Geography: Options in 1st Year

Geography Lecture
Friday, September 23, 2016 - 16:00

Geography Options for 1st Year. 

In first year you can choose to do either 15 credits or 30 credits of Geography.  If you are choosing to do 15 credits, you can choose between to streams; either Living Landscapes or Global Environments.  If you are choosing to do 30 credits of geography you will take both of these streams. 
 

 

GY151 & GY152: Living Landscapes

 
Living landscapes introduces students to the diversity of human and physical landscapes across the modern world. Landscapes are both ‘vast and past’, shaped by physical and human geographical processes, which are often interdependent. Living Landscapes will allow students to investigate world-forming processes by introduction to the platform geographical skills of analysis, description and communication via a blend of traditional lecture and small group learning environments. The unit content will examine how humans across the world are part of, and also create, unique landscapes that have issues including hazard prevention, poverty and resource depletion. NOTE: you cannot take Living Landscapes with any of the other subjects in TIMETABLE GROUP 1 (See the 2016 / 2017 Maynooth University Guides: A Guide for First Year Arts (MH101) Students, or A Guide for First year Students)

GY151: Living Landscapes Part 1 (Dr Stephen McCarron)
Semester One
Monday           15.00 John Hume Lecture Theatre 1
Wednesday     11.00 John Hume Lecture Theatre 1
Friday              10.00 Aula Maxima (South Campus)
Tutorials          3 one-hour tutorials (see box below)

33% continuous assessment; 67% examination (90 minute exam held in January)

This module introduces Geoscience as a component of geographical knowledge underpinning much of Physical Geography education throughout undergraduate studies. A systems approach to studying the Earth and its processes is taken. Themes covered include a scientific appraisal of what we understand (or don’t) about the Earth, the geological and geomorphological processes (e.g. geological time) controlling the form and operation of the Earth system, rock types (basic geology) and geohazards. See the GY151[A] (2017:S1) Moodle page for further information.

As part of this GY151 module students are required to attend three tutorial sessions.  Tutorials are held at different times in a number of locations – you need to sign up for one session via the Moodle GY151[A] (2017:S1) page before you are assigned to a tutorial group. Further information will be given in class and on Moodle. Tutorials form part of the assessment for the GY151 module.

GY152: Living Landscapes Part 2 (Dr Mary Gilmartin)
Semester Two
Monday           15.00 John Hume Lecture Theatre 1
Wednesday     11.00 John Hume Lecture Theatre 1
Friday             10.00 Aula Maxima (South Campus)

Tutorials:         3 one-hour tutorials (see box on the next page)
 
67% continuous assessment, 33% examination (1 hour exam held in May/June)

Following on from GY151, in semester two we look at the human dimensions of Living Landscapes. Landscape is important for human geographers, because it highlights the relationship between people and place. In GY152, we will consider this relationship in a number of ways. We will investigate the types of disagreements and conflicts that arise over people’s use of landscape. We will look at how new landscapes emerge, paying particular attention to food, and to the impacts of migration. Throughout, we will draw on a wide range of contemporary topics, which may include fracking in Ireland, the migrant crisis in Europe, and global food surpluses and shortages. We will also use the Arctic as a case study in both GY151 and GY152, so that you can clearly see the links between human and physical geography perspective on Living Landscapes. No prior knowledge of Human Geography is required or expected. The aim of this module is to introduce you to the relevance and importance of human geography for understanding the world we live in, and to provide you with key skills and knowledge for further study in Geography. See the GY152[A] (2017:S1) Moodle page for further information.

As part of the GY152 module students are required to attend three tutorial sessions. You will be in the same tutorial group as you were for GY151 and your tutorial will take place at the same time and probably in the same place in the First Semester. Tutorials form part of the assessment for the GY152 module.

