Module Code and Title:        ENV404 Cultural and Human Geography 

Programme(s):                      BSc in Environmental Management

Credit Value:                          12

Module Tutor(s):                   Leishipem Khamrang (Coordinator), Kinley Dorji, Tshewang Dorji

General objective: This module will introduce students to the existing various approaches to the human-environment relationship and the spatial organisation of human societies. Further, perspectives on the space including spatiality in the social, cultural and economic sense, and continued reordering of the human-environment nexus constitute the core focuses of the module.

Learning outcomes – On completion of the module, students will be able to:

1. Describe geographical approaches to human and environment relationships.
2. Describe the distribution of the broad social and cultural patterns of the world.
3. Interpret human categorizations using different lenses: ethnic origin, race, culture.
4. Explain cultural landscapes and cultural regions.
5. Analyse patterns and types of settlements.
6. Describe the spatial interaction and diffusion process.
7. Assess spatial reorganization that occurs through the contemporary socioeconomic development process.
8. Analyse examples of contemporary politics of place and identity.
9. Analyse the socio-cultural patterns of the Himalayas.

Learning and Teaching Approach:

Assessment Approach:

1. Individual response paper: 10%

Students will write a response paper in about 750-1000 words on a topic approved by the tutor related to module contents. They will be assigned to read 3-5 articles related to contemporary cultural process and spatial organization of space, cultural and identity politics etc. and be able to synthesize the main points into a reflective response paper.

4%       Quality of analysis (originality, thoughtfulness of reflection, use of relevant and adequate support for all claims made, ties analysis to relevant module concepts)

3%       Articulation, accuracy, and completeness

3%       Mechanics (Language and referencing)

1. Forum discussions via VLE: 10%

This exercise will mainly focus on critical reading, comprehension, and participation in the ensuing discussions. Related reading(s) will be provided for this assignment in advance to be followed by in-class discussion. Students will then write short reflective notes on the topics discussed in 150-200 words and submit these on VLE on the same day. Assessment will be done four times, two before midterm and two after midterm. The final mark will be an average of the four, each out of 10 marks:

6%       Quality of analysis (originality, thoughtfulness of reflection, use of relevant and adequate support for all claims made, ties analysis to relevant module concepts)

4%       Articulation, accuracy, and completeness

1. Class tests: 10%

Students will take two written class tests: one before midterm and one after the midterm (5% each) of 45-min duration covering 3-5 weeks of material. 

1. Group Presentation: 15 %

In groups of 4, students will present (20-25 min) on a topic related to the theme ‘socio-cultural and religious life of the Himalayas’. Each group will select a specific religion, community, culture, etc., of a particular country or region in the Himalayas.

Group mark (5%):

3%       Presentation flow – transition between presenters, presentation organisation and structure

2%       Overall group performance – visual aids, time management and team coordination

Individual mark (10%):

6%       Content analysis and discussion (use of relevant concepts, terms and terminology, consistency, accuracy, evidence-based argument and, justification)

4%       Delivery (language, ability to capture audience attention, flow and articulation)

1. Midterm Examination: 15%

Students will take a written exam of 1.5-hr duration covering topics up to the mid-point of the semester. The exam will comprise structured questions like MCQ, fill-in-the-blanks, matching, definition, as well as open-ended essay questions.

1. Semester-End Examination: 40%

Students will take a written exam of 2.5-hr duration encompassing all the subject matter covered in the semester. This assessment is comprehensive and summative in nature, and will comprise structured questions like MCQ, fill-in-the-blanks, matching, definition, as well as open-ended essay questions.

Overview of assessment approaches and weighting

Pre-requisites: ENV102 Population, Development and Environment

Subject Matter:

1. Unit I: Introduction to human geography
   • Nature and scope of cultural and human geography
   • Perspective and relevance of cultural and human geography
   • Approaches to Human-nature relationship
     • Possiblilism and determinism
     • Cultural ecological approach
     • System analysis approach
     • Environmental psychology

2. Unit II: Race, cultural patterns and processes
   • Concept of humans as a cultural species
   • Human race, origin and classification
   • Cultural landscape and cultural regions
   • Language, culture and religion of the world
   • Cultural diffusion, acculturation, assimilation process, popular and folk culture
   • Cultural hegemony and imperialism
3. Unit III: Spatial patterns and organization of space
   • Concept of area, space, place and region
   • Location and spatial interaction
   • Innovation and diffusion as spatial processes
   • Spatial interaction - gravity model
   • Political and material contexts of the times and places
   • Socioeconomic development process and the reorganization of space
4. Unit IV: Human settlements
   • Pattern and types of human settlement
   • Rural-urban dichotomy
   • Hierarchy of urban settlements
   • Concept of urban and functional classification of town
   • Urban morphology
   • Rural-urban fringe
5. Unit V: Power, space and political geography
   • State, territories, and nations
   • Space, place and identity politics
   • Nation, nationalism and citizenship
   • Geography of representation, belonging and participation
   • The geography of power, territoriality and control
6. Unit VI: Human geography of the Himalayas
   • Himalayan region: A geographical overview
   • Cultural landscape of the Himalayas
   • Religion and ethnic landscape
   • Ethnic composition and distribution
   • Spatial pattern of growth, development and socio-cultural nuances in the Himalayas
     • Socio-spatial structure and inequality.
     • Cultural proximity and social organization
     • Cultural abrasion and deflation
     • Linking environment, religion, food habit, and culture

Reading List:

Essential Readings

Boyle, M. (2015). Human geography: A concise introduction. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Knowles, R., & Wareing, J. (2014). Economic and social geography (4^th ed.). Oxford, England: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Knox, P.L., & Marston, S.A. (2015). Human geography: Places and regions in global context (7^th ed.). London, England: Pearson International

Norton, W., & Mercier, M. (2019). Human geography (10^th ed.). London, England: Oxford University press.

Additional Reading

Anderson, K., Domosh, M., Pile, S., & Thrift, N. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of cultural geography. London, England: Sage

Cloke, P.J., & Johnston, R. (2005). Spaces of geographical thought: Deconstructing human geography's binaries. London, England: Sage

Domosh, M., Neumann R.P., Price, P.L., & Jordan-Bychkov, T.G. (2011). The human mosaic: A cultural approach to human geography. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and Company.

Duncan, J., Johnson, N., & Schein, R. (Eds.). (2004). A companion to cultural geography. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Fouberg, W.H., Murphy, A.B., & De Blij.H.J. (2015). Human geography, place, and culture (11^th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Flint, C., & Taylor, P.J. (2018). Political geography: World-economy, nation-state and locality. Abingdon, England: Routledge.

Fraser, N., & Bhattacharya, A. (2001). Geography of a Himalayan Kingdom Bhutan. New Delhi, India: Concept Publishing Company

Guneratne, A. (2010). Culture and the environment in the Himalaya. Abingdon, England: Routledge.

Ghosh, S. (2012). Introduction to settlement geography. Mumbai, India: Orient Longman

Ives J.D. (2004). Himalayan perceptions: Environmental change and the well-being of mountain peoples. Abingdon, England: Routledge.

Jones, A. (2012). Human geography: The basics. Abingdon, England: Routledge,

Mesoudi, A. (2011). Cultural evolution: How Darwinian theory can explain human culture and synthesize the social sciences. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press

Rubenstein, J. M. (2018). Contemporary human geography (4^th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Date: June 2021