacted upon their environment in relation to specific examples, applying relevant theories.

■ Analyse interconnections between perceptions of the environment and textual representations.

■ Generate creative ideas about future human dwelling within environments that react to existing and potential areas of social tension, such as climate change or food security.

■ Present coherent arguments in oral and written forms on how to apply theoretical, historical and cultural approaches critically to contemporary environmental issues.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.