Module Objectives

The basic objective of the module is to introduce students to the critical reading of the relationship between culture and space, in which culture does not simply refer to ‘high culture’ but also to popular and everyday culture as well as to the way that people behave, produce, consume and entertain themselves.

The concept of culture is analysis by using various examples at different spatial levels: local, national, regional and global. Special emphasis is paid to the how culture acts as component of or factor for constructing identities, behaviours, social groups, social divisions, localities and landscapes.

The concept of space construction contributes to the understanding and evaluation of material and symbolic dimensions of modern and historical landscapes.

Course Content

Discussing the various conceptualizations of culture and of the way it is considered at various historical periods and according to different approached in human geography. The basic characteristics of environmental determinism in the past as well as today.

Civilization, culture and geography. The ‘cultural landscape’, the symbolic landscape and landscapes in art. Differentiating between ‘self’ and ‘other’. Othering and the construction of ethnic and gender identities. Colonization, decolonization and the construction of the nation-state. Critique of identity construction and the need of belonging.
Migration and surveilance of national space.

Transnationality and diaspora. Cultural hybridisation. Cultures of production, conflict and resistance. Ethnic groups, minorities, racism and the modern state. Modern identity construction through state practices and the markets. The ‘cultural turn’ in social sciences and human geography. Critique on ‘cultural studies’ and the urge to tolerate differences.

Teaching and Assessment

Classes and tutorials for preparing and submitting short written assignments. Written exam and submission of short written assignments.