The course aims to explore the economic and political organisation of space, with an outlook encompassing contemporary challenges such as digitisation, sustainability and the influence of global climate policies. Starting from human geography, it analyses development, power and inequalities, introducing interpretive tools to understand global economic flows, changes in labour markets and environmental regulation. The aim is to provide a critical perspective on current transformations and the interconnections between local and global dynamics.

The course focuses on the key concepts of political and economic geography in order to build the critical tools needed to enhance understanding of global and local economic and political phenomena. Among others:

• Geo-economic space
• Global dimension/local dimension
• Globalisation, hyperglobalisation and turbo capitalism
• Regionalism and multilateralism
• Inequalities, power and development
• Innovation and digitisation of the economy
• Population and migration
• Environment, resources, energy
• Transport and networks
• Trade and global economic flows
• Urban spaces
• Environmental issue and ecological transition
• Territorial policies 

N/A.

Knowledge and understanding: Knowledge of the main concepts concerning the spatial dimension of social, economic and political phenomena. The acquisition of knowledge will be mainly through the read of given reference texts.

Applied knowledge and understanding: Ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the course of studies to interpret and analyse social, economic and political processes. These skills are developed through the discussion of study texts relating to specific research topics and current affairs.

Autonomy of judgement: Ability to critically analyse economic and political phenomena. The skills required for this objective will be acquired through the analysis of the current political-economic scenario.

Communication skills: Ability to master and correctly use the specialised language of the discipline, adapting it to the context. These skills will be developed through the reading of texts and during lectures, and will be tested during the oral examination.

Ability to learn: Ability to orientate oneself in the specialised literature, identifying thematic areas and sources for further study. These skills will be acquired through reading the texts and during the lectures, and will be verified during the oral examination.

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

The opportunity to embed group activities and/or thematic seminars will be considered in progress, with the sole aim of fostering both learning and a satisfactory pass in the examination. 

Teaching

Lectures, also with the support of IT and audiovisual media.

Attendance

Class attendance is not compulsory, although strongly recommended. 
Consultation of newspapers and periodicals is also recommended in order to better grasp the nuances of the topics covered in the course - and in general for a conscious citizenship. In order to develop the right critical sense, it is preferable to consult a number of sources from different backgrounds.

Course books

Students are expected to study the two textbooks listed below:

• S. Conti, G. Dematteis, F. Nano, A. Vanolo, Geografia dell'economia mondiale, Quinta edizione. UTET Università, 2022.
• C. Certomà, S. Conti, P. Giaccaria, U. Rossi, C. Salone, Geografia economica e politica. Pearson, 2022.

Assessment

Oral discussion. The discussion will focus on the study texts with links to issues and public debates.

Should the lecturer decide to complement the course with in-depth activities organised in groups, alternative assessment methods and a consequent reduction in the study load will be agreed upon for those who participate.

The final grade will be determined by knowledge of the relevant texts and the ability to anchor them in the interpretation of current processes and phenomena.

In particular, the examination will assess

• knowledge of the topics included in the syllabus, ranging across the different texts without blindly repeating their contents (corresponding to 50% of the overall assessment)
• the ability to link concepts, theories and approaches in an integrated and reasoned manner with references to concrete cases (corresponding to 30% of the overall assessment)
• the mastery of disciplinary specialist language (corresponding to 20% of the overall assessment)

The final grade is expressed in the form of 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 are invited to consult the teaching materials uploaded onto Moodle through which they will be able to deepen their study of the volumes indicated in the ‘Course Books’ section.

Attendance

Class attendance is not compulsory, although strongly recommended. 
Consultation of newspapers and periodicals is also recommended in order to better grasp the nuances of the topics covered in the course - and in general for a conscious citizenship. In order to develop the right critical sense, it is preferable to consult a number of sources from different backgrounds.

Course books

Students are expected to study the two textbooks listed below:

• S. Conti, G. Dematteis, F. Nano, A. Vanolo, Geografia dell'economia mondiale, Quinta edizione. UTET Università, 2022.
• C. Certomà, S. Conti, P. Giaccaria, U. Rossi, C. Salone, Geografia economica e politica. Pearson, 2022.

In addition to these, only non-attending students should combine the study of the following text:

• V. Amato, Global 2.0. Geografie della crisi e del mutamento. Roma: Aracne, 2012.  Limited to chapters: I, II, III, V, VI, VII.

Assessment

Oral discussion. The discussion will focus on the study texts with links to issues and public debates.

Should the lecturer decide to complement the course with in-depth activities organised in groups, alternative assessment methods and a consequent reduction in the study load will be agreed upon for those who participate.

The final grade will be determined by knowledge of the relevant texts and the ability to anchor them in the interpretation of current processes and phenomena.

In particular, the examination will assess

• knowledge of the topics included in the syllabus, ranging across the different texts without blindly repeating their contents (corresponding to 50% of the overall assessment)
• the ability to link concepts, theories and approaches in an integrated and reasoned manner with references to concrete cases (corresponding to 30% of the overall assessment)
• the mastery of disciplinary specialist language (corresponding to 20% of the overall assessment)

The final grade is expressed in the form of 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.