Everyday Lives

Description - summary of the module content

Module description

This module explores what everyday life can tell us about geographical issues. Everyday life has become an increasingly important focus for human geographers. A geographical focus on the quite ordinary and mundane sites of everyday life have made it possible to examine the complex and uneven ways in which individuals are shaped by, and are able to contest, broader social flows and forces. Geographers interested in everyday life use a range of (largely) qualitative methods in order to examine the relationship between individuals and society.

This module will introduce you to a number of everyday sites and spaces – including home, work and leisure spaces – which will enable you to explore wider issues such as social inequality, the formation of community and belonging, enactions of identity and belief, and the significance of leisure and consumption. The module sits at the intersection between social and cultural geographies, and will draw predominantly on case studies from the United Kingdom. It is suitable for anyone with an interest in the geographies of contemporary everyday life.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module will:

• introduce a variety of contexts and settings through which geographers have explored a range of everyday lives
• explore how we might develop a critical sense of the use and value of the everyday as a lens on geographical themes
• examine the range of methodological strategies that geographers have used to research everyday lives.

We will look at recent research on the everyday, including staff research interests on community and home (Little), automation, technology and leisure (Kinsley), and spirituality and wellbeing (Lea). These staff research interests will be situated within broader research on the geographies of the everyday.

Through active participation in the module, the aim is that you will further develop the following academic and professional skills:

• problem solving (developing own ideas with confidence, identifying and using appropriate sources of information, selectively collecting and collating appropriate information)
• managing structure (identifying key demands of the task, setting clearly defined goals, conceptualising central issues within the task, developing strategies to ensure individual progress)
• time management (managing time effectively individually and in a group)
• collaboration (respecting the views and values of others, taking initiative and leading others, supporting others in their work, maintaining group cohesiveness and purpose)
• the application of critical analytical skills in relation to a range of key contemporary social and cultural issues.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe the main ways that geographers have used the lens of the everyday across social and cultural geographies
• 2. Outline particular key topics that relate to the everyday
• 3. Discuss examples and case studies that have been developed by geographers interested in the everyday

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Understand and use key debates in the literature
• 5. Communicate and present geographical ideas, principles and theories through written, oral and visual means
• 6. Apply and make use of geographical concepts and ideas

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Present material to support a reasoned argument, in written contexts
• 8. Apply independent/self-directed study/learning skills, including time-management, working to deadlines and researching the literature on the geographies of everyday lives
• 9. Research topics using a range of academic literatures
• 10. Communicate the ideas and material in essay form
• 11. Reflect on the process of learning and evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses
• 12. Formulate and evaluate questions and identify and evaluate approaches to problem-solving

Syllabus plan

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The home and everyday lives
• Community and belonging
• Working lives
• Leisure and consumption
• Disability and health
• Spirituality and wellbeing

Learning and teaching

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Assessment

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Re-assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to sit a further examination or submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Resources

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Holloway, L. and Hubbard, P. (2000) People and Place: The Extraordinary Geographies of Everyday Life. Prentice Hall
• Horton, J. and Kraftl, P. (2014) Cultural Geographies: an introduction, Routledge.
• Pain, R., et al. (2001) Introducing Social Geographies, Hodder Arnold
• Smith, S. Pain, R. Marston, S. and Jones, J-P (eds) (2009) The Sage Handbook of Social Geographies. Sage.
• Valentine, G. (2001) Social Geographies: Society and Space. Prentice Hall

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: TBC

Module has an active ELE page

Key words search

Everyday, community, social exclusion, inequality and space, technology, wellbeing