Mankind-environment relationships: perspectives in cultural geography
Dr Gale Dixon
8 points
* 3 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
*
Prerequisites: A first-year sequence in geography, or permission of the head of
department
Objectives On completion of this subject, students should be able to describe and understand human activity in cultural and geographic terms. By encouraging independent inquiry, with appropriate guidance and advice, and by consulting academic literature from varying traditions and periods, students should develop an appreciation of the different ways in which human societies use and modify their environment and extend their activities through space.
Synopsis Using a range of examples drawn from Australia and overseas, this subject concentrates on: variety in human societies; the manner in which different cultures modify their habitat; and the spatial characteristics of human activities, technologies and institutions; and on such themes as: plant and animal domestication; the cultural landscape; diffusion studies from at least two perspectives: and the active roles of humans in changing the earth's physical landscapes. In selecting essay topics, students are free to explore a wide range of themes and contexts, including local landscapes and the geographical aspects of agriculture, forestry, religion, sport, technology, recreation, diet, language, architecture, politics, music, and domesticated animals.
Assessment Written (4000 words): 50%
* Examinations (2 hours): 40%
* Tutorial attendance and participation : 10%
Recommended texts
Anderson K and Gale F Inventing places: Studies in cultural geography Longman Cheshire, 1992
Botlain D B and others (eds) Changing the global environment: Perspectives on human involvement Academic Press, 1989
Brown L A Innovation diffusion: A new perspective Methuen, 1981
Jordan T G and Rowntree L The human mosaic: A thematic introduction to cultural geography 3rd edn, Harper and Row, 1982
Meinig D W (ed.) The interpretation of ordinary landscapes OUP, 1979
Shurmer-Smith P and Hannam K Worlds of desire, realms of power: A cultural geography Arnold, 1994
Thomas W L (ed.) Man's role in changing the face of the earth vols I and II, U Chicago P, 1956
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