Geography

This module will you develop the practical skills required in contemporary geographical enquiry and prepares students for your second year fieldwork.

With your tutor guidance, You'll develop research methods skills through the design and implementation of a substantive piece of research, to be conducted during a residential field trip. The module will also provide you the preparation for research work associated with conducting and writing your dissertation in geography, and develops transferable skills for future employability.

You'll look at the development, application and realities of different research methods in the social sciences. You'll equip yourself with the understanding and skills required to analyse research methods, design, processes and research outcomes. You'll study the methods that social scientists use to gather and analyse ‘data’ or evidence, and evaluate and compare these methods. You'll study the ways that research methods are applied in practice, by drawing upon existing examples of research in social sciences.

You'll also learn how to design their own research project, in preparation for your third-year extended project work. In so doing you'll carefully explore what is appropriate and achievable for your undergraduate research project.

Why are some countries rich and others poor? What does development mean exactly - economic growth, social justice, or environmental sustainability? Does development help countries, or stop them growing? How do grassroots movements emerge, and how do they resist global inequality? In this module, you’ll look at geographical approaches to international development (the idea that different countries have differing levels of ‘development’ internationally). You’ll understand issues, including:

• histories of international development and globalisation
• political geography and colonialism
• theories of development
• international development institutions, such as the United Nations
• poverty and inequality
• social development and social justice
• participatory and community-based approaches
• sustainable development
• climate change adaptation
• vulnerability to natural disasters.

In Cities: Geographies of the Urban Experience, you will be introduced to urban geography. Throughout the module, you will explore a range of ways in which cities shape, and are shaped by people. From the modern architectural movement, to protest and public space, you will learn about the central role that cities play in politics and everyday life. Central to the module is understanding the ways in which inequality is built into urban life, and what we can do to challenge it.

In this module, you’ll explore heritage landscapes, and their identity as places of cultural or community value. You’ll study some of the world’s most magnificent heritage as you consider how heritage landscapes have evolved over time. You’ll look at their conservation and management, and the physical and human impact upon them. You’ll get to grips with the core concepts and themes of environmental conservation, heritage management and sustainable development. You’ll understand the rules and regulations, as well as the roles of advisors, in how we protect sites. You’ll also build up knowledge of different ecosystems, their origins and how human interactions impact their development.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the way that environmental processes can become potential hazards. You will study how hazards sometimes become disasters and the measures used to manage disasters and mitigate risk. You will explore contemporary approaches to environmental hazard / disaster management including: the efficacy of Aid; the role of the military in disaster relief; whether forecasting really saves lives; and the role of the mass media and new technology in disaster management. You will get to investigate real case studies and present your work individually and as part of a team.

In this module, you’ll gain an understanding of The Earth as a global system. You’ll consider it in terms of spheres: the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, each interacting in different scales of time and space.

You’ll gain core information you need to succeed in physical geography, as you understand how these spheres underpin the character and behaviour of the global system that we observe. You’ll explore each of these spheres in detail, gaining a whole picture of the global system. To do this you will engage with a range of disciplines, including:

• geology
• hydrology
• micro and macro ecology
• atmospheric chemistry
• physics
• computer modelling.

This module gives you a grounding in the concepts, components and functions of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). You’ll develop knowledge and understanding of spatial data, including methods for data capture and spatial analysis within a GIS environment. You’ll acquire extensive practical experience using the industry standard GIS software, developing skills in creating and editing digital maps and incorporating third party sources of spatial data. You’ll be able to use this data for spatial analysis, modelling and decision support, and gain valuable skills for your future career.

In this module, you’ll have the chance to do some work experience closely linked to your Geography course. You might be an intern with a company, or working as a volunteer in the local community, or you might have a role in the university, for example as a student ambassador. Your tutors will advise you, but you’ll be in charge of the direction you take and the learning opportunity involved.

With careful thinking about what you want to achieve and how the work you do will support your learning, you’ll gain a better understanding of the world of work. You may also develop a stronger sense of the career you’d like after Brookes. Whatever the focus of your independent study, you’ll notice the benefits, whether it’s the satisfaction gained from volunteering, the new knowledge you’ve gained or the skills you’ve improved.

What are the connections between place and power? This module introduces you to political geography and geopolitics. You’ll look at both historical and ongoing debates to enable you to understand the spatial and material relations of political power, including territory, borders, mobility, security, nations, nationalism, sovereignty and environmental politics. You’ll interrogate and challenge common assumptions about geopolitics and explore geographical ideas in the light of current events, emphasising the relevance and real-world application of political geographical thought.

Sea levels are rising; glaciers are melting; Arctic sea ice is thinning and weather events are becoming more extreme. We are in the grip of global warming. But how do these changes compare with the environmental changes that have occurred in the past? What does the past teach us about how natural and human factors may interact to change our climate and environment in the future?

In this module you’ll examine changes to the physical environment throughout the Quaternary: the last 2.6 million years of geological history and time during which humans have evolved and spread across the earth. You’ll examine the causes of climatic and environmental change over different timescales and the complex interactions between human impacts and natural processes, gaining perspective on current environmental and climatic concerns.

