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THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Course Outline
Department/Program: Geography
Year: 2014
Course Title: GEOG 329: Introduction to Political Geography
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Course Schedule: Term 1, Sept 4 to Nov 27 , Tue-Thu: 9:30-11:00 a.m.
Location(s): Geography 212
Instructor: Philippe Le Billon
Office location: Geography 216
Office phone: (604) 822-5218
Office hours: Tue 11:00– 12:00; Thu 11:00-12:00
Teaching Assistant:
Office location:
Office phone:
E-mail address:
The course is lecture based, but includes small groups and class discussions.
OBJECTIVES :
 To introduce the discipline of political geography, its history, perspectives, and arguments
 To consider how geography and politics mutually influence each other
 To encourage critical thinking about politics and international relations
CONTENT :
Geographical knowledge is essential to an understanding of politics, while geography itself is
much informed by politics. This course introduces students to these relations, expressed in the
formation of states and empires or elections and social movements. Engaging with examples of
major world events as well as spaces shaped by every day politics, the course presents the main
theories developed in political geography, as well as essential concepts and terminology.
Reviewing the evolution of the field of political geography, it also points to the historical
contingency of political identities and organizations. Students are encouraged to develop a critical
perspective as the course combines lectures with class discussions.
Prerequisites and/or Course Restrictions: Geography 121 or 122 or the former 260; also open
without this prerequisite to Major and Honours students in History and International Relations and
Political Science.
Format of the course: Combination of lectures and group discussions each week. Participation is
expected. Weekly readings are provided.
Required Reading: See course list below. Lecture notes and glossary are available from
http://www.ibis.geog.ubc.ca/courses/geog329/
Course Assignments, Due dates and Grading:
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Class participation: 10%
Map quiz: 3 regions, 15 minutes, taking place on Tuesday 16 September, 5%
Mid-term examination: 30%, on Tuesday 21 October
Term paper: 30%, due Thursday 6 November – 2000 words max.
Question(s) on readings: 10%, due on 13 November
Group project and presentation: 15%, taking place on 20, 25 or 27 November
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Details on assignments:
1. Class participation: Class participation is important in this course. I take attendance, at times
randomly, so do come to class as this counts for 5% in your final mark (no unjustified absences:
5%, up to two absences: 4%, up to 4 absences: 1%; more than 4 absences: 0%). The other 5%
are for active class participation, which means asking questions, providing examples and general
reflections. This means also contributing to class discussions, which supposes that you help build
a conversation (not dominate it). As speaking in public may come more easily for some then for
others, I am also considering contributions made in small groups discussions.
2. Map quiz: This is simple exercise of memorization, which will help you situate country examples
provided throughout the course (i.e. where’s that country again?). You will need to know the
contemporary names of countries with a population above 300,000 (the cut-off at the moment is
the Maldives), although one should not neglect countries with small populations, especially if you
are interested about off-shore banking or climate change! The quiz itself will consist of five major
regions of the world; you will pick three and provide names for the countries numbered. You can
train using an atlas, http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/ (which outlines will be used for the quiz),
and some of the many online games.
3. Mid-term examination: this exam will take one hour and twenty minutes and consist in a series
of about 6 ‘short-answer’ questions on the major concepts for 20% and one essay question for
10%. The mid-term is based on lectures notes (slides and notes taken in class) and mandatory
readings (see list); suggested readings and glossary will help you prepare.
4. Term paper: this will be a ‘classic’ term paper to write on one of three topics offered below.
These topics will also be used for the group presentations. I encourage you to start reading and
thinking about it early, and not to wait until a few days before the deadline to write it. You can
contact me in advance to discuss ideas. Length is 2000 words max, excluding bibliography (write
down work count excluding bibliography under your name). I have no preferred bibliographic style,
just keep it consistent. I do not expect a specific number of references, but a range of 6-15 is
usual – more important is the quality and originality of your sources. As a general advise, try to
work on something specific so that you feel that you are going beyond the ‘usual story’ and start to
do some interesting research (even if only using secondary sources, but check if you can access
primary ones – such as original archives, census, etc… but excluding interviews as you would
need to go through ethics review to do that). While being specific try to find an interesting general
argument to frame your paper and thus go beyond a descriptive case study, reading more widely
and using theoretical/conceptual sources can help here. Papers are graded according to the
following criteria: originality of argument(s) and case study, quality of the research/sources,
structure and logic of the paper, quality of the writing. Late submission will incur a deduction of 2%
per day (of the overall course mark). You will be required to submit it in paper copy and through
‘turnitin’ – website: https://turnitin.com/;class ID: 8531489; class name: GEOG329-2014;
enrollment password: geopol . Before being able to access the site you will need to create an
account. Please read http://elearning.ubc.ca/toolkit/turnitin/for-students/ and let me know your
ALIAS (a name sheet will be available in class) and do not include identifying information (e.g.
name, student number).
5. Questions on readings: You will have to provide a written answer to the question for each of the
readings after the mid-term. You should answer these questions before coming to class. You will
hand all your answers on 18 November, marked out of 10%.
