This third year course will introduce students to specific geographical developments in Poland since 1939. The course will be stuctured around three key time periods: second world war, socialism, post-socialism. Within these, shifts in the control and use of space will be explored. The second world war theme will consider the impact of war on population and territory in Poland, and the subsequent contestations surrounding wartime memory within the country. A key focus will be on musuems and memorial sites as contested sites of memory. The second part of the course will consider the spatial dimensions of everyday life under socialism, including: political uses of public and private space, queuing and the shortage economy, imagined geographies of the west, resistances. The final section will investigate changes in Poland since 1989 - to what extent the country has ''returned to Europe'', the impact of shock therapy on social geographies, and ho w Poland is still working through socialist legacies. Special attention will also be given to Polish migration, before and after EU accession. Ultimately this module will enable an in-depth empircal knowledge of a key site of change in contemporary Europe, while encouringing deep engagement with a range of historical, political, social, cultural and post-socialist geographical readings.

A deep understanding of the specific contexts of historical, political, social and cultural geographies of Poland

An in-depth knowledge of the contested nature and emplacement of wartime remembering in Poland, the spatial dynamics of life under socialist rule, and seismic changes in Poland since 1989

A wider appreciation of shifting geo-political developments in Europe over the last few decades

A good familiarity with the sub-disciplinary field of socialist/post-socialist geography

Introduction, quiz, overview

Historical Geographies of World War Two

Contested Pasts and Places: Remembering World War Two

Katyn - Andrzej Wajda film

Seminars - contested memory sites - link to assessment

Introduction to socialist Poland; geographies of political culture

Social & cultural geographies of everyday life under socialism

Resistance movements; collapse of socialism

Post-socialist geographies: overview and key developments

Post-socialist ge ographies: seminars on key topics

Geographies of Polish migration

Overview and revision

Lecture - This teaching method is used to present information on key themes, including one film. These lectures will have interactive elements within them and will involve some smaller group work. Lectures are widely used in this disciplinary area.

Seminar - This teaching method is used to encourage students to explore and discuss course materials in greater depth and to enhance their skills as independent learners. The lectures will be supported by two seminars, one on memory sites and WW2 and the other on key issues in post-socialism. Students will need to prepare specific topics for each session. This approach is widely used in this disciplinary area.