OVERVIEW

The course of Geography of Conflicts aims at introducing a general perspective on the relation between geography and current and past conflicts by critically examining and discussing the most relevant international literature and case studies. In addition, it focuses on some key topics of the geographical dimension of conflicts and wars around the world with specific reference to the relation between climate change, environment and conflicts.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course of Geography and Conflicts provides students with some key topics in the geographical dimension of conflicts and wars around the world: cartography and conflicts; climate change-driven conflicts; political borders; physical geography and battlefield. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand the spatial dimensions of conflicts under a geographical perspective and to use a specific geographical vocabulary

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students will be able to

- investigate and understand the relevant international literature on the topic in terms of its various perspectives and approaches

- critically examine academic texts in geography of conflicts

- understand how global climate change can influence current and future conflicts

- track links between environment and conflicts

- acquire analythical methodologies for the interpretation of scenarios where conflicts change the physionomy of phyisical-geographical and socio-economic contexts 

- argue and describe (in both oral and written form) the relation between geography and conflicts by developing a specific theme in great depth, making use of and comparing a wide range of sources. 

PREREQUISITES

No

TEACHING METHODS

The course will consist of a series of lectures (frontal teaching) where students will be introduced to the most relevant themes of the subject. Frontal teaching will also include some lectures on specific themes by invited experts. In addition, there will be some readings (compulsory for attending students) where some key texts will be analysed and discussed together in class. At the end of the course, attending students (as groups) will be required to develop in great depth a topic of their choice which will be presented, discussed and developed in oral and written form as part of the examination programme. Further information will be provided on the Aulaweb page of the course. 

Positive assessments of the teamworkswill allow attending students to acquire the following Open Badge: 
Project creation proficiency - basic level.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The module will be divided into three specific parts:

FIRST PART: the first part will introduce students to the most relevant scientific literature on the relation between geography and conflicts. If geographers and historians have historically looked at such relation in terms of implications of physical geographical elements on wars and battlefields, more recent perspectives investigate how spatial factors and relations can explain political violence. Particularly, this part will introduce approaches in the field of environmental security and political ecology. One specific lecture will be aimed at providing students with insights into the critical examination of academic and scientific texts and into producing a scientific piece of work in the field of geography of conflicts.

SECOND PART: the second part of the module will deal with the concept of territory and territorialisation by focussing on borders, cartography and power. A general lecture on borders will introduce some practical case studies of contested borders around the world with a specific focus on landscapes of violence and security landscapes in Europe and their consequences on the environment (eg Poland-Belarus border). Alpine borders and the concept of “moving border” will be used as an example of a “virtuous” management of border issues in the age of climate change.

THIRD PART: the third and most significant part of the module is dedicated to the relation between conflicts and environment with specific (but not exclusive) focus on climate change. A general introduction to climate change will deal with its main manifestations (floods, droughts, heat waves, extreme events in general), causes of climate change, environmental and social inequality. Some models on the environment-conflict nexus will be presented too, as well as considerations on environmental determinism in political ecology studies. Specific case studies will be geopolitical issues and environmental conflicts in the Arctic, exploitation of the sea (South China Sea, Mediterranean, North Atlantic), water management issues in transboundary water catchments (Indus, Nile, Jordan), urban-rural migrations, climate and conflicts in urban areas of the Global South.

In addition, specific readings and occasional contributions by outsider speakers will take place throughout the module,

The course deals with themes in line with the following goals and targets of UN 2030 Agenda: 

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (in particular 13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries; 13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning; 13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Attending students

Study materials for attending students will be notes and Powerpoint presentations on AULAWEB and articles and book chapters which will be uploaded on AULAWEB during the course. These include the following texts, compulsory for attending students:

Gregory, D (2010) War and peace. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 35: pp. 145-185

Harley, J.B. (1988) Maps, knowledge and power. In Daniels, S. and Cosgrove, D. (eds.) The Iconography of Landscape: pp. 51-81

Raleigh, C. (2015) Geographies of Conflict, in J. Agnew, V. Mamadouh and A. Secor (eds.) A Companion to Political Geography. Wiley Blackwell, pp. 86-99

Casano, G. (2024) Community resilience placed at the service of the climate-migration-conflict nexus understanding. Environment and Security (in press) 

Further texts will be communicated during the course.

As essential part of the exam, attending students (as groups) will be required to develop in great depth a topic of their choice which will be presented, discussed and developed in a written work as part of the examination programme.

Non attending students

Powerpoint presentations, articles and book chapters uploaded on AULAWEB (see the section for attending students).

In addition, non attending students will be asked to prepare one of the following books:

Galgano, F. (Ed.) (2019) The Environment-Conflict Nexus, Springer (downloadable from Springer website through Sistema Bibliotecario di Ateneo)

Winters, H. A. (1998) Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the Conduct of War, The John Hopkins University Press

Doel, M. (2017) Geographies of Violence: killing space, killing time, Sage Publishing

Flint, C. and Dempsey, K. (2024) Making Geographies of Peace and Conflict, Routledge

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

PIETRO PIANA (President)

SARA BONFANTI

GABRIELE CASANO (Substitute)

STEFANIA MANGANO (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Teaching will start on Monday 16 September 2024

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is oral (both attending and non attending students). Attending students (who will have attendend 3/4 of the course) will have to work on a teamwork topic as a replacement of the textbook on a theme which is related to contents useful to acquire the teaching objectives. The teamwork will be prepared during the teaching and presented, discussed and developed in a oral and written work as part of the examination programme.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam will allow the assessmenty of 

- mastery and understanding of the geographical dimension of conflits

- application of acquired skills 

Evaluation criteria are:
- the quality of the oral communication,
- the correct use of the appropriate vocabulary,
- the ability of critical analysis, even on possible cases discussed.

The students who carry out the group work will also be assessed on the quality of the paper as regards the content and formal aspects.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who have regularly submitted certification for DSA (Specific Learning Disorders), disabilities, or other special educational needs are advised to contact both the coordinator, Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it), and the module convenor at the beginning of the course. This is to agree on teaching and exam methods that, while respecting the objectives of the course, take into account individual learning modalities and provide appropriate compensatory tools.