GEOG 3022 - Food Security | Course Outlines

GEOG 3022 - Food Security

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021

The course will examine the geographical components of food security globally in the historic, modern and post-modern eras. Case studies will be drawn from Australian and international contexts to examine humanity's changing relationship with the systems of production, supply, ecology, economy and society fundamental to the provision of and access to sufficient, nutritious food. The roles of food and agriculture in the context of historical societal development will also be discussed. The types of issues that will be introduced include: pre-modern or traditional agriculture; the origin and development of agricultural biodiversity; the relationship between food supply and cultural identity; the agrarian transition/Green revolution; modernisation and the creation of marginalisation; agriculture and environmental management; new technological developments and their application; famines; the political-ecologies of agriculture; the emerging alternative roles of agriculture to food production; and the future roles of alternative systems based on diversity and location. Students will be guided through the development of an in-depth critique of the historical processes relating to a food commodity, system or a region of their choice. The outcomes of these investigations will be presented in written form in a series of short reports and in oral form as a presentation to their peers. A final examination will allow students to present on their understanding of the course's major themes.

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Course Details

Course Code	GEOG 3022
Course	Food Security
Coordinating Unit	Geography, Environment and Population
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 4 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 6 units of Level II undergraduate study
Incompatible	GEOG 2146
Assessment	Workshop attendance 5%, Report outline 10%, History paper 20%, Politics paper 30%, Oral presentation 5%, Exam 30%

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Douglas Bardsley

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

1.	Understand food security and agricultural issues in Australia and internationally.
2.	Analyse the relationship between food and agricultural activities and society and the environment.
3.	Translate generic concepts and methods into reviews of contemporary, real-world food production, exchange and policy using a variety of methods of conceptualisation and critical analysis.
4.	Critically assess theoretical and conceptual issues relating to the emerging risks both to food and agricultural systems.
5.	Present synthesised and critically evaluated information in oral and written forms.
6.	Work effectively to create outputs of professional quality, both independently and within team environments.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1-6
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	2-5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2-6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1-6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1-4, 6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	2-6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

There are no required resources for this course.

Recommended Resources

On-line recommended readings will be provided on MyUni.

Online Learning

The detailed course guide and additional course-related material will be made available through MyUni. These materials include amongst other information:
• Announcements
• Powerpoint slides from the lectures and workshops. Detailed slides will be posted in MyUni before lectures and workshops, and lecture recordings will be posted on MyUni.
• Links to on-line reading materials. Students will also be assisted to undertake academic reference searches online
• Assignments will be submitted online.
• There are also numerous internet sites specialising in food and agricultural themes. Make sure you don’t depend too heavily on these internet sites when searching for literature on a particular topic for a presentation or essay – but they can help support your discussion or provide interesting examples.

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course is based around the development of the students’ critical analysis skills. Content is provided in lectures and students learning will be scaffolded in workshops to ensure that they are learning the skills to enable them to critically evaluate and approach to agriculture or food security policy. The pedagogical approach is therefore constructivist but with guided discovery-based learning. There are a number of teaching and learning modes in the course:

• The recorded lectures provide factual information and the presentation of concepts about food and agricultural issues, following a framework that includes the state of food and agriculture, the important issues that are emerging, and the current and likely responses to those challenges. Thus, the lectures move from an explanation of the physical, historical & socio-economic experiences, to an examination of risks to food security and agroecosystems, to a review of the development opportunities for global agriculture.

• The compulsory workshops are again framed by the state/issues/response conceptualisation of issues. The fortnightly workshops run over two hours and provide a forum for students to work in small groups to learn about techniques to critically analyse current issues of food security and agricultural development approaches. The workshops will also provide an opportunity for students to raise questions or points of interest during discussions and students will be asked to present their analyses of commodities, systems or places during debates and oral presentations to other students.

• The report assignments and the presentation provide opportunities for students to undertake an extended research project that will allow them to articulate in both oral and written form, their appraisal of contemporary food and agricultural issues, practices and policies.

• Finally, the take-home exam will assess the extent to which students have developed their understanding throughout the course.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

WORKLOAD	TOTAL HOURS
2 X 1 hour lecture per week	24 hours per semester
1 x 2-hour tutorial per fortnight	12 hours per semester
6 hours report research and presentation preparation per week	72 hours per semester
2 hours workshop preparation per week	24 hours per semester
2 hours exam revision per week	24 hours per semester

Learning Activities Summary

WEEK	LIKELY LECTURE TOPICS	POTENTIAL WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
1	1. Introduction to the course 2. The physical geography of agriculture	1. Course introduction: framing the research report
2	3. A history of agriculture 4. The Green Revolution	2. No workshop
3	5. Current Food Supply 6. Risk and global food supply	3. Discussing agricultural history
4	7. Agroecological risks 8. Risk and water	4. No workshop
5	9. Urbanisation 10. Food security in Developing Countries	5. Discussing future risk to food supplies
6	11. Global Agriculture I 12. Global agriculture II	6. Discussing food and agricultural politics
7	13. Climate change and food security 14. Agriculture and climate change adaptation	7. Adapting to risk
8	15. Climate change and Nepali agriculture 16. The Age of Consequences	8. No workshop
9	17. Responding to risk with food policy 18. Diversity & European agriculture	9. Imagining innovative futures
10	19. SA Food and Agriculture 20. GMOs and agrobiodiversity	10. No workshop
11	21. Supporting change: research and knowledge 22. Summary	11. Report presentations
12	23. No lecture (prepare for exam) 24. No lecture (prepare for exam)	12. Take-home Exam

Specific Course Requirements

There are no specific course requirements.

Small Group Discovery Experience

The course is framed around guided research on a particular topic relevant to food security. The two hour workshop format enables students to break into groups each second week to discuss and critically evaluate their progression in that task. The findings are presented in both written and oral formats towards the end of the semester and involves discussion with their peers.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Weighting	Course Learning Outcomes
Workshop Attendance	Formative	5%	1-6
Report Outline	Formative & summative	10%	1, 2, 5, 6
History & Socio-ecological issues paper	Formative & summative	20%	1-6
Politics & opportunities paper	Formative & summative	30%	1-6
Oral presentation	Summative	5%	3-6
Take-home Exam	Summative	30%	1-6

Assessment Related Requirements

Students must attend the workshops.

Assessment Detail

Detail on assessments will be provided in class and on detailed course outline on MyUni.

Submission

The assignments will be submitted electronically through MyUni.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as CEQ surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at least once every 2 years. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data can be found at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/selt/aggregates/

The course is designed as a review of the important emerging issues for food security and agriculture, in South Australia, Australia and the globe. It aims to guide students’ critical interests in particular topics or areas of study. For that reason, there is significant opportunity for students to investigate particular issues relevant to food and agriculture that interest them. In particular, the course aims to develop students’ skills in critical analysis. Content is provided in lectures and skill development is scaffolding in workshops to ensure that students have the abilities to critically evaluate approaches to agricultural and food security policy. The pedagogical approach is therefore constructivist but with considerable guided discovery-based learning.

SELTS results from previous years suggest that some students find this independence to be one of the more challenging aspects of the course. The workshops are designed to guide you through the development of your report. Also, instead of one large report, the report has been broken up into three sections (Assignments 1, 2 & 3), which will be marked separately even though the topics interrelate. It is suggested that students begin to think of a major issue to examine for their report early on in the semester and discuss it with Dr Bardsley. Another key to getting the most out of the subject is to use the workshops to raise particular issues with your lecturer and peers.
Student Support
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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator