School of Geography

FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT

Geographies of Economies
GEOG2035/2038

20 credits (GEOG2035) / 10 credits (GEOG2038)

MODULE HANDBOOK
2018-2019
CONTENTS

Module Information ................................................................................................................................ 3

Module Description............................................................................................................................................. 3
Module Group ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
On line information ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Assessment(s) & Dates ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Assessment Return Date to students .................................................................................................................. 4
Re-sit Requirements ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Timetable ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Detailed Lecture and Seminar Timetable 2018-19.................................................................................. 5
Reading and Readings ............................................................................................................................. 6
Coursework Information ......................................................................................................................... 9
Coursework Format............................................................................................................................................. 9
Coursework Submission .................................................................................................................................... 10
Minerva Submissions ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Coursework Extension Requests ....................................................................................................................... 10
Word Count Penalties ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Referencing ....................................................................................................................................................... 11
Future Career Skills................................................................................................................................ 11
Appendix One - Coursework Coversheet .............................................................................................. 12

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Module Information
Module Description
This module is an intensive engagement with the interaction between geography and economies of
all kinds. It is a non-traditional exploration of economic geography that emphasizes understanding of
real world questions about what happens where and why. It provides an excellent foundation for
further study in geography and for all manners of geographically-informed study across virtually
every academic discipline, from cultural studies to civil engineering.

Semester 1 focuses on establishing a solid foundation in contemporary economic geography -

principal themes, ideas, terminology, theories, problems, approaches and debates. It is lecture and
seminar based, uses a core text and supplemental readings, and finishes with an exam. This semester
is also offered as a discovery module GEOG2038.

Semester 2 is studio-style, where groups of students under the guidance of an instructor examine
important problems in contemporary economic geography using the foundation in semester one.
More details will be provided towards the end of Semester 1 and in the first lecture of Semester 2,
but in brief:

 Students will be formed into small groups (2-3) within wider thematic focus and attached to
an intensive project critically evaluating policies relating to a contemporary issue in economic
geography.
 Projects will run in a professional-style environment.
 Each group will be mentored by a member of staff with specific expertise in this area, and
the end result will be a significant piece of research and policy evaluation
 Staff will meet with groups weekly from Week 15-18, 21-23.
 There is no assessment outside of the projects.

The projects will have clear guidelines issued at the beginning of the semester. Student groups will
work towards a presentation in week 20, after which they will get significant feedback from
colleagues and instructors. You will then incorporate this feedback into a final report for week 24.

Further details of the module, including the full module description, learning outcomes, and reading
list can be found on the Undergraduate Module Catalogue:
http://webprod3.leeds.ac.uk/catalogue/dynmodules.asp?Y=201819&M=GEOG-2035.
http://webprod3.leeds.ac.uk/catalogue/dynmodules.asp?Y=201819&M=GEOG-2038

Module Group
There are two module convenors: semester 1 is led by Dr Stuart Hodkinson; and semester 2 by Dr
Alex Schafran. Please see table below for the contact information of each member of the module
team:

Lecturers: Office Email Officer hours

Dr. Stuart Hodkinson 10.141
Dr. Alex Schafran 10.140
Teaching assistants:
Tim Joubert (sem 1) n/a
Zac Taylor (sem 1) n/a
s.n.hodkinson@leeds.ac.uk Open door / email for appointment
A.Schafran@leeds.ac.uk Open door / email for appointment
T.Joubert1@leeds.ac.uk Email for appointment
gyzjt@leeds.ac.uk Email for appointment

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Please email with any questions, and feel free to ask any member of the teaching team for help or
clarification after the lectures or during their office hours. Office hours will be posted individually by
each lecturer on the MINERVA. Please email Stuart Hodkinson with any technical questions about the
operation of the module during Semester 1 and Alex Schafran during semester 2.

On line information
All teaching materials and resources are accessed through Minerva (the new portal and MINERVA).
This may include PowerPoint slides, hand outs, web links to reading lists, audio or video recordings of
lectures, excerpts from external audio or video sources, discussion forums etc.

Assessment(s) & Dates

Semester 1: 2500 word take-home essay exam (50% of total mark for GEOG2035, 100% for
GEOG2038). Questions will be released in the Week 11 lecture, and answers must be submitted by
Tuesday 22nd January 2019 at 2pm via Turnitin.

Semester 2 (GEOG2035 ONLY): Group project on economic geography that involves a group
presentation (20%) in Week 20 and a report (30%) due on Friday 10 May 2019 (Week 24). The groups
and projects will be assigned in Week 14, and precise deadlines for the presentations and project
reports circulated at the start of semester 2.

