Z0107 Introduction to Political Geography

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2022
Extent and Intensity
2/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
RNDr. Petr Daněk, Ph.D. (lecturer)
RNDr. Dominik Kevický, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
RNDr. Petr Daněk, Ph.D.
Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: RNDr. Petr Daněk, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Geography – Earth Sciences Section – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Thu 11:00–12:50 Z4,02028
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
Z0107/01: Thu 13:00–13:50 Z4,02028, P. Daněk, D. Kevický
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Z3090 Human Geography || Z3090p Human Geography
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 20 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The main objective of the course is to introduce students into contemporary debates within political geography. Main attention is paid to the following topics: (1) Uneven development (North - South relations and their historical origin, discourse of development and its politics); (2) Origin of the modern state-system and consolidation of the (European) state; (3) geopolitics (modern geopolitical tradition and its critical discussion, critical geopolitics); (4) national identity and nationalism; and (4) democracy, elections, and geography.
Critical approach is used throughout the course and the students are encouraged to develoop their own opinion. Seminars are therefore an important part of the course. In seminars the students are encouraged to discuss issues from their (compulsory) readings. At the end of the course the students should be able to interpret critically political processes and conflicts of the contemporary world.
Learning outcomes
After passing out the course, students will be able:
- to understand social, political, economic and cultural processes influencing the formation of and changes on the political map of the world;
- to discuss different forms of power shaping contemporary world;
- to understand formation and development of key geographical concepts such as state, nation, development, world politics, democracy, and their interrelations;
- to shape own understanding of those concepts and processes, and to find arguments to support such understanding in a discussion;
- to understand the role of power and knowledge in political conflicts of the contemporary world;
- to critically analyse a selected political conflict, and to present results of analysis;
- to make themselves more familiars with political-geographical literature.
Syllabus
  • 1. Course organization. What is political geography? Evolution of approaches to the discipline.
  • 2. Global inequalities. What is development? World-economy: origin, development, spatial structure. Project of colonialism.
  • 3. Project of modernity. Enlightenment roots of development. Industrial colonialism.
  • 4. Colonial heritage. Making and unmaking of the Third World.
  • 5. Project of development. Development as modernization. Alternative approaches: dependency theories and human development.
  • 6. Project of globalization. Structural adjustment, Washington consensus.
  • 7. Post-development. What in the place of development?
  • 8. State in political geography: Peace of Westphalia and the origin of the modern state system. Sovereignty and territoriality. Consolidation of the state power.
  • 9. Geopolitics. Modern geopolitical tradition: geopolitical models and their political implication.
  • 10. Critical geopolitics.
  • 11. National identity and nationalism. What is a nation? Modern theories of nationalism.
  • 12. Shaping of national identity.
  • 13. Case study: Palestine.
  • 14. Democracy and elections. Democracy and polyarchy. Types of democracy. Democracy and electoral systems.
  • 15. Geography of elections: elections from the geographers point of view (issues, approaches, methods). Electoral map of the Czech Republic.
Literature
  • PAINTER, Joe and Alexander Sam JEFFREY. Political geography : an introduction to space and power. Edited by Joe Painter. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009, x, 236. ISBN 9781412901383. info
  • The geopolitics reader. Edited by Gearóid Ó Tuathail - Simon Dalby - Paul Routledge. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2006, x, 302. ISBN 0415341485. info
  • A companion to political geography. Edited by John A. Agnew - Katharyne Mitchell - Gearóid Ó Tuathail. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2003, xii, 494. ISBN 9781405175647. info
  • GELLNER, Ernest. Nacionalismus. Translated by Hana Novotná - Petr Skalník. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2003, 133 s. ISBN 80-7325-023-3. info
  • Pohledy na národ a nacionalismus :čítanka textů. Edited by Miroslav Hroch. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství, 2003, 451 s. ISBN 80-86429-20-2. info
  • JOHNSTON, R.J. and Peter TAYLOR. Geographies of Global Change. Remapping the World. 2th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2002, xviii, 518. ISBN 0-631-22285-5. info
  • TAYLOR, Peter J. and Colin FLINT. Political geography : world-economy, nation-state and locality. 4th ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2000, viii, 412. ISBN 0582357330. info
  • JEHLIČKA, Petr, Jiří TOMEŠ and Petr DANĚK. Stát, prostor, politika. Vybrané otázky politické geografie. (State, space, politics. Selected issues of political geography.). Praha: Univerzita Karlova, Přírodovědecká fakulta, 2000, 276 pp. ISBN 80-238-5566-2. info
  • AGNEW, John A. Geopolitics : re-visioning world politics. 1st ed. London: Routledge, 1998, 150 s. ISBN 0415140943. info
  • Political geography : a reader. Edited by John Agnew. 1st pub. London: Arnold, 1997, viii, 374. ISBN 0-340-67743-0. info
  • Ó TUATHAIL, Gearóid. Critical geopolitics : the politics of writing global space. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 1996, x, 314 s. ISBN 0-415-15701-3. info
  • Political geography of the twentieth century : a global analysis. Edited by Gerard Kearns - Peter J. Taylor. 1-st publ. London: Belhaven Press, 1993, xii, 269. ISBN 1852931973. info
Teaching methods
A combination of lectures, seminars, readings and group presentations (a seminar project - an analysis of a regional political conflict). Seminars typically have a nature of either class discussion or a presentation of a seminar project (in group).
Assessment methods
The students are asked to read about 10 papers and to write opinion essay about the texts. They should also prepare seminar papers (in a group of 3-5 students). The objective of the seminar projects is an analysis of a regional political conflict. The final exam is an oral examination. Evaluation is based on the quality of opinion essays and of the seminar paper, and on the results of the exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2008 - for the purpose of the accreditation, Spring 2000, Autumn 2010 - only for the accreditation, Spring 2001, Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2011 - acreditation, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, autumn 2021, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2022, recent)
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