Human Geography Berlin Field Trip

Description - summary of the module content

Module description

Residential field work is an essential part of your degree programme at Exeter. This module provides an opportunity to develop and apply research skills in real world environments, normally consisting of two parts:

• Pre-trip preparation, involving a mix of lectures, projects and self-directed study that provide you with the necessary background information and data to successfully undertake the field trip.
• The trip itself, which lasts five days and consists of a series of staff-directed site studies and group project exercises.

Geography FCH students may elect to take this module if they are taking 60 or more credits in Geography at stage 2, including GEO2327 Geographies of Justice: Research Methodologies in Action (15 credits) and GEO2328 Geographies of Consumption: Doing Human Geography Research (15 credits).

Module aims - intentions of the module

The field trip has two main aims:

• to provide you with an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained through lecture-based modules to 'real-world' geographical study, and
• to give you further preparatory training for undertaking a dissertation (GEO3311 / GEO3312) building on skills developed in stage 1.

By attending the field trip and completing the formatively and summatively assessed coursework in this module you will develop your academic and professional skills, such as your ability to develop and evaluate research designs, deploy research skills in different settings, develop critical thinking skills in the field, participate in group discussions and prepare and undertake professional presentations. This will help you to grow in academic confidence and practice how to develop and present your ideas in writing and for presentations. You will practice how to tackle research problems in the field and how to manage your time and workload effectively, working individually and in a group.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Describe selected field-based methodologies and techniques used in collecting, analysing and presenting geographical information in human geography, and apply these with limited guidance
• 2. Identify/formulate and evaluate questions or problems with limited guidance
• 3. Design, execute and report on a short research project (with due consideration of safety and risk assessment)
• 4. Apply, interpret and use qualitative and/or quantitative information effectively and appropriately
• 5. Describe and explain the results of practical fieldwork and relate results to existing bodies of geographical knowledge
• 6. Discuss specific case studies and examples relevant to specific themes relating to the field trip (e.g. political geographies, historical and cultural geographies of place and memory, architecture, space, identity and power)
• 7. Collect, interpret, evaluate and combine different types of geographical evidence and information

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 8. Identify a diverse range of approaches to the generation of knowledge and understanding in human geography
• 9. Apply geographical concepts in different situations
• 10. Outline the nature of place and memory within urban environments
• 11. Discuss reciprocal relationships between spaces and politics
• 12. Explain the significance of spatial relationships as products of and process of ideological transformation

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 13. Communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively and fluently by written, oral and visual means
• 14. Use C&IT effectively and appropriately and with limited guidance to select, analyse, present and communicate geographical information
• 15. Undertake independent/self-directed study/learning (including time management) to achieve consistent, proficient and sustained attainment
• 16. Reflect on the process of learning and evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses
• 17. Appreciate the practical applications of research methods in different settings and reflect on these within the context of student employability and professional development

Syllabus plan

Syllabus plan

Before the field trip:

A series of lectures and workshop support sessions to enable you to prepare for the field trip.

Indicative themes covered during the field trip:

• Walking and Writing the City
• The Cold War City
• Visual Geographies Project
• Place and Memory
• Alternative Berlin: Spaces of Art, Creativity and Counter-Culture
• The New Berlin
• Independent Group Project Work

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

These notes define what will happen in three re-assessment scenarios:

If you are unable to attend the field trip for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee or you are too late to be transferred to the Virtual Field Trip module (GEO2308E), you will be re-assessed for field work skills via two new assessments to be submitted for the August deferral period:

• A 2000-word essay, related to key themes introduced in the pre-departure workshops;
• A 2000-word project report, based upon desk-based research on a theme, site, or issue related to Berlin.

Both pieces of assessment will be devised in discussion with the module convenor.

If, having participated in the field trip, you are unable to complete the individual field diary for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will be required to submit a 2000-word essay in the August deferral period. If you are deferred in the group project presentation, you will be required to submit an individual PowerPoint presentation with a 1500-word narrative in the notes section in the August deferral period.

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.

If you fail the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%), you will be required to submit a 3000-word project report based upon desk-based research on a theme, site, or issue related to Berlin. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will count for 100% of the final mark and will be capped at 40%.

Resources

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Reading lists appropriate to the fieldtrip will be issued during the previous term.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=6589

Module has an active ELE page

Key words search

Field trip, Berlin, urban geographies, place, memory, cold-war, geo-politics, architecture, holocaust, memorialisation, urban change, gentrification, urban politics, creativity