The Cultural Production of Space

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: to be confirmed
• Assessment: two 2500-word essays (30% each) and a three-hour prior disclosed examination (40%)

In this module we explore a wide range of theories concerning the nature of space as something which is socially and culturally ‘produced’ rather than a given of the physical world. Topics studied on this module may include the cultural production of space in various contexts, and across various time periods, considering topics such as:

• public, private, communal and domestic spaces
• urban and rural spaces
• the designation of ritual or sacred space
• military and civilian spaces and zones
• the relationship between gender and space
• queer spaces
• safe spaces
• racialised spaces and places
• interactions between time and space
• the relationship between space and place
• ‘natural’ and human-made space
• the impact of technology on the human sense of space and time
• wilderness and civilisation
• human and non-human spaces
• literary and cognitive mapping
• geo- and eco-critical approaches to space.

We will draw on materials from film, the visual arts, literary and non-literary texts and will critically examine theories of spatial representation.

By the end of this module you will:

• be familiar with a range of contemporary theories concerning the social and cultural significance of a wide variety of spaces
• be able to apply theories of spatiality to literary texts, visual culture and actual social spaces from the Middle Ages to the present
• be aware of the historical complexity of notions such as ‘dwelling’, ‘domestic space’, ‘sacred space’ and ‘institution’
• be aware of the role played by commodification and industrialisation in the production of modern and contemporary spaces.