DGA016 Geographical Thought

Faculty of Education
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 15 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
RNDr. Petr Daněk, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Rudolf Brázdil, DrSc.
Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Supplier department: Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
Course objectives
The main objectives of the course are the following:
introducing the main approaches to geography (and their onthology as well as epistemology);
identifying historical relationships among individual schools or approaches;
introducing philosophical underpinnings of individual approaches;
introducing students to the discussion about the nature of key concepts of geography (such as space, place, time, scale, environment);
acquainting students with the key intellectuals shaping the geographical thought;
At the end of the course the students should be able to distinguish between different approaches to geography (past and present).
Learning outcomes
After completing the course the student is able to:
- understand and distinguish the theoretical approaches of contemporary geography;
- identify and discuss key "crises" in the development of modern geographical thinking;
- to form their own opinion on the differences and the relationship between physical and human geography;
- critically introduce a selected personality of modern geography.
Syllabus
  • 1. Geographical schools, approaches, paradigms. Social construction of reality.
  • 2. Beginnings of modern geography. Environmental and regional approach.
  • 3. Post-war discussion and quantitative revolution.
  • 4. Criticism of spatial science and post-pozitivist approaches.
  • 5. Radical/Marxist geography.
  • 6. Humanistic geography.
  • 7. Feminist criticism.
  • 8. Theory of structuration and time-geography.
  • 9. Realisms in geography.
  • 10. Cultural turn and postmodernism.
  • 11. Post-strukturalism, post-colonialism.
  • 12. Key concepts in geography: space, place, scale.
  • 13. Key concepts in geography: environment, landscape.
Literature
  • CRESSWELL, Tim. Geographic thought : a critical introduction. First published. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013, 290 stran. ISBN 9781405169394. info
  • Key thinkers on space and place. Edited by Phil Hubbard - Rob Kitchin. Second edition. Los Angeles: Sage, 2011, xv, 510. ISBN 9781849201018. info
  • Geographic thought : a praxis perspective. Edited by George L. Henderson - Marvin Waterstone. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2009, xvi, 378. ISBN 9780415471701. info
  • Approaches to human geography. Edited by Gill Valentine - Stuart C. Aitken. 1st pub. London: SAGE Publications, 2006, ix, 349. ISBN 0761942637. info
  • Spaces of geographical thought : deconstructing human geography's binaries. Edited by Paul J. Cloke - R. J. Johnston. 1st pub. London: SAGE Publications, 2005, viii, 224. ISBN 0761947329. info
  • Key concepts in geography. Edited by Sarah L. Holloway - Stephen P. Rice - Gill Valentine. 1st pub. London: SAGE Publications, 2003, xvii, 342. ISBN 0761973893. info
  • The dictionary of human geography. Edited by R. J. Johnston. 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2000, xvii, 958. ISBN 0631205616. info
  • Introducing human geographies. Edited by Paul J. Cloke - Phil Crang - Mark Goodwin. 1st ed. London: Arnold, 1999, xv, 368. ISBN 034069193X. info
  • PEET, Richard. Modern geographical thought. 1st pub. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999, ix, 342 s. ISBN 1-55786-206-0. info
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminars. Seminars are organized as either class discussions (following readings) or presentation of group projects.
Assessment methods
Participation in seminars, presentation of the group project, a short essay, and the final written test.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms autumn 2020, Spring 2021, Autumn 2021, Spring 2022, Autumn 2022, Spring 2023, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2024, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2024/DGA016