Вулвергемптонcкий университет, BA (Hons), Geography and Media and Cultural Studies

Geography Year 1: Introduces the nature and scope of modern human and physical geography; it investigates the evolution of the British landscape by considering the effects of geology, climate change and sociocultural changes together with rural development. Year 2: Allows students to examine sustainable development in all its forms; it introduces the study of lake and river ecosystems, considers geomorphology and soils, and how oceans and the atmosphere influence global weather and climate; it also examines natural hazards and their effects on the biosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere. Year 3: Considers strategic issues in environmental management; it examines cultural perceptions of the use of environmental resources and conflicts over planning and regeneration, and offers the option of investigating volcanic hazards or other aspects of the physical environment; students carry out an extended research project and further fieldwork practice. Media and Cultural Studies Year 1: Students get a thorough introduction to media and cultural studies; they could examine key visual aspects of the media and popular culture; students might also investigate some of the more controversial aspects of the 'borderless world' idea. Year 2: Students explore how media and popular cultural practices are significant in the expression of different senses of identity, such as gender and ethnicity; students develop the ability to analyse how cultural values are represented in the media; they also cultivate the relevant core skills to undertake and complete an independent research project. Year 3: Students look at the process of globalisation in relation to media and cultural identities; there is the opportunity to focus students' study on a specialist area such as television soap operas or the production of fashion; the completion of an independent project allows students to explore a topic which particularly interests them in greater depth.

The geography course prepares students to play an active part in shaping the world around them; it provides an understanding of natural environmental processes, as well as the ways in which humans have moulded and managed the form and function of different landscapes; students gain skills such as fieldwork, graphicacy, numeracy and specialist IT skills such as remote sensing and geographic information systems; the media and cultural studies course investigates the role of the media in contemporary culture; in particular, it examines media and culture in terms of production (industries and text) and consumption (audiences and consumers); the course critically examines the role that media and cultural products play in our daily lives, drawing upon historical and contemporary case studies; it enables students to understand and contextualise their own cultural experiences and media consumption; various cultural styles are investigated, such as popular culture, mass culture, material culture, subculture, cyberculture and multiculturalism.