Courses & Units
Geographies of Island Places KGA318
This interdisciplinary unit is part of the KGA major. It can also be taken as an elective. It is suitable for students with backgrounds including (but not limited to) Business, Economics, English, History, Government, Law, Management, Psychology, Science and Sociology. Please consult the unit coordinator for further information.
Introduction
Over six hundred million people live on the world’s 43 island nation-states and on hundreds of sub-national island jurisdictions. The ‘island-continent’ of Australia comprises over 12,000 islands, islets and rocky outcrops, while the island-State of Tasmania is an archipelago of 334 islands.
Islands have distinct geographies and their peoples have varied cultural identities. These particular landforms, and the seascapes that surround them, seem especially hard-wired into Western conceptions of self, place, and planet. Islands are also at the frontline of major environmental and social changes.
In this unit, we study a range of issues that have affected or are likely to affect island places and people—among those issues are climate change, heritage management, tourism, economic development, environmental challenges, and governance.
A major research project enables you to focus on an area of study about island geographies that interests you and that project may vary according to hemisphere, ocean, island group, jurisdiction, or challenges faced.
A three-day field trip enables you to take insights from the cases studied in the class and see whether, how, and to what extent they are present on Bruny Island. The trip also provides crucial training in field techniques in human geography; and is informed by different kinds of field work and analysis.
The unit offers varied opportunities to develop high-level skills in comparative and case study methods that draw on the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and prepares you to consider island life and island futures in ways that are of long-term relevance in relation to islands and other places.
This unit is available in a number of undergraduate degree programs, and students are drawn from the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The unit is indebted to insights from island studies and human geography, and the approach is qualitative and critical.
Summary
| Unit name | Geographies of Island Places |
|---|---|
| Unit code | KGA318 |
| Credit points | 12.5 |
| College/School | College of Sciences and Engineering School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences |
| Discipline | Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences |
| Coordinator | Doctor Andrew Harwood |
| Available as an elective? | Yes |
| Delivered By | University of Tasmania |
| Level | Advanced |
Availability
This unit is currently unavailable.
Note
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* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).
Unit census dates currently displaying for 2023 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2023 will be available from the 1st October 2022. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).
Learning Outcomes
- Apply knowledge about place to analyse a range of issues, dynamics, challenges and opportunities affecting island places and peoples within diverse geographical contexts.
- Research island places to create new understandings of how they are represented, governed and experienced through field work and project-based inquiry.
- Communicate critical, coherent and evidence-based geographical thinking about island places through writing, speaking and academic integrity.
| Field of Education | Commencing Student Contribution 1,3 | Grandfathered Student Contribution 1,3 | Approved Pathway Course Student Contribution 2,3 | Domestic Full Fee 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| not applicable |
1 Please refer to more information on student contribution amounts.
2 Please refer to more information on eligibility and Approved Pathway courses.
3 Please refer to more information on eligibility for HECS-HELP.
4 Please refer to more information on eligibility for FEE-HELP.
If you have any questions in relation to the fees, please contact UConnect or more information is available on StudyAssist.
Please note: international students should refer to What is an indicative Fee? to get an indicative course cost.
Requisites
Prerequisites
KGA204 OR KGA205 OR KGA223 OR KGA213Teaching
| Teaching Pattern | On-campus: 3 x 50-minute sessions per week incorporating lectures, tutorials, and practical activities + 3-day field trip Off-campus: 3 x 50-minute sessions (one of which is synchronous) per week incorporating lectures, tutorials, and practical activities + 3-day field trip |
|---|---|
| Assessment | Field Journal (50%)|Research Project (50%) |
| Timetable | View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable |
Textbooks
| Required |
Required readings will be listed in the unit outline prior to the start of classes. |
Links | Booktopia textbook finder |
|---|
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