The way researchers position a topic in relation to theories and concepts in their field is a crucial step in forming their project. This unit is designed to provide an introduction to major concepts and theories that have shaped geography and planning and their broader historiographies, with a focus on how theory is used in contemporary research in these fields. The core of the unit builds on a series of dialogues across the various areas of research in geography and planning within the Department, and extends this through reading and discussion to engage with the work of key thinkers in geography, planning, and related fields such as development studies and environmental humanities. The unit is flexible and responsive to the interests and strengths of students enrolled in any given semester. It is designed to give students a grounding in key theories that inform research, and reflect on their relevance to students’ own learning objectives. It will introduce students to a number of the current open research questions and core concepts across the range of these broad fields.
