Environmental Humanities Field Methods: Research and Practice
| Module title | Environmental Humanities Field Methods: Research and Practice |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIC2030 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Nicola Whyte (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 4 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
This module will introduce you to fieldwork in the Environmental Humanities. It will involve a 3 day residential field school that will allow you to develop relational and situated knowledge of a particular landscape and place. You will develop the conceptual and practical skills necessary to go on to develop your studies through both collaborative team work and independent research. The skills you will learn will have direct applicability to other modules you will take in your second and third year of study, including the Environmental Humanities Dissertation. During the module you will get to explore a range of themes and issues from a variety of cross-disciplinary perspectives through challenge-led, place-based enquiry.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module aims to:
- Highlight the importance of climate and ecological change and the ways in which the Environmental Humanities can respond by participating in debate and finding solutions.
- Explore key themes in visual art, popular culture, heritage, film and literature to better understand attitudes to human / non-human nature.
- Research a specific landscape and environment by exploring through observation and experiment site-based methodologies and different forms of interpretation and representation.
- Describe our connectedness to the world around us through careful attention and critical, interdisciplinary analysis.
- Introduce you to a range of key conceptual and practical skills necessary for textual and communications skills, oral and written, including project design, landscape interpretation, observational skills and presentation.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate an understanding of critical methods and theoretical approaches in the environmental humanities
- 2. Demonstrate an awareness of landscape and place through careful observation and engagement developed through situated knowledge practices.
- 3. Apply a place-based understanding of interdisciplinary environmental humanities methods and approaches.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Identify critical questions and problems arising from the literature and combine research-informed case studies in module assignments.
- 5. Demonstrate an understanding of historical and contemporary shifts in landscape and ecological thought.
- 6. Demonstrate an understanding of human / non-human world-making with reference to secondary literature and primary evidence.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Demonstrate an ability to adapt and apply theoretical and methodological practices to a sustained piece of research.
- 8. Communicate ideas, theories and evidence effectively and in relation to the intended audience and environment
- 9. Evaluate and reflect upon your own learning experiences in relation to the wider community of staff and students.
Syllabus plan
The module will include a 3 day residential field school in the South West, where you will explore environmental humanities work in a practical setting and specific locale. It also includes planned learning activities, offering discussion and guidance on the key theoretical ideas and methodological practices you might explore during the field school. You will also learn about designing a research project, writing a project brief and how to deliver research in a particular setting.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | 267 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 8 | 4 x two hour workshops |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 1 | Research project supervision - One-to-one tutorials |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 24 | 3 day / 3 night field school located in the SW |
| Independent study | 267 | Reading and preparation for workshops and field trips |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project proposal | 500 words | 1-4, 6 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Research Project essay | 60 | 4000 words | 1-9 | Written |
| Literature review | 20 | 1000 words | 1, 4-6, 8 | Written |
| Group Presentation based on the findings of the field school | 20 | 20 minutes | 1-9 | Written / oral |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Research Project essay (4000 words) | Independent Research Project essay (4000 words) | 1-9 | Ref/Def period |
| Literature review (1000 words) | Literature review (1000 words) | 1, 4-6, 8 | Ref/Def period |
| Group Presentation based on the findings of the field school (20 minutes) | Field evidence review (1000 words) | 1-9 | Ref/Def period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Spirn, Anne Whitson, Language of Landscape (Yale, 1998)
Meinig, D.W. The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes (Oxford, 1979)
Howkins, Dudley, Coates, Badcoe, Brice, Flack, Haines, Merchant, Publicover, Stone & Would (2019) ‘An excursion in the environmental humanities: some thoughts on fieldwork, collaboration, and disciplinary identity following a day trip to the Island of Lundy’, Green Letters, 23:1, 39-53.
Ford, Rebecca. 2020. "Orkney Ecologies" Humanities 9, no. 1: 5.
Tsing, A. L., H. A. Swanson, E. Gan, and N. Bubandt. 2017. Arts of living on a damaged planet. Ghosts and monsters of the anthropocene. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
- TALIS reading list
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 20/08/2023 |
| Last revision date | 04/10/2023 |
