Geography

The Part IA course is divided into two papers: I. People, Place, and the Politics of Difference and II. Environmental Processes and Change. Generally speaking, Paper 1 is rooted in human geography approaches and Paper 2 in physical ones, although you will find that there are many synergies and areas of overlap. You are not expected to do any reading before you come to Downing to study Geography. However, you will find that the world of geography in higher education looks quite distinct from what you might have learned in your secondary schooling. If you can find them in local libraries, you might enjoy dipping into some of these general readings to get yourself oriented.

In addition to the two papers, you will have an introduction to geographical skills called GOING (Getting on in Geography), which will include physical geography fieldwork, lectures on research methods, and a few different pieces of coursework. While GOING will be assessed through coursework that you submit at various points throughout the year, Papers 1 and 2 will be assessed through examinations that will take place in Easter Term.

Paper 1: People, Place and the Politics of Difference

This paper introduces students to some of the key debates and concepts in human geography. It is divided into seven sections:

A. Geography’s Shapes
B. Society, Environment, and Sustainable Development
C. Geographies of Health
D. Contemporary Urban Geographies
E. Understanding Cultural Geographies
F. Economic Globalisation and its Crises
G. Geopolitics and Political Geography

General Reading

Adams, W. M. (2008) Green Development. Routledge, London.

Cloke, P., Crang, P. and Goodwin, M. eds (2005) Introducing Human Geographies. Hodder Arnold, London.

Cook, I., Crouch, D., Naylor, S. and Ryan, J. eds (2000) Cultural Turns, Geographical Turns. Prentice Hall, Harlow.

Daniels, P., Bradshaw, M., Shaw, D. and Sidaway, J. eds (2008) An Introduction to Human Geography: Issues for the 21st Century. Prentice Hall, Harlow.

Dicken, P. (2007) Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy. Sage, London.

Graham, B. and Nash, C. eds (2000) Modern Historical Geographies. Prentice Hall, Harlow.

Nayak, A. and Jeffrey, A. (2025). Geographical Thought: A Critical Introduction to Ideas in Geography. London: Routledge. (2011 edition is also fine)

Paper 2: Environmental Processes and Change

This paper introduces the fundamental processes of the Earth’s inter–connected subsystems and explores how the whole system and its components have changed during the Earth’s history, particularly the last 3 million years. It is divided into seven sections:

A. The Cryosphere
B. Atmospheric Processes and Climate
C. Biogeography
D. The Earth
E. Environmental Change During the Quaternary
F.  Nature-based solutions for climate change

General Reading

Christopherson, R. W. (2008) Geosystems: an introduction to physical geography. Prentice Hall, Harlow.

Grotzinger, J and Jordan, T. H. (2010) Understanding Earth. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co.

Holden, J. (2005) An introduction to physical geography and the environment. Prentice Hall.

Kump, L. R., Kasting, J. F. and Crane, R. G. (2009) The Earth System. Pearson.

Slaymaker, O., Spencer, T. and Embleton–Hamann, C., eds. (2009) Geomorphology and Global Environmental Change. Cambridge University Press.

GOING: Induction to Skills & Methods

This course aims to provide an introduction to a range of important field, laboratory, archival, statistical, spreadsheet, database, cartography and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques used in Geography. It will illustrate how they may be used to address specific geographical questions and give undergraduates direct experience of such applications. These will be developed further at Part IB, and will be useful when you come to undertake your dissertations. Many of these skills are also transferable and are sought after by employers in future careers.

By the end of the year, you will have learnt a range of field and physical lab skills for collecting data, and quantitative and qualitative skills for analysing and manipulating data. You will have been introduced to debates about the politics and ethics of geographical research and contemporary debates (e.g., decolonising the discipline). These are foundational for Part IB, and you are likely to find these very useful in your dissertation and coursework at Parts IB and II.

Included within this course are the following themes:

  1. Skills and Research Methods for the Geography Tripos
  2. Skills and Methods in Physical Geography fieldwork and lab classes
  3. Practical classes in data organisation and analysis
  4. Introducing Methods in Human Geography: Decolonising the Museum

General Reading

Clifford, N., Cope, M., and Gillespie, T. (2023). Key Methods in Geography. Los Angeles: SAGE.

DeLyser, D., Herbert, S., Aitken, S., Crang, M., and McDowell, L. (2009). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography. Los Angeles: SAGE.