6. Group project and presentations: This assignment consists of a short collaborative project
building on your work done for the term paper and leading to a group presentation in class. On 24
October we will take 15 minutes to confirm and organize the groups (exchange emails, set a time
for meeting and preparing). The TA and I will grade the overall presentation of the group (5%) and
your own presentation (10%). There will be about 10 groups of 5 to 6 people each, with
presentations and discussions taking place on 20, 25 or 27 November. Between 3 and 4 groups
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will present during each class. The group presentation should take a maximum of 15 minutes (2-3
minutes by presenter) and be followed by 5 minutes of questions/answers and debates.
Presentation can use Power Point, hand-outs, and multi-media… we even had a group using
animated cartoons. Each member of the group should present (even if through a multimedia). The
groups presenting should arrive earlier that day (9:10 am) so that we have time to prepare. The
order of the three topics will be selected randomly (topic 1 could be on 27 November).
Course Policies: Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes (including
lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.)… Students who are unavoidably absent because
of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes.
Withdrawal from the course
Last date for withdrawal without a W on your transcript: 16 September
Last date for withdrawal with a W instead of an F on your transcript: 10 October
The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the Disability
Resource Centre. The University accommodates students whose religious obligations conflict
with attendance, submitting assignments, or completing scheduled tests and examinations.
Please let your instructor know in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require
any accommodation on these grounds. Students who plan to be absent for varsity athletics, family
obligations, or other similar commitments, cannot assume they will be accommodated, and should
discuss their commitments with the instructor before the drop date.
Late assignments: Deducted 2% per day (of overall course mark).
Participation: Graded (10%)
Academic Dishonesty: Please review the UBC Calendar “Academic regulations” for the
university policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty. Also visit
www.arts.ubc.ca and go to the students’ section for useful information on avoiding plagiarism and
on correct documentation.
Students should retain a copy of all submitted assignments (in case of loss) and should
also retain all their marked assignments in case they wish to apply for a Review of
Assigned Standing. Students have the right to view their marked examinations with their
instructor, providing they apply to do so within a month of receiving their final grades. This review
is for pedagogic purposes. The examination remains the property of the university.
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GEOG 329: Class Schedule and Reading list
This list includes two categories of readings: 1) The readings in bold are mandatory readings for
the mid-term; 2) The other readings are, until the mid-term, only suggested (they will help you in
grasping the concepts and arguments presented in class), while those after the mid-term provide
the basis of class discussion and ‘Question(s) on readings’ in the second half of the course.
Date
Topics
4 Sept
Introductory class
9 Sept
Politics and maps
11 Sept Politics and resistance
16 Sept MAP QUIZ
Key concepts
18 Sept Geopolitical
perspectives
Serving the empire
23 Sept Cold War perspectives
25 Sept Contemporary
perspectives
30 Sept Feminist political
geography
2 Oct
The spatiality of states
Historical perspectives
7 Oct
International boundaries
and territorial disputes
9 Oct
Centralism and federalism
Readings
Massey, Doreen (2006) Space, Time and Political
Responsibility in the Midst of Global Inequality. Erkunde 6(2),
89-95
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25647833
Painter, J.and A. Jeffrey (2009) Political Geography. Chapter 1
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/24022_02_Painter_Ch_01.pdf
Crampton, J.W. and J. Krygier (2006) An introduction to critical
cartography. ACME 4(1), 11-33
http://www.acme-journal.org/vol4/JWCJK
Video – ‘Plump pudding’
Stahler-Sholk, R. (2007) Resisting Neoliberal Homogenization: The
Zapatista Autonomy Movement. Latin American Perspectives,
34(2): 48-63.
http://lap.sagepub.com/content/34/2/48.full.pdf+html
Video – ‘Zapatista’
Cox, K. (2002) Political Geography: Territory, State and Society.
[Chapter 1] http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/Cox.pdf
Joe Painter – Geographies of Space and Power
http://knowledge.sagepub.com/view/hdbk_politicalgeo/n4.xml
Agnew, J. (1998) Re-visioning world politics (chapter 4, starting p.
86)
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/docDetail.action?docID=10054832
(suggested: Mackinder’s article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1775498 )
Hepple. L. (1986) ‘Revival of geopolitics’, Political Geography, 5(4):
S21-S36.
http://www.elsevierscitech.com/pdfs/JPGQ/1986_The_revival_of_G
eopolitics.pdf
Dalby, S. (2010) ‘Recontextualising violence, power and
nature: The next twenty years of critical geopolitics?’
