| Unit name | Urban Geography - a Focus on Africa |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOG20033 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Parnell |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Course description:
This unit explores topics in the Cities and Societies theme introduced in Year 1. Continuing population growth and urbanisation will add 2.5 billion more people to the world’s cities by 2050, with nearly 90 per cent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa. Today, around 40 per cent of Africans are urban dwellers, about 600 million people. In the next few decades this number will swell to over 1.4 billion. Urban Geographers have until recently virtually overlooked the dramatic expansion of African cities. A recent surge of writing from geography and urban studies provides the platform from which the course explores the challenges faced in African cities, assessing the durability and relevance of traditional scholarship to contemporary urban change. The core material is covered in lectures and seminars and further developed via independent reading and essay preparation.
Course aims:
On completion of this Unit students should be able to:
The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:
The unit will be taught through online resources and in-person teaching, including:
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Seminar group presentation focussed on key themes in the unit.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay on topics set to allow students to engage major course themes but also present findings from individual reading (100%) [ILOs 1-5]
When assessment does not go to plan
Students will be offered an alternative essay-based assessment for completion in the summer reassessment period.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. GEOG20033).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