 
 

GY161 & GY162: Global Environments

  
Global Environments will introduce students to the issues involved in modern global development within a highly modified, rapidly changing natural environment. Modern environments are globally interconnected physical-societal systems formed by a range of spatially variable processes, which interact to create unique regional and global management issues. Global Environments will allow students to investigate environment-forming processes by introduction to the platform geographical skills of analysis, description and communication via a blend of traditional lecture and small group learning environments. The unit content will examine how humans across the world are part of, and also create, unique locations that have issues including hazard prevention, poverty and resource depletion. NOTE: you cannot take Global Environments with any of the other subjects in TIMETABLE GROUP 6 (See the 2016 / 2017 Maynooth University Guides: A Guide for First Year Arts (MH101) Students, OR A Guide for First year Students)
 
GY161: Global Environments Part 1 (Prof Mark Boyle & Dr Chris van Egeraat)
Semester One

Tuesday          10.00 John Hume Lecture Theatre 2
Tuesday          17.00 Arts Theatre 1
Friday              12.00 John Hume Lecture Theatre 2

Tutorials:         3 one-hour tutorials (see box below)

50% continuous assessment, 50% examination (1 hour exam held in January)

The Geography Global Environments unit runs across both semesters and examines the growth and geographical distribution of the human population, uneven geographical development across the face of the earth and the ways in which both have been shaped by and in turn have impacted upon the equally uneven mosaic of climate regimes and physical environments which mark planet earth. Across both semesters, the overarching aim of the Geographical Environments unit will be to call upon students to reflect upon symbiotic relationships between population and climate and how these relationships have changed over time. In GY161 we enquire into this relationship principally from the perspective of human geography. You will be asked to think about human development in terms of its relationships with highly modified, rapidly changing natural environments and to see the discipline of Geography as a whole in terms of the study of interconnected physical-societal systems which operate differently in different places and which create unique global, regional and local management issues. The specific purpose of GY161 is to provide for beginning students a clear and concise introduction to Human Geography, including its key concepts, seminal thinkers and their theories, contemporary debates and controversies, and celebrated case studies. No prior knowledge of Human Geography is required or expected. See the GY161[A] (2017:S1) Moodle page for further information.

As part of the GY161 module students are required to attend three tutorial sessions.  Tutorials are held at different times and in a number of locations – you need to sign up for one session using the Moodle GY161[A] (2017:S1) page before you are assigned to a tutorial group. Further information will be given in class and on Moodle. Tutorials form part of the assessment for the GY161 module.

 
GY162: Global Environments Part 2 (Dr Ro Charlton & Prof Peter Thorne)
Semester Two

Note: Global Environments is in Timetable Group 6 (see the 2016 / 2017 Maynooth University Guides: A Guide for First Year Arts (MH101) Students, OR A Guide for First year Students)
Tuesday          10.00 Arts Building Theatre 2
Tuesday          17.00 John Hume Lecture Theatre 1
Friday             12.00 Iontas lecture Theatre

Tutorials:         3 one-hour tutorials (see box below)

50% continuous assessment, 50% examination (1 hour exam held in May/June)

Following on from GY161, in semester two, we will examine the complex relationship between population and climate from the perspective of physical geography in GY162. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have contributed to climate change by adding carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels. Today climate change is one of the most urgent issues facing humankind today as global temperatures rise, sea ice disappears, ice sheets melt, and extreme events such as droughts, storms and floods become more frequent. In the first part of this module we will examine the physical processes that influence patterns of weather and climate. This is done in an integrated manner using a systems-based approach and predominantly a global perspective. Basic aspects of atmospheric energy flow, moisture and moving air are introduced, and their role in causing spatial variation in environmental challenges and responses examined. In the second part of the module we will look at the ways in which human activities affect the climate, the evidence for natural and anthropogenic climate change, the changes we can expect over coming decades, and ways in which we can meet the challenges posed by climate change. As geographers, we will examine the unequal impacts of climate change on populations over space and time. No prior knowledge of physical geography is needed or expected. See the GY162[A] (2017:S1) Moodle page for further information.

As part of this module students are required to attend three tutorial sessions. You will be in the same tutorial group as you were for GY161 and your tutorial will take place at the same time and in the same place in the First Semester. Tutorials form part of the assessment for the GY162 module.