University of Central Florida HUM 3930 Representations of Place and Space

This course will examine different disciplinary approaches to the representation and experience of place and space. We will consider phenomenological, structural, constructivist, and determinist versions of place (and the hybrids between them), the ways in which place is represented and constructed in literature, art, architecture, urban planning and cartography, and the relationships between place, politics, globalization, and identity. We will also discuss the concept of "sense of place", the attachment people feel to particular places, the loss of place, and explore the ways that students succeed or struggle to make sense of their own places.

Required Texts:

1. Reading Package for HUM 3930. Some readings will be located on the course web page as well - these are considered part of the course, and are required reading. These readings will be on reserve in the library.
2. Tuan, Yi-Fu. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977, 2001.

Recommended Text:

1. Cresswell, Tim. Place: A Short Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Requirements

Annotated Bibliography (20%)
Place Review (15%)
Final Paper (23%) with Presentation (7%) and response to others (5%)
Take-home Final (30%)


ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (20% of final grade): Each student should prepare an annotated bibliography of at least 20 items in length. The bibliography needs to be on a theme. The bibliography should include academic books or papers in peer reviewed or scholarly journals (not textbooks, popular works such as newspaper articles, or web resources). By "annotated", I mean that you should provide a short (3-4 sentence) description of what the work is about, and how it is relevant to the theme of the bibliography and to the general topic of space and place. You will need to run the theme of the bibliography by me. This bibliography can provide the basis for the final paper for the course, if you wish. The best annotations will become a permanent part of the "Research on Place and Space" website, with proper credit being given to the student and the class.

PLACE REVIEW (15%): You should choose a place, either one you are familiar with or one which you are willing to become familiar with. You should apply one or more of the theorists we discuss in the course to that place, to make its meaning apparent. By this, I mean that you should make clear the ways in which the place is both explicitly and implicitly significant for those who experience it. Your review must discuss both what and how the place means, and/or how it fails to mean (or has lost meaning). This project must draw on theorists we use, or others who you discuss with me - otherwise, it is very difficult to grade (it could simply be subjective opinion, rather than academic analysis). You will likely need to represent the place as well. This could be done in a variety of ways - visually (photographs, video, website production, etc.) or textually (descriptively, creatively, etc.). The best reviews will be well written and well organized, clear in thesis and tools of analysis, and will bring a concrete academic understanding of the place to the foreground.

TERM PAPER (23%): This is a traditional academic thesis defense paper. The paper can be linked to your annotated bibliography (that is, on the same topic) if you wish. All topics must be cleared in advance. We will discuss topics and format in class. There is a CLASS PRESENTATION (7%) of your paper, before you hand in a final draft (scheduled toward the end of the course). This will give you a chance to discuss your work, take students' comments into account and produce a better paper. The final version of the paper will be due one week after you do your presentation. While a student is presenting, others will be filling out comment forms. 5% of the course grade will be based on filling out forms for at least 2/3 of the presentations with meaningful comments. Students will receive the comments in time to use them to improve their work.

FINAL EXAM: 30% of the grade will be based on the final exam. It will be a take-home final, and will be due at the beginning of the exam period.

A: 93-100	B: 83-86	C: 73-76	D: 63-66
A-: 90-92	B-: 80-82	C-: 70-72	D-: 60-62
B+: 87-89	C+: 77-79	D+: 67-69	F: 0-59

Schedule: Place and Space

Each part is scheduled for roughly 2-3 weeks' duration. There will be readings from the reading package and the website for each of these sections. The topics in each part are meant to give a general idea of subjects associated with the larger concepts of place and space studies.

Part One: Introduction: Theory and History of Representation, Place, and Space

• Key Terms: Place, Space, Representation, Landscape
• History of Spatial and Platial Thought
• Understanding how place and space are approached in different disciplines
• The range of representing place: images, text, maps, GPS.

Part Two: Being In Place(s), Representing the Places We Are In.

• Seeing Place: Perspective and landscape
• Embodiment; Merleau-Ponty; Heidegger

Part Three: Building Place

• Arcades, malls, public and private space
• Cultured nature: gardens
• Power and identity in built place
• Architecture and urban environment
• Henri Lefebvre

Part Four: Imagining Place

• Mapping space and place
• Imagining place in the modern world - continents, regions
• Wilderness, the West
• Colonialism and the invention of place: Orientalism, the invention of Africa
• Utopias, Non-places, the loss of place

Part Five: Navigating, Understanding, Connecting with Place

• Local/global flows: globalization, hybrid identities
• Sense of place
• Place and culture
• Place and narrative