In this module, you'll be introduced to the major patterns of biodiversity in tropical regions and the biogeographical, ecological and evolutionary processes that shape them. You'll develop your understanding of how climate, geology, landscape structure and historical change influence the distribution, diversity and composition of tropical communities, with particular attention to plants and primates as key components of tropical ecosystems.

You'll be equipped with core research and analytical skills relevant to tropical biogeography and ecology. Through case studies and applied examples, you'll be encouraged to critically engage with contemporary debates surrounding tropical biodiversity conservation, environmental change and human–environment interactions in tropical regions.

This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.

You'll embark on the second of three action-orientated experiential modules that form a spine of Supportive Challenge learning opportunities which run throughout the programme of study. You'll be offered the opportunity to draw meaningful, practical experiences to develop personal awareness and self-efficacy while developing your understanding of your chosen subject or profession in the context of the contemporary world and the future world of work.

You'll also be allowed to experience the real-world of the so-called 'wicked problems' which are complex and cannot be addressed by only one subject, discipline or professional context. You'll immerse yourself in interactive projects, enhancing your understanding and aspirations and cultivating deep personal values leading to a greater sense of self-belief, confidence and resilience in your ability to succeed in complex contexts.

In this module, you'll develop and utilise your research skills and take a deep dive into topics encountered in other elements of the programme through an extended project. You'll either work on a community project or a research dissertation. If you're studying a joint-honours course, you'll have the opportunity to undertake a discipline-specific project or an interdisciplinary project.

On this module, you will look at current and future global challenges that face geographers.

You will draw on academic research expertise. You will look at physical, human and environmental geographical issues related to a sustainable future.

You will explore what geographers can contribute using your geographical skills:

• the geographical imagination
• ethical subject-hood
• integrative thinking
• spatial thinking
• and a structured exploration of place.

By studying this module, you will develop a detailed understanding of theoretical and ethnographic approaches to culture, capitalism and global transformation.

Your study will focus on ethnographic material that engages with the everyday lives of people and communities from around the world. Through this focus, you will gain insight into the complex relationships between cultural practice and capitalist development, and you will build your understanding of the world around you.

In this module, you’ll explore the changing relationship between anthropology, and international development (the idea that different countries have different levels of development). You’ll gain a strong grounding in international development. You’ll gain key analytical skills as you dive into debates on the relationship between anthropology and development. You’ll explore key issues for anthropologists working in international development, including:

• gender relations
• environmental issues
• health
• youth
• religion.

You’ll compare ideas and practices in international development. You’ll look at approaches to social policy, inequality and well-being in the UK. And you disrupt the lines we draw between North and South, developed and underdeveloped, or advanced and emerging economies and societies.

What is the nature and extent of arid environments and how do they interact with the global climate system? In this module you’ll gain knowledge of:

• long-term and short-term variations in climate
• the nature and extent of drylands
• the rates and types of processes operating in these environments.

You’ll also look at human impacts on drylands, including desertification, salinization (increasing salt content in soils) and deforestation, and consider the impact that future climate change may have on arid systems.

You will develop a broad understanding of climate science. By examining evidence from a range of observation, process, modelled and paleoclimate data.

You will explore how the chemical and physical changes. Which is often driven by human activity and has global and regional impacts. You'll also look at how this leads to informing the climate policy-making process.

How did the modern world come to be? The answer to this question lies in an understanding of the relationships between climate, landscape and society in Southwest Asia between 20,000 and 5,000 years ago. At the beginning of this period, during the height of the ice age, human communities existed as nomadic hunter gatherers. But by the end of this time, during the warmer Holocene period, many inhabitants of the region were living in the world’s first cities, engaging in agriculture, long distance trade and warfare.

In this module, you’ll examine the archaeological and palaeoclimatic evidence for these complex transformations. You’ll look at how, when and where they took place, focusing on the role of climate change and landscape on social, technological and economic processes. You’ll develop key skills in evaluating evidence, theories, methods and analytical techniques.

What will cities look like in fifty years? What did thinkers from the mid-nineteenth century to today propose about how to reconstruct and manage urban life? From global warming to ageing populations, you'll examine the trends that are shaping the cities of the future, and gain key analytical skills as you consider how cities might best adapt to these challenges. As with the Year 2 Cities module, we’ll focus on urban society as much as on city form, regarding people and place as inseparable.

This module gives you the chance to carry out independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll have the help of an expert tutor, as you decide on a topic based on a unique and interesting subject. You’ll gain core research and project management skills for your future career, as you create, manage and complete your own project.

In this module you’ll explore the physical nature of oceans, from their chemical composition and circulation to the influence of oceans on the global climate system. By understanding the way in which oceans behave, we can comprehend how all of the components of the Earth’s systems fit together. You’ll explore topics ranging from the physics and biology of oceans to records of past ocean change, from marine pollution to ocean policy and governance of our marine environment.

This module closely examines the complex history, contested present and potential futures of one of the most important and consequential geographic devices in today’s world: borders. You'll trace the historical development of territorial and sovereign practices that have led to the concept of borders as we know them today. You'll address debates about the continuing relevance of borders in today’s world, and you'll look ahead to the future of borders as they intersect with pressing concerns such as climate change, migration and identitarian movements.