Assessment Return Date to students

As stated in the Code of Practice on Assessment, coursework will normally be returned in no more
than 15 working days. We will endeavour to avoid delays but will inform you if any should arise.

Re-sit Requirements
If you fail this module, you can register to re-sit the failed components at the next available
opportunity. Resit for the take home exam essay will be a 2500 word essay; resit for either group
project component will be an individual report of 1250 words.

Timetable
Please refer to the timetable on Minerva for the most up to date version of your timetable, or
download the UniLeeds App. For directions to the location of your lectures, as well as a map of the
university, please click on the links to the rooms on the online timetable. Alternatively, you can
access the timetable for each module on the timetable website, or the University’s Campusmap.

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Detailed Lecture and Seminar Timetable 2018-19

SEMESTER 1: FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Wk Lecture Topic Seminar Topic / Workshop
1 Introducing Geographies of Economies: Crisis and Disruptions Your Interests in Economic Geography
2 Globalisation, corporate power and precarity Wal-Martization
3 Deregulating capitalism: from neoliberalism to financialisation Neoliberalism
4 The urban perspective 1 The urban perspective 1
5 The urban perspective 2 The urban perspective 2
6 READING WEEK
7 Infrastructure, Edge Cities & Economic Development Infrastructure, Edge Cities & Economic Development

8 Culture, Sharing and Knowledge: New Economies? Culture, Sharing and Knowledge: New Economies?

9 Modern slavery and the gig economy: the labour behind the label Following the commodity
10 Privatised necessities and the rentier economy Global corporate landlords and AirBnBification
11 Chinese megacities? Economic geographies of tomorrow / Assessment
Guidance

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Reading and Readings
The key to learning and success in this module is to engage week to week. This means attending
lectures, attending and participating in seminars, and reading to the greatest extent possible on a
week to week basis. YOU CANNOT LEARN THIS MATERIAL AT THE END – YOU MUST READ WEEKLY,
COME TO SEMINAR, AND DISCUSS. The best way to participate in seminars is to have the readings
in front of you.

In the week by week list below, you will see two types of readings – required and additional. As a
resource, we will also include a length bibliography on the MINERVA for those seeking more
information, and for use in Semester 2.

As a principal guide, we will be using an excellent economic geography textbook which is available
via the library website:

 MacKinnon, Danny and Cumbers, Andy. (2011). An Introduction to Economic Geography:

Globalization, Uneven Development and Place. 2nd Edition. Available electronically via library
website. https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9780273727286

This will serve as a core text, and we will be reading (and rereading) chapters from this book almost
every week.

At some point, free access to this textbook will end as there is a maximum number of views. We
recommend that you purchase this textbook

We will also be using chapters from additional collections:

 Barnes, T., Peck, J. and Sheppard, E. (2012). The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Economic
Geography. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Available electronically via library website.
https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9781444362367
 Coe, N. M., Kelly, P. F., & Yeung, H. W. C. (2007). Economic geography: a contemporary
introduction. Oxford: Blackwell, http://lib.leeds.ac.uk/record=b3233823~S5
 Leyshon, A et al (2011), The SAGE Handbook of Economic Geography. Los Angeles, [Calif.] ;
London : SAGE, https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9781446209844/startPage/6/1
 Tickell, Adam, et al., eds. (2007). Politics and Practice in Economic Geography. Los Angeles:
Sage. https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9781848607576

Finally, we have assigned select articles, both academic and non-academic, and the occasional video
as part of the required readings.

A full lecture and seminar required and suggested reading list will be made available as a
supplemental handbook on Minerva during Week 1 after the first lecture.

