The module begins with the emergence of ‘new cultural geography’ in the 1980s and 1990s. Focusing on ideas of space, place and landscape in particular, we will consider how theoretical understandings and cultural practices influence different ways of looking at the world. Students will visit the National Gallery to consider questions of landscape representation, and will develop their own skills in visual analysis and interpretation. As we turn to focus on the representation of cities and urban life, we will explore the intellectual challenges animated by theories of practice, mobility, embodiment, materiality and more-than-representational geographies. We will also examine a range of everyday urban cultural practices such as walking, driving and using public transport; new forms of eating, shopping and living together in cities; and consider more broadly the cultural politics of contemporary urban change. The module concludes by considering some ongoing tensions and new directions in contemporary cultural geography.
