GEG-30014 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this module.

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

Explore the powerful connection between landscape and imagination in this innovative and interdisciplinary module. Combining geographical analysis with creative exploration, this module examines how landscapes shape and are shaped by meaning, memory, identity and emotion. You will engage with a diverse range of cultural interpretations of landscapes in literature, art, film, music and video games to develop a rich, multi-layered understanding of landscape.
A distinctive feature of the module is the opportunity for you to produce your own creative project. This can be in the form of visual art, poetry, short fiction, photography, music or multimedia and is accompanied by a reflective piece that connects your work to geographical theory and landscape interpretation.
Whether you’re passionate about geography, storytelling, or both, Inspirational Landscapes offers a unique platform to think critically and creatively about the world around us. It provides an innovative space to explore how academic and artistic perspectives can come together to deepen our understanding of landscapes.

To explore relationships between the geographical environment and human creativity in both academic geography and popular culture, examining the ways in which landscape can be inspirational through the analysis of contrasting representations of specific landscapes in academic sources and in cultural media such as literature, film and music.
To provide a cross-disciplinary module that enables students to explore the boundaries of the discipline of Geography and showcase innovative and engaging approach to the subject, offering students the opportunity to combine weekly session-based learning with a substantial piece of independent project work.

Intended Learning Outcomes

compare and critically evaluate a range of different approaches to the analysis and appreciation of landscape based on representations of landscape in both academic sources and popular cultural media such as music, literature, cinema, video games and art: 1,2
initiate and carry out a project that explores in depth, and communicates in an appropriate geographical style with reference to geographical concepts, the inspirational significance of landscape in geography and/or popular cultural media: 2
recognize and comment upon important themes, connections and characters in the history of the study and appreciation of landscape: 1

Study hours

18 hours live-class contact (interactive lectures and group discussion)
9 hours structured engagement with tutor-provided resources and practical activities
3 hours drop-in project support workshops
24 hours independent reading and reflection
20 hours researching and completing workbook exercise (Ass 1)
76 hours researching and producing coursework project (Ass 2)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment