GEOGRAPHIES, CULTURES AND TERRITORIES
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
There are no propaedeutic courses.
The final examination consists of an interview and is conducted by means of 5 questions, the answers to which are graded between 0 and 6 points. A total of 18 points are required to pass the examination.
The questions assess the students' knowledge and preparation on the textbook, choice reading and shared material, both from a mnemonic point of view and above all from a critical and logical point of view, ascertaining the candidates' ability to link theory, history and current affairs, correlating quantitative and qualitative aspects and grasping the concatenations of causes and effects in territorial analysis.
Specifically:
2 questions deal with the human geography textbook (one of your choice from the bibliography);
1 question concerns the teaching material shared on the E-learning page;
1 question on reading (one of the proposed ones);
1 question on the excursions (for students who will not be able to take part in one or both of the excursions, alternative readings on which the examination interview will focus).
Attending students will have the opportunity to actively participate in the course activities (elaboration of short multimedia reports, sharing in the course's social networks, joint viewing of films and documentaries) by producing a final paper (to be delivered in digital format, via e-mail, by the date of the exam roll for which the student registers, and consisting of approximately 5-10 pages of 3000 characters each).
The modalities of the final paper and the terms of its validity will be explained during the lectures.
The preparation of the paper replaces the study of the teaching material shared on the E-learning platform, and therefore one of the questions in the oral test.
For students who will participate in one or both excursions, a question in the final examination will focus on the field experience and the concluding papers (formal return).
Students who will not be able to participate in one or both excursions may study one or two additional texts as listed in the 'reference texts'. The list of substitute monographs for the excursions is continually updated; it is advisable to make the choice only after the beginning of the course and discuss it directly with the lecturer.
The course has three main educational objectives
- to illustrate the essential concepts of the geographical disciplines and the models of perception and representation indispensable for depicting and decoding the complex interactions between the natural environment and anthropic systems in their socio-cultural, political and economic dimensions
- contextualise in time and space the methodologies and themes of geographical research, paying particular attention to the production of social space and the transcale perspective (local/global);
- deepen the relationship between media and geography with particular attention to representations of the territory and the territory as media;
The expected learning outcomes include
- refinement of individual geographical perceptions and sensibilities;
- knowledge and contextualisation of the main territorial dynamics of a political, economic and socio-cultural nature, on a global and local scale;
- knowledge and contextualisation of the main statistical data of a political, economic and socio-cultural nature, on a global and local scale;
- ability to detect and analyse territorialisation processes at different geographical scales;
- ability to critically interpret widespread geographical representations and narratives.
In the general part (56 hours) the course covers the following topics:
- Geography as representation and narration (historiography and cartography).
- Experienced space: landscape, region, territory and territorialisation.
- Experienced, perceived and represented space: places, identities and meta-geographies.
- Scale and transcalarity: practices and processes of diffusion and concentration.
- Socio-cultural (languages, religions, ethnic groups) and political (authoritarian and democratic) systems.
- The sectors of the economy, communication networks and systems of production, exchange and consumption.
- Urban and regional systems: from the village of Bizzozero to the metropolis of Milan.
- The relationship between media and geography.
The course includes two field trips aimed at investigating the interactions between the local and global scales. The excursions involve the direct involvement of students in the organisational, implementation and concluding phases:
- The local dimension. (For example: "The Geo-graphies of Bizzozero").
- The global dimension (e.g. "The geo-graphies of the Fuorisalone").
In the general part (56 hours) the course covers the following topics:
- Geography as representation and narration (historiography and cartography).
- Experienced space: landscape, region, territory and territorialisation.
- Experienced, perceived and represented space: places, identities and meta-geographies.
- Scale and transcalarity: practices and processes of diffusion and concentration.
- Socio-cultural (languages, religions, ethnic groups) and political (authoritarian and democratic) systems.
- The sectors of the economy, communication networks and systems of production, exchange and consumption.
- Urban and regional systems: from the village of Bizzozero to the metropolis of Milan.
- The relationship between media and geography.
The course includes two field trips aimed at investigating the interactions between the local and global scales. The excursions involve the direct involvement of students in the organisational, implementation and concluding phases:
- The local dimension. (For example: "The Geo-graphies of Bizzozero").
- The global dimension (e.g. "The geo-graphies of the Fuorisalone").
The course is conducted in face-to-face lectures with active student participation (preparation and sharing of short multimedia reports, interaction with the course's social networks) and the sharing of films, documentaries and articles.
Field trips are guided and last approximately one day (8 hours each). As an integral part of the examination programme and subject to final assessment, the excursions involve the writing of a formal return, in the form of a paper, personal or group, traditional (article) or multimedia (photo, video or other). The method of drafting the formal return and the terms of its validity will be agreed during the lessons.
Both textbooks and monographic readings are available to borrow from the library. For textbooks, the latest edition is not essential (which is, however, to be preferred, especially if the book is purchased). For monographs, the choice can be extended with those recommended during the course. For monographs replacing field trips, other texts will be recommended during the course and, if possible, will be shared on the E-learning platform.