Kulturgeografiska grunder

The course is a basic course in human geography. It can be taken as an independent course or as an optional profiling in the Environmental Social Science programme (S1SMI). The course can be part of the following programme: 1) Program in Environmental Social Science (S1SMI)

The course gives an introduction to the basic concepts of human geography and the character of the subject. The majority of the lectures are based on some of the most important concepts of the human geography and problematise the world on the basis of these. Concepts and theories are interleaved with concrete examples, to so increase the understanding of the meaning of the concepts and their practical application. The development and history of ideas of the subject and research traditions are other important fields that are treated during the course

After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

1. At a general level give an account of the subject-theoretical perspective of human geography and how these have been changed over time

2. Give an account of the central concept of human geography.

3. Demonstrate a basic understanding of how man interacts with the surrounding society and how the use and the organisation of the geographic space are shaped by the resources and preconditions of the surrounding world.

Competence and skills

4. Demonstrate the ability to illustrate and apply the central concept of human geography practically and to make connections to the subject-theoretical perspectives

5. Demonstrate the ability to illustrate different relationships between spatial relations and the resources and preconditions of the surrounding world.

Judgement and approach 

6. Critically reflect on the consequences of starting from different central subject theoretical perspectives and central concepts.

The teaching consists of lectures, seminars and a field trip

The learning outcomes are assessed through written assignments, active participation in seminars and a written examination. If a student who has failed the same examined component twice wishes to change examiner before the next examination, a written application shall be sent to the department responsible for the course and shall be granted unless there are special reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6, Section 22 of Higher Education Ordinance). If a course has been discontinued or has undergone major changes, the student shall normally be guaranteed at least three examination sessions (including the regular examination session)

The grading scale comprises: Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E) and Fail (F). To receive a a Pass grade (A-E) in the course, attendance on compulsory components and a passed result in all assessing components is required. The grade in the course as a whole is combined by the result in the assessing components and is put in relation to established grading scale

Course evaluation is carried out at the end of the course. Evaluation results and any changes in the course structure should be communicated to both the students who completed the evaluation and to the students who will start the course.

The equality aspect is observed in contents, literature and evaluation. International relations are observed in contents and literature. In the course, a digital virtual learning environment is used. Therefore, access to a computer and internet is required. The course may not be included in a degree together with the course KGG101 or KGG2EP