Agricultural Geography
The analytical goal of the course is to develop and deepen participants' knowledge of the special conditions of agriculture in relation to both historical understanding and the major societal and environmental challenges of our time.
Sustainable food supply originates from practical and discursive historical changes but is also part of current societal and environmental challenges such as climate change, fair transition, migration, social, ecological, and economic resilience – themes covered in the course.
The local economic conditions of agriculture are influenced by both local factors and global market forces. Economic geographic theories on localization, scale, and comparative advantages are studied in relation to contemporary geographic theories on globalization, political ecology, and agricultural economics to understand and explain current and historical events.
The course requires a bachelor's degree with 90 credits in archaeology, economic history, ethnology, business economics, geography, earth sciences, history, cultural geography, landscape architecture, environmental science, economics, urban planning, social anthropology, or another landscape-related subject. Alternatively, admission to a master's program in globalization, environment and social change, cultural geography, urban planning, or environmental studies is accepted. Proficiency in English 6 is required.
The course consists of weekly lectures and literature seminars. During the course, participants will delve into an agricultural area anywhere on Earth. In the second half of the course, these areas will be discussed and compared in seminars with all participants.
The course critically examines how society and people have organized local food supply and how global processes impact agriculture and leave local effects and marks on landscapes worldwide. Competition among different interests in landscapes often arises from human land use, such as cultivating bioenergy instead of food, reforesting agricultural land for intensified forestry, or recreating former farmland as golf courses or equestrian farms.
The course addresses various land rights such as use rights and ownership rights and explores what ownership actually entails – pivotal questions for historical and contemporary changes. Another key issue is how today's organization of agricultural work and its social conditions relate to immigration and increasingly automated and data-driven processes.
The course specifically focuses on geographical factors that enhance and change farming practices in different locations and how these relate to the global and societal contexts they are part of.
The course in agricultural geography provides a global and local spatial and socio-scientific theoretical perspective on the geographical conditions of agriculture and its changes in various parts of the world.
Teaching Format
The teaching includes lectures, seminar discussions on current research literature, field trips, and writing a personal report.
Learning objectives
After completing the course, students are expected to be able to:
- critically examine and explain historical processes and their geographical outcomes in a selected location, as well as analyze contemporary global challenges in food supply across various locations under different societal, environmental, and climatic conditions.
- critically analyze, from diverse theoretical perspectives, what has governed agriculture at national and global levels since the 1800s in different parts of the world.
- independently plan, conduct, and present a local study within a relevant theme for the course.
Assessment
The assessment consists of an independent project and submitted seminar assignments. The course is assessed in the following parts:
Seminars, 7.5 credits;
Project work, 7.5 credits.
Examiner
Several teachers assess and grade within the course.
Examiner: Karen Haandrikman
