launched a new taught master's programme, the MA in Environment, Society and Development. The vision for the programme was to engage students in the analysis and critique of the array of interventionary practices of development and securitization in our contemporary world. A range of modules were set up focusing on a number of interrelated concerns, including: 'geopolitics and security', 'environment and risk' and 'managing development'. These core themes are approached from a number of critical perspectives, including political ecology, critical geopolitics and political economy. A key additional aim from the outset was to go beyond solely academic critique to consider participatory forms of development knowledge and practice that can emerge from 'field-based learning'. To this end, a module entitled 'field-based learning' was initiated, involving a 12-week seminar course in Galway, followed by a week-long fieldwork programme in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where each year approximately 15 students intersect with the development work of local community leaders, the UN, EU and a variety of NGOs, CSOs and public advocacy groups. In this paper, we outline some of the key challenges of initiating and practicing such a grounded and often unsystematic approach to learning in the field. We reflect, in particular, on the complexities involved in seeking to facilitate and practice critical participatory knowledges that comprise both academic and civic engagement values.
Abstract:This paper explores the role of participative critical enquiry in graduate fieldbased learning (FBL) in Geography. While fieldwork is central to human geography, in the literature there has been limited focus on fieldwork at graduate level, and critical enquiry in graduate field-based learning in particular.This paper then addresses an interesting niche, outlining a critical pedagogic approach to FBL at graduate level. In drawing on staff and student experience, stemming from the delivery of a dedicated FBL module and as part of an MA programme in Environment, Society and Development (MA ESD), the paper addresses the complexities associated with student-led, participative enquiry during fieldwork in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). In exploring student field experiences this paper examines emerging student discourses through a group assessment (the development research proposal) and a series of individual reflective journals. Both assessments are contextualized and discussed in relation to the FBL module learning outcomes. Finally, aspects of fieldwork and related activities influencing the feasibility and effectiveness of participative critical enquiry as a field-based pedagogic endeavour are considered.
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