Part Six: Student Presentations

Part Seven: Conclusion

The Fine (but Important) Print

STANDARDS FOR PAPERS: I expect papers to be typewritten, in essay form (that is, not point form). They should be in 12 point Times New Roman font, with one inch margins, and double-spaced. Pages must be numbered, and the paper should be single-sided (that is, do not use both sides of the sheet of paper when printing). There should be a title page which includes the title of the paper, the name of the author, the date, the course, and the name of the professor. I will be taking grammar, spelling, and structure into account - good ideas cannot be communicated with poor form. If the grammar or structure in a paper is severely flawed, I reserve the right to give a paper back to the student for revision without a grade (or with a reduction in grade), or fail the paper. As for citation style, I will be using the MLA format. I am open to other recognized formats (e.g., Chicago, Turabian), but whatever format you use must be used consistently. Note that the library has obtained a site license for a number of good citation programs, such as Endnote and Procite, which can aid in proper citation form. See the library's home page for these. For information on documentation styles, see http://www.uwc.ucf.edu/Writing%20Resources/writing_resources_home.htm#documentation

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAPERS: It is possible (and in some cases preferable) to submit your paper electronically to me. It should be sent to janzb@mail.ucf.edu as an attachment. The paper needs to be in Word or WordPerfect format. It must appear identical to how it would look if you were to hand it in as a physical document (in other words, with a title page at the beginning and reference list at the end). You will receive typed comments on the paper, and it will be returned electronically. Do not include .exe files or anything that might contain a virus, and please scan your document with a virus program before you send it. Please identify yourself and the course in the subject line of the message (e.g., "<Your Name>, <Paper title> for <course name and number>"). Please make sure as well that I can reach you at the email address that you use to send the paper, in case the file does not open.

• Why submit your paper electronically? You will likely receive more extensive comments, as I can type faster than I can write.
• Why can't I read the returned paper? It may be that you use Microsoft Works, instead of Microsoft Word. These programs may not be compatible. The paper should be sent in Microsoft Word, not Works. You may be able to install a document converter - see your program documentation.
• The file opens but I can't read the comments. What do I do? If you sent the paper in Microsoft Word, I will use the "Comments" function and the "Track Changes" option. If the program opens, but you don't see any comments, bring up the "Reviewing" toolbar (right-click on your toolbar at the top, and when you see a list of options for toolbars, make sure the "reviewing" toolbar is checked). Look for a tab marked "show", and click it. Underneath you will see several options. Make sure "Comments" and "Insertions and Deletions" at least are marked (the others wouldn't hurt, either). If you are using WordPerfect, either make sure you are in "draft" mode, or else while in "page" mode, go to the far left margin (you may have to scroll the screen to the side), and note the small tabs. When you click on one, you will be able to see comments. Please use the program that you used originally - comments may not be readable if made in one word processor and read in another.
• Can I fax my paper to the department instead? Sorry, the department has a policy of not accepting faxes of assignments from students.

ATTENDANCE: I expect regular and prompt attendance from members of the class. If you cannot be at a class, let me know before-hand. I reserve the right to not accept assignments from students either if attendance has been a problem, or if a paper is seriously late without a legitimate (in my opinion) reason. This includes any paper or graded activity in the course, including the final paper and the final exam. I will only inflict this measure after having given a warning; however, if you simply never come to class, do not expect to get much sympathy at the end of the term when you want to hand in assignments.

LATE PAPERS: On late papers in general: The due dates are firm. There will be penalties for late papers. If there is a legitimate reason for a paper being late, I am willing to consider it and waive the late penalty. Illegitimate reasons include "I had too much work" (you could have started earlier); "My computer deleted my file" (make back-ups); "I'm on a team and we were away" (work that out with your coach, not me); "I couldn't think of a topic" (come & see me early). This, of course, does not exhaust the list of reasons that will not succeed. Plan ahead, and save yourself problems. Having said that, I recognize that there will sometimes be factors beyond a person's control. I will deal with these cases on an individual basis. Giving an extension in one case in no way obligates me to do it in others. The most successful appeal will a) have an argument for why an extension is justified, and b) suggest a way that the assignment will be made better by the extension.

EXAM RULES: I will not change exam dates simply to accommodate travel schedules. I am especially unsympathetic if someone buys a plane ticket first, and comes to me later saying that I have to change an exam date to accommodate it. If there are other reasons that you think might be legitimate, please see me.

COMMUNICATION OF GRADES: The university does not allow the communication of grades to a student by email, or by posting them outside a professor's door. This is a confidentiality issue. Please do not ask me for your grade by email. I will tell you your grade in person, or over the phone, as long as I can be certain that you are who you say you are.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: We will discuss the nature of academic honesty in class, but a note here is warranted. Basically, your work should be your own, and when you are drawing on the words, images, or ideas of others, this should be properly noted. What should be avoided?

• Handing in an identical (or substantially similar) paper to another person in the class.
• Using a paper from another student (e.g., a former student, or a paper from an internet paper mill).
• Using any information from a book or an internet site without proper referencing.

The university writing center has many useful handouts on writing, including handouts on properly handling citations. If you have any question about how to properly complete an assignment, please see me.

WITHDRAWAL: It is the student's responsibility to drop or withdraw from the course if there is an unavoidable conflict or if the need should arise for another reason. Students who fail to drop before the deadline established in the curriculum catalogue will receive an F for the course. The withdrawal date for Fall 2004 is Friday October 22.