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SEMESTER 1: FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
Wk Lecture Topic Readings
1 Introducing  MacKinnon and Cumbers Ch.1-4
Geographies of  Walker, Richard. 2012. Geography in economy: reflections on a field. In
Economies: T. Barnes, J. Peck and E. Sheppard, eds. The Wiley-Blackwell
Crisis and Companion to Economic Geography. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Pp.
Disruptions 47-60.
2 Globalisation,  MacKinnon and Cumbers Ch. 3, 6-7, 10
corporate  Ch.7 in Coe, N et al (eds). 2007, Economic geography: a contemporary
power and introduction. pp.187-200
precarity  Sum, N. 2009, “Articulation of ‘New Constitutionalism’ with ‘New
Ethicalism’: Wal-Martization and CSR-ization in Developing Countries”
 ch.1 from Standing, G. 2011. The Precariat: the New Dangerous Class
3 Deregulating  MacKinnon and Cumbers 1-5, 9
capitalism:  Ch.7 in Coe, N et al (eds). 2007, Economic geography: a contemporary
from introduction. pp.200-222
neoliberalism  Harvey, D. 2007. ‘Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction’, Annals of the
to American Academy of Political and Social Science, 610, pp.22-44
financialisation  Sayer, A. 2015. ‘The 1 percent are parasites: Debunking the lies about
free enterprise, trickle-down, capitalism and celebrity entrepreneurs’,
Salon,
4 The urban  MacKinnon and Cumbers Ch. 11
perspective 1  Storper, M., 2013. Keys to the city: how economics, institutions, social
interaction, and politics shape development. Princeton University
Press. Chapter 1, p.1-11.
 Safford, S., 2004. Why the garden club couldn’t save Youngstown: Civic
infrastructure and mobilization in economic crises. Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Industrial Performance Center: Cambridge,
MA, USA.
 Glaeser, E. L. 1996. Why economists still like cities. City Journal, 6(2),
70-77.
5 The urban  Peck, J. 2005. Struggling with the Creative Class, International Journal
perspective 2 of Urban and Regional Research, 29, 740-770
 Martin, R., Pike, A., Tyler, P.. and Gardiner, B., 2015. Spatially
rebalancing the UK economy: The need for a new policy model.
Regional Studies Association Pamphlet.
 Engelen, E., Johal, S., Salento, A. & Williams, K. 2014. How to Build a
Fairer City, The Guardian, 24 September, 2014
6 READING WEEK
7 Infrastructure,  Cervero, R. 2013. Suburban gridlock. Transaction Publishers. Chapter
Edge Cities & 1. Available on google books.
Economic  IPPR North. 2015. Transport For The North A Blueprint For Devolving
Development And Integrating Transport Powers In England. March 2015. Pages 15-
22
 One North. 2014. A proposition for an interconnected North.
8 Culture,  Reread MacKinnon and Cumbers Ch. 11
Sharing and  Miles, S. and Paddison, R. 2005. The Rise and Rise of Culture-led
Knowledge: Urban Regeneration, Urban Studies 42, 833-839 (and the other
New papers in this special issue are also very useful)
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 Economies?  Schor, J., 2014. Debating the sharing economy. Great transition
initiative.
9 Modern slavery  Van Doorn, N, 2017. ‘Platform labor: on the gendered and racialized
and the gig exploitation of low-income service work in the ‘on-demand’
economy: the economy’, Information, Communication & Society, Vol. 20, 6: AoIR
labour behind Special Issue,
the label  Cook et al*,I. 2004. Follow the Thing: Papaya. Antipode. 36, pp.642–
664.
 Hodkinson, S. et al, 2018. Fighting or fuelling forced labour? The
Modern Slavery Act 2015, irregular migrants and the vulnerabilising
role of the UK’s hostile environment
10 Privatised  Bakker, K. 2001. Paying for water: water pricing and equity in England
necessities and and Wales. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 26,
the rentier pp.143–164
economy  Jubilee Debt Campaign. 2017. ‘The UK’s PPP’s disaster’,
 Beswick, J. et al. 2016. Speculating on London's Housing Future: The
rise of global corporate landlords in 'post-crisis' urban landscapes.
City, 20 (2). pp. 321-341.
11 Chinese  Harvey, D., 2007. A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford University
megacities? Press, USA.-- Chapter 5 'Neoliberalism with Chinese Characteristics'
Economic  Hsing, Y.T., 2010. The great urban transformation: Politics of land and
geographies of property in China. OUP Catalogue. -- Chapter 1 'Land and Politics'
tomorrow /  Zhou, Y., Lin, G.C. and Zhang, J., 2018. Urban China through the lens of
Assessment neoliberalism: Is a conceptual twist enough?. Urban Studies,
p.0042098018775367
Guidance

8
Coursework Information

Semester 1

2500 word take-home essay exam (50% of total mark for GEOG2035, 100% for GEOG2038).

Questions will be released in the Week 11 lecture and answers must be submitted by Tuesday 22nd
January 2019 at 2pm via turnitin.

The assessment will consist of one 2500 word essay in response to a choice of questions. The
emphasis of the questions, along with the emphasis of the module as a whole, will be demonstrating
critical understanding of the course material through the use of real world examples. The questions
will not focus on any specific week of the module but will instead require you to make connections
between concepts and examples across the module. So attending and reading every week is vital.

The nature of this assessment means that you must revise, but you do not have the pressure of an in-
class exam, and have the full use of notes, lecture slides, lecture videos where possible. Further
guidance will be issued for revision in week 11.

Semester 2 (GEOG2035 ONLY)

Group project on economic geography that involves a group presentation (20%) in Week 20 and a
report (30%) due Friday 10th May 2019, 2pm in Week 24. The groups and projects will be assigned in
Week 14. All group members will receive the same mark for each component.

