Full Description
Doing Cultural Geography is an introduction to cultural geography that integrates theoretical discussion with applied examples. The emphasis throughout is on doing. Recognising that many undergraduates have difficulty with both theory and methods courses, the text demystifies the 'theory' informing cultural geography and encourages students to engage directly with theory in practice. It emphasises what can be done with humanist, Marxist, post-structuralist, feminist, and post-colonial theory, demonstrating that this is the best way to prompt students to engage with the otherwise daunting theoretical literature.
Twenty short chapters are grouped into five sections on Theory, Topic Selection, Methodology, Interpretation and Presentation. The main text is intercut with questions, suggestions for activities and short sample extracts from scholarly texts, chosen to exemplify the subject of the chapter and to stimulate further reading. Chapters conclude with glossaries and suggestions for further reading.
Doing Cultural Geography will facilitate project work from small, classroom-based activities to the planning stages of undergraduate research projects. It will be essential reading for students in modules in cultural geography and foundation courses in human geography and theory and methods.
Contents
Introduction - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
PART ONE: THEORY INTO PRACTICE
The Trouble with Theory - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Humanistic and Behaviouralist Geography - Carol Ekinsmyth and Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Marx and After - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Poststructuralist Cultural Geography - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Feminist Cultural Geography - Carol Ekinsmyth
Postcolonial Geographies - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
PART TWO: DOING IT
Selecting Topics for Study - Katy Bennett, Carol Ekinsmyth and Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Methods and Methodology - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Extensive Methods - Tim Brown
Using Secondary Data
Using Archives - Kevin Hannam
Reading Texts - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Participant Observation - Katy Bennett
Interviews and Focus Groups - Katy Bennett
Field Observation - Louis Shurmer-Smith and Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Looking at Paris
Feminist Methodology - Carol Ekinsmyth
PART THREE: MAKING SENSE
Coping with Archival and Textual Data - Kevin Hannam
Handling Case Studies - Katy Bennett and Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Representation of Research - Katy Bennett and Pamela Shurmer-Smith
Creating a Text
Concluding Thoughts - Pamela Shurmer-Smith
