Traditions of Geographic Theory and Analysis
This course is the third in a required three-course sequence for doctoral students in Geography. The course has three core aims. First, to build a geographical perspective on canonical social theory. We will do this by reading texts that are often considered foundational with and through people who contested, undermined, and remade them. Second, to strengthen analytic and other scholarly skills, to be achieved by dedicating time to questions of method, argument, and interpretation in our discussion of texts. Third, through reading extensively and engaging with foundational texts, this course will also support the skill of reading endurance to equip students for their qualifying exams.
Topics
- The ultimate course goal will be (1) to learn some of the key foundational concepts and approaches central in contemporary geographic thought; (2) to develop the critical skills necessary to splinter, crack, and shatter these foundations and approaches, and finally (3), with the shards, ashes, and remnants collectively reconstruct a form of Geographic thought that might be of some utility for this political moment.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027