Political Geography, 29(5): 280-288.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S09626298100001
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Mountz, A. and J. Hyndman (2010) ‘Feminist approaches to the
global intimate’ Women’s Studies Quarterly 34(1/2): 446-463.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/40004773
Kaspersen, L.B. and J. Strandsbjerg (2009) The spatial practice of
state formation: territorial space in Denmark and Israel, Journal of
Power 2(2): 235-254.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17540290903064283
Anssi Paasi (2009) Bounded spaces in a ‘borderless world’,
Journal of Power 2(2): 213.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17540290903064275
Andrzej Jackiewicz (2011) Territorial Organization Of European
States (Part 1 only)
[available from Google Books]
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14 Oct
Electoral geography
16 Oct
21 Oct
MID-TERM EXAM
Politics, space, and
place
23 Oct
Geopolitics and the
metageographies of fear
Organization of
presentation groups
28 Oct
Intimate politics and the
microgeographies of fear
30 Oct
Territorial dimensions of
the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict
Sovereignty and spaces
of exception
(Guantanamo)
4 Nov
6 Nov
Development (geo)politics
TERM PAPER DUE
11 Nov Class Cancelled
13 Nov First Nations territories
18 Nov Secessionism (case of
Quebec)
Readings questions due
20 Nov Group presentations
25 Nov Group presentations
27 Nov Group presentations
[suggested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering for recent
examples]
David Harvey (2004) ‘Space as a key word’, Hettner Lecture
http://centerforthehumanities.org/sites/default/files/media/harvey_s
pace.pdf
Huntington, ‘Clash of Civilizations’, Foreign Affairs
Fazal Rizvi (2011) Beyond the Social Imaginary of ‘Clash of
Civilizations’? Educational Philosophy and Theory 43(3): 225235.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/j.1
469-5812.2009.00593.x/full
Hyndman, J. and M. De Alwis (2004) ‘Bodies, shrines and roads’
Gender, Place and Culture 11(4): 535-557.
http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/abs/10.1080/
0966369042000307960
Newman, ‘Real spaces, symbolic spaces’
[available from Google Books]
Reid-Henry, S. (2007) ‘Exception sovereignty?’ Antipode 39(4):
627-648.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/j.1
467-8330.2007.00544.x/full
Chhachhi, A. and L. Herrera, ‘Empire, geopolitics and development’
Development and Change
38(6): 1021–1040.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/j.1
467-7660.2007.00448.x/full
Thom, B. (2009) ‘Paradox of boundaries in Coast Salish people’
Cultural Geographies 16(2): 179-205.
http://cgj.sagepub.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/content/16/2/179.sho
rt
Kaplan, D. (1994) ‘Two nations in search of a state’, Annals AAG,
84(4): 585-606.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/j.1
467-8306.1994.tb01878.x/abstract
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GEOG 239 Term paper and Group presentation topics:
1) Middle East geopolitics…
a. The Sykes-Picot Agreement and its consequences
b. Kurdistan: the Kurdish Regional Government, Iraq and its neighbors
c. A new ‘Islamic State’?
2) The political geography of pandemics…
a. The ‘Big Ones’: revisiting the Spanish Flu and Swine Flu
b. HIV/AIDS and the securitization of health
c. Ebola and poverty
3) The return of territorial politics in Europe…
a. European Union expansion
b. The Ukrainian crisis
c. Russia: between Europe and Eurasia
GEOG 329 – Questions on reading:
Before each class, starting on 24 October, you should: 1) read the assigned readings and lecture
notes, 2) answer the question asked for that class by writing one or two paragraphs (template
also found on the course website), and thus be ready to discuss them in class - note that you are
encouraged to prepare other questions and arguments to be discussed in class, 3) hand this
single document with all your answers on 12 November.
23 Oct - Geopolitics and the metageographies of fear - Huntington, ‘Clash of Civilizations’ and
Fazal Rizi on social imaginaries - Question: What alternatives would you suggest to simplistic
social imaginaries based on ‘civilizational divides’, how dangerous could these be?
28 Oct - Intimate politics and the microgeographies of fear - Hyndman and De Alwis, ‘Bodies,
shrines and roads’ - Question: Have you ever altered your ‘look’ and ‘mobility’ to address fears of
violence against yourself? What does this tell you about your ‘self’, ‘others’ and the context in
which you live?
30 Oct - Territorial dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Newman, ‘Real spaces,
symbolic spaces’ – Question: Do you think that sharing symbolic territories that are culturally
distinct yet related and spatially overlapping can help foster peaceful relations between cultural
groups that have been portrayed as antagonistic (e.g. can sharing a religious site help in
reconciliation)?
4 Nov - Sovereignty and spaces of exception (Guantanamo) - Reid-Henry, ‘Exception
sovereignty?’ - Question: Explain how Guantanamo is both ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ the US?
6 Nov - Development (geo)politics - Chhachhi, A. and L. Herrera, ‘Empire, geopolitics and
development’ – Question: Is the ‘development project’ imperialistic, and if so, how to rethink
‘development’ (or should it be rejected)?
13 Nov - First Nations territories - Thom, ‘Paradox of boundaries in Coast Salish people’ Question: What boundaries do you perceive in relation to First Nations and what would you do to
end the ‘occupation of native land’?
18 Nov - Secessionism (case of Quebec) - Kaplan, ‘Two nations in search of a state’ - Question:
What ‘spatial identities’ do you perceive within British Columbia, and which ones may be seeking
political autonomy?
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