Course

People, Place, Society

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Geography and the Environment
Course code
GEOG 2213
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
Winter

Overview

Course description
People, Place, Society is an introduction to social geographies which examine how society and space are mutually constituted. This course uses human geography perspectives to explore how power and identity shape and are shaped by urban spaces. Topics may include urban Indigeneities, youth mobilities, accessibility, sexualities and space, social movements, and the regulation of public space. The course investigates the dynamic interplay between people, spaces, and power by examining parks, schools, streets, homes, malls, work, digital spaces, and the nation. Emphasis is placed on understanding the spatial reproduction of and resistance to social inequalities, fostering a deeper awareness of the geographic dimensions of contemporary social issues.
Course content
  1. Introduction
    • Traditions in social geography
    • Different social geography theories
    • Social geography and everyday life
    • Restructuring society and space
  2. The body
    • "The geography closest in” (Rich, 1986)
    • Body as surface
    • Body as project
    • Cartesian dualism
    • Marked bodies: gender, sexualities, race, and disabilities
  3. Geography of identity and difference
    • Definitions and classifications
    • Social construction of place
    • Social meanings of the built environment
    • In place/out of place
  4. Public/Private Space
    • Urban morphology and the social arrangement of cities
    • Public space, private space, quasi-public space, and the public realm
    • Homelessness and housing
    • Regulating sex work
  5. Urban life
    • Urban life in Western places
    • The neoliberal city and social life
    • Patterns of socio-economic inequality
    • Social interaction and community
    • Online-offline geographies
  6. Place and power
    • Theories of power and control
    • Public institutions and private life
    • Governance structures
    • Places of exception
    • Social justice
  7. Fear, crime, and disorder
    • Geographies of fear and crime
    • Role of the built environment
    • Neoliberalism and the carceral state
  8. Race, ethnicity, and ‘the Other’
    • Race vs. ethnicity
    • Spatial discrimination of racialized groups
    • Colonies, enclaves, congregations, and ‘ghettos’
    • Nationalism and internal Orientalism
    • Colonialism and Indigeneity
  9. Identity and struggles for place
    • Defining agency
    • Conflict and transgression
    • Place and resistance
    • Speaking from the margins
  10. Spaces of hope
    • Social activism and civic responsibility
    • Transnational activism
    • Online and offline social networks
    • ‘The Power of Place’
Learning activities

The course will employ a variety of learning activities, including some of the following: lectures, fieldwork, videos and animations, individual and/or team projects, small group discussions, and map analysis.

Means of assessment
Course evaluation will be based on the course objectives and follow the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the course outline. A minimum grade of 50% on all tests is required for a passing grade. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.

An example of an evaluation scheme would be:

Preparation & class contributions   15%
Quizzes  15%
Project  25%
Field trip  10%
Exams  35%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes
  1. Synthesize the concepts, techniques, and theories of social geography.
  2. Communicate effectively orally, graphically, in writing, and using quantitative methods.
  3. Describe the development of social geography and explain the alternative paradigms of social geography.
  4. Explain the concept of the spatial structuring of social differences and inequalities.
  5. Apply the concepts, methods, and theories to different scales of geographic analysis.
  6. Describe and analyze the arrangements and patterns of different types of groups within a given society.
  7. Evaluate the most relevant issues and needs confronting different groups within a given society.
  8. Describe and analyze the concepts and spatial patterns of social transformation through the collection, interpretation and presentation of relevant geographic data.
Textbook materials

A text or custom course reader may be used. Texts will be updated periodically. Example course texts include:

Anderson, Jon. (2015). Understanding Cultural Geography: Places and Traces, 2nd Edition. London, UK: Routledge.


Browne, Kath; Borisa, Dhiren; Gilmartin, Mary; & Banerjea, Niharika. (2024). Social Geographies: The Basics. London, UK: Routledge.


Del Casino Jr., Vincent; Thomas, Mary; Cloke, Paul; & Panelli, Ruth (editors). (2011). A Companion to Social Geography. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.


Enos, Ryan. D. (2017). The Space Between Us: Social Geography and Politics. New York, NY; Cambridge.


Oberhauser, Ann M.; Fluri, Jennifer L.; Whitson, Risa; & Mollett, Sharlene. (2017). Feminist Spaces: Gender and Geography in a Global Context. London, UK: Routledge.


Smith, Susan J.; Pain, Rachel; Marston, Sallie A.; & Jones III, John Paul (editors). (2010). The Sage Handbook on Social Geographies. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.


The Newcastle Collective. (2021). Social Geographies: An Introduction, edited by Rachel Pain & Peter Hopkins. Newcastle, UK: Rowman & Littlefield.

Requisites

Prerequisites

GEOG 1100 or permission of the instructor

Corequisites

None

Equivalencies

None

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers to Other Institutions

Below are current transfer agreements from Douglas College to other institutions for the current course guidelines only. For a full list of transfer details and archived courses, please see the BC Transfer Guide.

Institution Transfer details for GEOG 2213
Alexander College (ALEX) ALEX ARTS 2XX (3)
Athabasca University (AU) AU GEOG 3XX (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU GEOG 2XX (3)
Coast Mountain College (CMTN) CMTN GEOG 2XX (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR GEOG 2XX (3)
Coquitlam College (COQU) COQU GEOG 204 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU GEOG 2XXX (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG GEOG 2270 (3)
North Island College (NIC) NIC GEO 2XX (3)
Northern Lights College (NLC) NLC GEOG 240 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU GEOG 241 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU GEOG 2XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU GEOG 2XX (3)
University Canada West (UCW) UCW GEOG 2XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO GEOG_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV GEOG_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC GEOG 206 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV GEOG 241 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC GEOG 2XX (1.5)
Vancouver Community College (VCC) VCC GEOG 2241 (3)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU GEOG 344 (3)

Course Offerings

There are no course offerings this semester.