Geography

The course presents an overview of the historical geography of Ireland from the earliest evidence of human settlement in the Mesolithic through to c.1840 A.D. Throughout the course developments in Ireland are set within appropriate comparative and theoretical contexts. The principal topics explored are settlement, land use and agriculture, the changing environment (including human impacts), patterns of cultural variation and interaction, and how these have come together to forge changing landscapes and regions.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The student is expected to master the urban transformations in Europe in the 19th century. In particular, the student is expected to: learn theories and methods for reading and planning the historic cities and cultural landscapes; understand about the preservation of the historic cities as an asset for cultural and economic development; understand how the historic cities and landscapes can be objects of interest for cultural institutions.

This course explores the conservation and regeneration of urban heritage within a broader urban and planning framework. It focuses on two interrelated thematic axes:

• The recognition of historic cities and settlements as cultural heritage, where conservation and revitalization have gained global relevance in planning and development agendas. These heritage assets increasingly serve as catalysts for cultural tourism, the creative economy, and related activities.
• The reciprocal relationship between urban heritage conservation and regeneration, and the role of cultural institutions and practices as key drivers of community-based and sustainable development.

The examination of these themes offers a platform for critical reflection on the evolving definitions of heritage and value, and the implications of these shifts for conservation planning. These planning approaches—adopted by national and local governments and supported by international agencies—are critically assessed in light of the growing demand for a holistic, integrated understanding of heritage, particularly in response to environmental change. In addition to establishing a solid theoretical foundation, the course provides an overview of prevailing methods and tools in conservation planning. These are contextualized through relevant case studies drawn from Italy and other international settings. Key topics will be addressed through lectures and seminars, including: Urban Planning and Heritage Conservation; The "Patrimonialisation" of the Historic City; The Landscape Approach in Urban and Territorial Planning; Urban Heritage and Sustainable Development; International Frameworks for Urban Conservation; Methods of Value Assessment; Public Engagement and Participatory Planning; Urban Heritage in Contexts of Crisis; and Culture as a Driver of Urban Regeneration.

Subsequent to the introductory lecture, this course is divided into three sections. The first main section provides an historical and political overview of the "war on terror" in relation to thinking about other types of wars. It considers how the prosecution of the war on terror has come to shape not only military, but also legal and governmental discourse and practice in the post 9/11 era. The second section invites students to consider ideas and practices of security as a central feature of this. It considers the rise of private military contracting, immigration, humanitarianism, urban geopolitics, and the overlap between health and security concerns. The third section focuses on the political-economic underpinnings of many of these developments and challenges students to think of conflict as an embedded social phenomenon: as much a part of contemporary discourses on the economy as it is something with merely economic implications. 

The course explores the relationships between urbanization and broader social, economic, political, and environmental transformations.  Exploration in this course is employed both as a tactic to thematically investigate contemporary cities, and as an opportunity to re-imagine what we might understand to be 'the city' and 'the urban' using recent theoretical approaches. While the course addressed a wide-range of cities across the global north and south, London is used throughout as a pivotal case through which to ground the thematic and theoretical explorations.

This course examines the distribution of land and people across Latin America in the context of the continent's natural geography. It explores the impact of the location of major cities, industrialization, urbanization, rural development, social inequality, and globalization. The course pays special attention to the possibility of the diplomatic and economic integration of the Latin American world. Methodologies are interdisciplinary, with concepts and techniques drawn from sociology, geography, anthropology, and history.