GEOG3059

Dr Jason Dittmer

Unit value: 0.5 unit                          Year 3 Term 2

Brief course description

A lecture-oriented course considering the subject matter of popular geopolitics

Course aims

The course will cover a wide variety of approaches to the analysis of popular culture and geopolitics.  It will begin with two weeks’ overview of critical geopolitics and cultural studies before moving into in-depth coverage of concepts that have emerged within the field as key to both traditional popular geopolitics and its theoretical challenges and variants.  Each week will feature a different concept and related case study.

Course content

Having completed this course, students will have:

1. Gained an understanding of the various theoretical approaches to popular culture within the geopolitical tradition;
2. Engaged with case studies of popular culture that enable students to make connections between theoretical approaches and empirical examples;
3. Applied this theoretical knowledge alongside their own critical thinking skills to analyze, in groups, some element of popular geopolitics
4. Earned experience working in teams towards a common goal;
5. Participated in an oral presentation that illustrates the team’s collective work.

Topics to be covered:

Method of Teaching

Lectures and group presentations

Form of Assessment

50% examination, 50% coursework

Pre-requisites and relationships with other courses

You should have taken GEOG2019 in year 2.

Suggested reading:

Dittmer, J. (2010) Popular Culture, Geopolitics, and Identity. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.