Ideas In Geography:
This essay was the one that changed it all. After a lacklustre 1st year with plenty of difficulties along the way, this module got me back on track. I remember writing it alongside my friend A at David Lloyd Health Club in Hampton, setting out and formulating a plan from January 2nd, 2022.
I supplemented the reading with podcasts and YouTube videos when burnt out, and found a healthy balance between work and gym. Structurally, I split the essay into 3 sections: treating each one like its own 800-1000 word essay. This allowed me to build a comprehensive account of the impact Marxism has had on academic geography, receiving strong feedback and use as an example for future years.
The classical Marxist focus on class was one I heavily identified with, although I still can’t really work out the reason why. Post-structuralism in academic geography looked to partially rid the study of fixed understandings of class; yet I still find them valuable to in-depth analysis. This focus led me to read further, exploring Lefebvre’s works on The Right To The City. I imagine this will form part of my (hopeful) geography post-graduate, but that will require tricky navigation to reinstate class as a valid factor for analysis.
Political Geographies:
Political Geographies saw my focus move towards more current occurrences, rather than historical Marxism. This essay was more flowing and synoptic, linking a multifaceted argument into contemporary politics of citizenship. Again, this essay was well received: with a subsequent email sent by one of the module convenors asking for a copy to be retained.
At the time of writing this essay, populism had become a muddied term. It was used frequently in mainstream media as a buzzword for many modern politicians who displayed good leadership and oracy. This meant that finding examples which substantiated my claims/argument was more difficult than usual. When completing this essay, it was clear to me that most ‘news’ websites today have become utterly shit: with clickbait titles, unreferenced claims and horrendous amounts of advertisements. However, there are good reporters and good websites which exist beneath this, but they take a lot of digging to find. The essay was described as “an excellently conceived and executed essay” receiving one of my highest marks so far.
Geographies of Consumption [30]:
This module was a group research project, looking to gain experience and sharpen skills ahead of the 3rd year dissertation. I was grouped alongside some of the other members of Jo Little’s tutor group. We were an all boys group, thankfully getting on well and completing some good work.
Derived from some (partial) shared interests, we decided to focus on electric vehicle ownership within the UK. This was supplemented by an exploration of the TV show Top Gear, to provide some qualitative backing to our largely quantitative report.
Most (basically all) of the data was collected by myself and T, as there were some significant differences in workload within the group. The process was enjoyable, and the report received a strong mark (70+).
However, I wouldn’t say this put me in good stead for my undergraduate dissertation. There was minimal feedback on the report (partially because it got a good mark), as once submitted there was no additional thought given to how this would translate to our much more important project next year. I still felt I was finding it out as I go along, rather than being fully informed.
The report was supplemented by an essay. I wasn’t fully sure of the point in this.
Thinking Entrepreneurially:
Geography BA at the University of Exeter allows for each student to take 2 optional modules outside of geographical studies each year. In Term 1 of 2nd Year, I took British Sign Language 🤟: partially because it was something new and interesting… and partially because people traditionally got high marks in it.
Term 2, I decided to take a module called Thinking Entrepreneurially. This was taught by an enigmatic entrepreneur called Raphael, who was engaging and quite funny; even though this wasn’t always on purpose. Although lovely, he did remind me and F of David Brent. The module was supplemented by 2 multiple choice question quizzes, both of which I got 100 on. This meant I only needed around a 2:1 to guarantee a first in the module.
Nevertheless, the report was fun and intriguing to complete. It got a mid first and bumped my yearly average up considerably after some essays in the first term.
Tommy Nagle 