The Group Presentation will last 15 minutes and be followed by a 10-minute question and answer
period, in which your responses to the questions are part of the presentation mark. The
presentation must:

 be clean, orderly and professional.

 include the background and goals/objectives of the project, the research methodology (if
applicable), findings to date, and next steps.
 be given as if the audience was the client, and this is a progress report.

Each group will receive detailed feedback from course tutors and students present to help feed into
the report.

The Group Report will be 3000 words (assuming two-person team) and must:

 be a clean, clear, professional report that is well organized, well researched and well
presented.
 have a 1-page executive summary as the 1st substantive page (after a cover page)
 have a single, clear voice.

Coursework Format
All coursework should be submitted using the template front cover sheet at the back of this
handbook. You should not put your name on your coursework so that it can be marked anonymously,
however, you should put your ID number in the header in the top right hand corner of every page
after the title page, and the module number in the top left hand corner of every page after the title
page.

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Coursework Submission
All coursework should be submitted electronically through turnitin by the 2pm on the day of the
deadline. Each assignment will have its own electronic submission pigeonhole in which you can
upload your work.

It is your responsibility to make sure you are aware of the deadline for each piece of work. Late
submission will lead to the imposition of the normal University penalties; 5 marks are deducted for a
submission that is made after the 2pm deadline on day one, and any time until 2pm on day 2.
Thereafter a further 5 marks are lost for each subsequent period of 24 hours, or part thereof. Any
coursework submitted 14 or more days late will receive a mark of 0.

When submitting group work, note that it is the whole group’s responsibility to submit the work on
time, whether one person or each member of the group have been asked to submit the work.

Minerva Submissions
The time on the turnitin receipt for coursework submitted electronically is definitive in terms of
monitoring late submissions. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have allowed enough
time to submit your work and that you have a receipt. If your receipt does not appear in your inbox
straightaway you can go back to the submission area and request a receipt in order to have
confirmation that you have submitted your work successfully.

Coursework Extension Requests

Note: Extensions are only granted in cases where you have experienced serious difficulty which has
prevented the completion of work within the normal time period. This may be due to illness,
bereavement, family problems or similar. They are not granted for minor or short term problems,
including IT issues. [Nb Teaching staff are not authorised to grant extensions, all extension requests
should be made using the online request form www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/extension-requests allowing at
least 2 working days for these to be processed.]

Should you have any mitigating circumstances which lead to you requesting an extension to your
coursework deadline, or prevent you from attending an examination please contact your Student
Support Officer; Claire Gorner before the day of the deadline or examination in the first instance.
Claire works in the Geography School Student Education Service Office, and her email address is geo-
support@leeds.ac.uk

Word Count Penalties

All coursework assignments that contribute to the assessment of a module are subject to a length
(word count, duration) limit.

For the Semester 1 essay, EVERYTHING is included in the word count EXCEPT the title and reference
list.

For the Semester 2 group presentation, the maximum limit is 15 minutes.

For the Semester 2 group project report, EVERYTHING is included in the word count EXCEPT the title,
a contents page, a reference list and any appendices.

It is School policy that a penalty for exceeding the word limit will be applied and students are
required to provide an accurate word count on the coversheet of their assignment. Word counts will
be checked randomly on electronic copies of submitted work, and misrepresentation of word length
by a student is treated as a form of academic malpractice. The published word count for each piece
of work is definitive.

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If the word limit is exceeded, five marks will be deducted from the mark allocated to the piece of
work for every 10% (or part thereof) that a piece of work is over the limit. If the word count exceeds
the word limit by more than 50 per cent, the mark awarded for the work will be zero. For work that
exceeds the word limit, the following penalties will be applied:

Exceeds word limit by Marks to be deducted

Up to 9.99% 5
10% to 19.99% 10
20% to 29.99% 15
30% to 39.99% 20
40% to 49.99% 25
50% to 100% No marks awarded

Referencing
In the Faculty of Environment we expect students to use the Harvard referencing style in their
assignments for this module. Guidance on how to include citations within your text and how to
reference different types of material using Harvard is provided here: http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills-
referencing.

Future Career Skills

 learning how to assess and critically evaluate the merits of contrasting theories, explanations,
and policies
 learning how to collect, interpret and synthesise different types of quantitative and qualitative
geographical data
 learning how to communicate effectively (in writing, verbally and through graphical
presentations)
 learning how to identify, retrieve, sort and exchange geographical information using a wide
range of sources
 learning how to manage time and organise work effectively
 key kills in critical reading, writing, project management, studio work, presentation and team
work
 familiarity with a range of skills necessary for the design and preparation of a comprehensive
report

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Appendix One - Coursework Coversheet

1.

2.

3.

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