This course aims to provide the basic knowledge of the organization of the economic and political of space. We will discuss the theoretical issues and methods of interpreting various social phenomena placed at different geographical scales. In particular, we will focus on the spatial aspects of development, power, regulation, and inequality. The goal is to provide tools and knowledge for critical reading of the economic and political fields, increasing awareness of the transformations taking place and the interconnections between the local and global dimensions.

• Geography, space, complexity

• Concepts and tools of the geographical inquiry

• Globalization, places, society

• Populations and mobility

• The question of development

• Environment, risks, vulnerabilities

• Economic location and uneven development

• Local development, post-Fordism, innovation

• Global networks and production chains

• Cities, nodes, centrality

• Glocalization, competition, urban rescaling

• Urban structure and marginality

• Space and power

• State and regulation

• Places, participation, protest

• Vote, inequality, tradition

• Political geographies of globalization

• Environmental policies and social movements

• Geopolitics and critical geopolitics

Knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course, students should have acquired knowledge and understanding about the main theoretical approaches to the spatial dimension of social, economic, and political phenomena. 

Applying knowledge and understanding: Students should be able to apply their knowledge to analyze social, economic, and political processes taking place in geographical space. 

Making judgements: Students should have the ability to critically analyze the processes of interest and the policies that address them. 

Communication: Students should be familiar with the vocabulary, terminology, and concepts of human geography.

Lifelong learning skills: Students should have the ability to understand and use the literature by identifying the thematic areas and the sources for deepening knowledge

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Lectures

Attendance

Strongly recommended

Course books

- E. Bignante, F. Celata, A. Vanolo, Geografie dello sviluppo: una prospettiva critica e globale, Seconda Edizione, Utet, 2022

- M. Jones et al, Introduzione alla geografia politica. Spazi, luoghi, politiche, Utet, 2021

Assessment

Oral examination. The discussion will focus on course books with links to current public issues and debates.

Students will be assessed based on their knowledge of the course books and their ability to anchor the concepts to interpret current processes and phenomena.

The final grade will be determined by what follows:

- knowledge of the topics covered by the program, ranging between the different texts without repeating the contents slavishly (corresponding to 50% of the overall evaluation)

- the ability to connect concepts, theories and approaches in an organic and reasoned way with references to concrete cases (corresponding to 30% of the overall evaluation)

- mastery of the specialized disciplinary language (corresponding to 20% of the overall evaluation)

The vote is expressed in thirtieths.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Non-attending students will have to study a total of three texts: the two course books (Bignante et al. 2022, Jones et al. 2021) plus a book of their choice between the following:

- G. Viesti, Centri e periferie: Europa, Italia, Mezzogiorno dal XX al XXI secolo, Laterza, 2021

- N. Brenner, Stato, spazio, urbanizzazione, Guerini, 2016

- A. De Rossi (a cura di), Riabitare l'Italia. Le aree interne tra abbondoni e riconquiste, Donzelli, 2020 (Limitatamente alla Parte prima e Parte seconda)

- J.W. Moore, Antropocene o capitalocene? Scenari di ecologia-mondo nella crisi planetaria, Ombre corte, 2017

- G. Arrighi, Il Lungo XX secolo. Denaro, potere e le origini del nostro tempo, Il Saggiatore, 2014

Assessment

Oral examination. The discussion will focus on course books with links to current public issues and debates.

Students will be assessed based on their knowledge of the course books and their ability to anchor the concepts to interpret current processes and phenomena.

The final grade will be determined by what follows:

- knowledge of the topics covered by the program, ranging between the different texts without repeating the contents slavishly (corresponding to 50% of the overall evaluation)

- the ability to connect concepts, theories and approaches in an organic and reasoned way with references to concrete cases (corresponding to 30% of the overall evaluation)

- mastery of the specialized disciplinary language (corresponding to 20% of the overall evaluation)

The vote is expressed in thirtieths.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.