SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY

The course is a core educational activities in the Master's degrees programme in "History from the Middle Ages to Present".
Social geography addresses the themes of the interaction between space, environment and society, from which the various forms of territorial organization arise. Both the symbolic meanings attributed to space and the dynamics of environmental change play a role in this interaction. Compared to this one, the aim of the course is to understand the adaptive responses implemented by human societies and their social and economic outcomes. According to its placement in this degree course, a geo-historical approach is favored.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
1.1 Acquiring the fundamental concepts of the social geography, with specific regard to the environment-society relationship as a matrix of construction and evolution of territories
1.2 Know the main socio-cultural response models to climate change and environmental risks put in place by societies

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
2.1 Use disciplinary tools to interpret the geo-historical evolution of the territories, with particular interest in socio-economic aspects
2.2 Recognize the main processes of transformation of society introduced, at different scales, by changes in the geographical-environmental frameworks
2.3 Know the main concepts that characterize the relationship between human communities and the living environment and apply them correctly in interpreting today's socio-environmental dynamics

3. Judgment skills:
3.1 Evaluate the role of environmental changes, and in particular climatic ones, in the permanent redefinition of the territories and their social components

4. Communication skills:
4.1. Exposing and problematizing in writing the acquired knowledge, using argumentative language

Basic knowledge of human and regional geography

The course deals with some important themes of social geography, placed in a historical dimension. Particular reference is made to the role of environmental dynamics (including climate change and extreme events) in redefining the relationship between space and society, in crises and social conflicts, and in the relationships between territories. The Alpine area is a case study.

Please note that the course includes a difference between students attending or non-attending the lessons.

For those attending lessons:
a) Lesson’s notes
b) dispensa messa a disposizione dal docente (con testi di E. Le Roy Ladurie, C. Pfister, L. Bonardi ecc.)
c) Behringer W., Storia culturale del clima. Dall'era glaciale al riscaldamento globale, Bollati Boringhieri, 2013

For those not attending lessons:
a) Dumont I., Gambazza G., Gamberoni E., Interstizi e novità: oltre il Mainstream. Esplorazioni di Geografia sociale, Geography Notebook, 4, 2021, da pag. 15 a pag. 205 (https://www.ledonline.it/index.php/Geography-Notebooks/issue/view/147/showToc )
b) Chakrabarty D., Clima, Storia e Capitale, Nottetempo, 2021
c) Behringer W., Storia culturale del clima. Dall'era glaciale al riscaldamento globale, Bollati Boringhieri, 2013

Written exam with open questions targeted at the measurement of knowledge, the ability to apply knowledge and understanding and the ability to judge. For students attending classes, the exam questions will be on lesson’s notes and on the 2 specified textbooks. For not attending students, questions will be on the 3 specified textbooks. The exams lasts 90 minutes.
Attending students will be able to choose a test in the form of a written paper, according to the indications that will be provided during the course.

Lectures with classroom discussions. A fieldtrip is foreseen, depending on the pandemic conditions

Italian

Attending lessons is highly recommended.

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion - Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments: Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

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