Making Place Field Course (Paris)
| Module title | Making Place Field Course (Paris) |
|---|---|
| Module code | GEO3162 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Lizzie Hobson () |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 40 |
|---|
Module description
In this module you will have the opportunity to engage imaginatively and creatively with processes of place making in the city of Paris today. As a residential field course, it will provide you with an opportunity to develop and apply research skills in real world environments. Themes include the city’s ongoing environmental, cultural and urban transformation; migration, the repercussions of globalisation and geopolitics, and the right to ‘feel French’. The module draws on cultural, political and social geography, and engages with creative research methodologies.
We will travel to Paris as a group by rail (Eurostar), reflecting our department’s commitment to using low carbon travel. If you have any questions regarding this transport method, please contact the module convenor. In the event of the field course not running (due to circumstances that compromise the feasibility of the trip), you will still be able to complete the module through the provision of an alternative learning experience.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The field course aims to provide you with an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained through your undergraduate degree and lecture-based modules to 'real-world' geographical study.
The residential aspect of the field course forms one part of our exploration of Paris, but it is by no means the only way in which you will develop a structured and academically informed understanding of Paris as a specific place. It’s best to think of this as a module about Paris, which includes a field course element.
By attending the fieldwork planning lectures, workshops and the field trip, and by completing its coursework, you will strengthen your academic and professional skills, and engage imaginatively with Paris by exploring themes in human geography at an advanced level through place-based settings. The module will provide techniques to undertake critically-informed field-based inquiry, thinking geographically, deploy research skills in different settings, develop critical thinking skills in the field, work with other students, and write individual reflective and essay-style coursework.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Develop place-based understandings of selected interdisciplinary research themes related to the field course
- 2. Articulate and evaluate key academic debates, concepts and approaches associated with the field course
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Apply geographical concepts in different settings
- 4. Apply a diverse range of approaches to the generation of knowledge and understanding in place-based settings
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Communicate complex ideas, concepts and theories effectively by written, oral and visual means
- 6. Reflect on and discuss learning experiences and draw lessons for personal development
Syllabus plan
a) Before the field course:
- A series of lectures and workshops will explore key themes about place making in Paris, “the city of lights”.
- Formative assessment support as we work through a series of prompts and exercises together.
b) During the field course:
- Walking tours of Paris and exploration of module themes through engagements with key sites and relevant literature to interpret and interrogate geographical processes (social, economic, political and cultural) shaping different parts of the city
- Creatively document the city; i.e. reflections on maps, diagrams, texts or images that you encounter across the fabric of the city; including from buildings, brochures, leaflets or newspapers, and your own positionality and imaginative geographies of the city
- Guidance on field notebook writing and essay idea development
- Submission of field notebook assessment
c) After the field course:
- Submission of individual essay
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | 84 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 10 | Pre-departure lectures and workshops |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 56 | Participation in activities during field trip |
| Guided Independent Study | 44 | Pre-departure preparatory reading |
| Guided Independent Study | 10 | Notebook writing during field trip |
| Guided independent study | 30 | Preparation for individual essay writing after field course |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field notebook writing | In-class exercises | 1,5 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field notebook conclusion | 30 | Two A4 pages | 1-5 | Written |
| Individual essay | 70 | 2,000 words | 1-6 | Written |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field notebook conclusion | Field notebook assessment (two A4 pages, 30%) | 1-5 | Referral/deferral period |
| Individual essay | Individual essay (2,000 words, 70%) | 1-6 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Students failing the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) or missing an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, will be re-assessed for field work skills via one of the following routes.
a) if s/he has attended the field course, s/he will be asked to (re)submit either one or both of the original assessments as appropriate;
b) if the student had not attended the field course s/he will be asked to submit a 2,500 word individual essay, whose title will be agreed with the course leader.
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. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Recent news stories about Paris in English:
Yeung, P. (2025) Fish Are Thriving in the River Seine, Reasons to be cheerful 3 February
Willsher, K. (2024) Paris mayor swims in Seine as river is cleaned up just in time for Olympics. The Guardian 17 July
Chrisafis, A. (2023) Paris mayor plans to triple SUV parking tariffs to cut air pollution. The Guardian 8 December
Willsher, K. (2022) ‘It’s a rubbish bin’: Parisians fight for the soul of their blighted city. The Observer 5 February
Willsher, K. (2021) Paris agrees to turn Champs-Élysées into 'extraordinary garden'. The Guardian 10 January
Willsher, K. (2020) Paris mayor unveils '15-minute city' plan in re-election campaign. The Guardian 7 February
Recent geographical scholarship with a Paris focus include:
Bhagat, A. (2021) Displacement in ‘actually existing’ racial neoliberalism: refugee governance in Paris. Urban Geography 42(5), 634-653
Fleury, A. & Gomes, P. (2024) Public space & the metropolis. The changing governance of public spaces around the Grand Paris Express’s new metro stations. Urban Geography 45(1), 93-113
Fregonese, S. & Laketa, S. (2022) Urban atmospheres of terror. Political Geography 96, 1-12
Pousina, F. & Roseau, N. (2024) Behind the metropolis: understanding Grand Paris through the history of its regional plans. Planning perspectives 39(2), 371-403
Zhang, X., Zhang,Y., Chen, T. & Qi, W. (2024) Decentralizing the power of fashion? Exploring the geographies and inter-place connections of fashion cities through fashion weeks. Urban Geography 45(1), 73-92
Recent qualitative research with a Paris focus include:
Black, A. (2023) Talking & acting a pandemic: ethnography of COVID-19 in Montmartre. Anthropologica 65(1), 1-25
Cattan, N. & Frétigny, J-B. (2021) Street vending in the metropolis: Proximity, distance, & emotions between migrants and tourists in Paris. The Canadian geographer ‘ Le Géographe canadien 65(4): 410–422
Denis, J. & Pontille, D. Maintenance epistemology & public order: removing graffiti in Paris. Social studies of science 51(2), 233–258
Rubert, A. (2023) From discreet resistances to Yellow Vests protests in platform capitalism? An ethnographic survey among bicycle delivery workers. European Journal of Cultural & Political Sociology 10(1), 68-97
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | GEO2338 Doing Human Geography Research |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 11/02/2025 |
| Last revision date | 22/09/2025 |
