Geography

Major/Minor/Specialisation !B-ARTS-MAJ+1016 (2015)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2015.

Year and Campus: 2015

Coordinator

Dr Rachel Hughes

Contact

Arts Student Centre

Room 104, Ground Floor, Old Arts Building

T: 13 MELB (13 63 52)

Overview:

Geography is the investigation and understanding of the dynamic relationships between societies and environments. The discipline raises and answers questions about why these relationships are the way they are, how and why they are changing, and how and why their characteristics vary over time and space. Geographers study human actions and activities from the local scale to the global scale. Geography is one of the few disciplines that encompasses very different ways of knowing - those of science and those of the humanities and social sciences - in its approach to the world’s urgent problems and injustices. As such it is a globally-minded discipline that seeks to understand the complex connections between people and place in order to work towards a more equitable world.

The BA Major in Geography allows students both breadth and specificity in the study of Geography. Specific pathways within the Major are dedicated to the study of urban geography, cultural geography, development geography, environmental geography (especially focused on climate change issues and debates) and Asia-Pacific geography. Field classes in Australia and overseas (at 200-level and 300-level) offer students the opportunity to explore and examine geographical issues, policy and problems first-hand.

Learning Outcomes:

Students who complete this major will:

  • Acquire a broad knowledge of geography's major concepts, theoretical perspectives and key debates, past and present;
  • Understand the dynamic and complex connections between people, place and environments, across a variety of scales;
  • Develop a capacity for problem solving and research skills to enable the investigation of social and environmental processes and problems;
  • Appreciate different ways of knowing, and of different ways of doing research;
  • Raise and answer questions about the dynamic and complex connections between people, place and environments in order to work towards a more equitable world;
  • Act as informed and critically discerning participants in providing interpretations of, and solutions to, social and environmental problems;
  • Articulate the relationship between diverse forms of geographical knowledge and the social, historical and cultural contexts that produced them;
  • Employ knowledge and skills acquired in field classes to their future life and work;
  • Display professional values and work effectively with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds;
  • Communicate geographical theories and concepts effectively to professional and lay audiences and in oral and written formats;
  • Demonstrate the capacity for critical thought, self and peer assessment, and learning and organisational skills in both independent and group work;
  • Recognise ethical problems and possible solutions in geographical research and professional geographical practice.


Structure & Available Subjects:

Geography

Major

The Geography major comprises of 100 points (25 points of core subjects at Level 1, 37.5 points of subjects at Level 2, and 37.5 points of subjects at Level 3 - including one core subject).

Level 1

Famine in the Modern World (12.5 points)

and one Arts Foundation Subject *Please seek advice from the coordinator regarding your choice.

Level 2

37.5 points

Level 3

37.5 points including 1 compulsory subject, GEOG30003- Geographical Thought

Minor

The BA minor in Geography comprises 25 points at each of year level one, two and three.

Level 1

Famine in the Modern World (12.5 points)

and one Arts Foundation Subject

Level 2
25 points

Level 3
25 points

Subject Options:

Level 1

Students must complete GEOG10001 Famine in the Modern World, plus one Arts Foundation Subject if you are completing a major - please seek advice from the major coordinator regarding your choice

Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:

Level 2

37.5 points of Level 2 subjects below for the Major, or 25 points of the following subjects for the Minor:

Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
Not offered in 2015
12.50

Level 3 Capstone Subject

This subject is compulsory for students completing a major in Geography. Students must complete 37.5 points of level 3 subjects including the capstone GEOG30003 Geographical Thought if they are completing a major, or 25 points of the following subjects for the Minor:

Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:

Level 3

37.5 points of Level 3 subjects including the capstone GEOG30003 Geographical Thought, or 25 points of the following subjects for the Minor:

Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
Related Course(s): Bachelor of Arts

Download PDF version.