How are inequalities embedded in our everyday lives—and what can we do to change them?
From the streets we walk to the screens we scroll, inequality is everywhere—often invisible, yet deeply felt. This course invites you on a critical journey to uncover how inequalities are produced, lived, sustained—and most importantly, challenged. Rooted in the dynamic field of social geography, this course explores how space, identity, and power interact to shape our everyday experiences. You’ll examine how social differences—such as gender, race and ethnicity, age, (dis)ability, and sexuality—are not just individual traits, but part of broader systems that determine who is seen, who is heard, and who belongs. But these categories don’t exist in isolation. You'll explore how they intersect and overlap, creating complex layers of inclusion and exclusion that play out across homes, cities, institutions, and online worlds. By the end of the course, you'll not only understand how inequalities take root—but also how they can be reimagined, resisted, and rewritten through informed action and critical insight.
Why should you take this course? To address inequality, we must understand it—not just in abstract terms, but in the spaces we move through, the bodies we inhabit, and the systems we engage with. Whether you're interested in social justice, urban, environment and health planning, education, or community development, this course offers critical skills and perspectives to help you think spatially and act ethically in any workplace.
About this paper
| Paper title | Social Geography |
|---|---|
| Subject | Geography |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 2 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,318.20 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- GEOG 102 or 108 points
- Restriction
- GEOG 381
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Science
- Eligibility
The content of the paper assumes that you have taken at least one paper in Human Geography or related subject.
- Contact
- Teaching staff
The course is taught by Assoc Prof Christina Ergler and Professor Tracey Skelton.
- Paper Structure
The course is structured into three interconnected parts that build a critical and applied understanding of inequality:
Part I: Introducing Social Geography
We begin by situating social geography within the broader discipline of Geography and the social sciences. This section introduces key concepts (e.g. justice, in/exclusion) and theoretical approaches developed over the past 50 years, setting the stage for analysing how spatial relations are deeply intertwined with social power and difference.
Part II: Intersecting Axes of Inequality
In this section, we delve into core dimensions of social difference—gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age, and (dis)ability—as intersecting systems of inequality. Through case studies from various scales (e.g., the body, public space, the nation-state), we explore how these differences shape people's lived experiences and spatial practices. This part of the course also encourages you to think critically about how we can create positive change—both through policy and everyday action.
Part III: Synthesising Inequality and Space
The final section brings together the concepts, theories, and case studies from the course. It asks you to reflect on how inequalities operate across multiple scales and settings, and to apply this understanding to your own analytical or practical work. Your own insights will become a lens through which we can explore how people experience, contest, and reshape social difference in place-specific ways.
Assessment is 60% internal (on-going throughout the semester) and 40% external (final examination).
- Teaching Arrangements
Each week, you'll take part in a 1-hour interactive lecture and a 2-hour session that blends lectures, workshops, and tutorial-style activities—designed to keep things fresh, engaging, and thought-provoking. You'll explore key ideas together, apply them in small-group discussions, and work through real-world case studies. This format is all about active learning, collaboration, and building confidence in your ideas while staying grounded in real social issues.
- Textbooks
Throughout the course, we'll draw on a range of key Social Geography textbooks (e.g. (Panelli 2004, Browne et al. 2024, The Newcastle Social Geographies Collective 2020) and cutting-edge journal articles to support your learning. These readings will deepen your understanding of the theories, case studies, and debates we explore in class. To make things easy, we aim to provide full access to all required readings via the university library website, so you can focus on engaging with the material—not hunting it down.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
This paper is organised to achieve two objectives, namely:
- To identify key theory and debates in social geography
- To critically review geographies of difference, identity formation and unequal power relations
Students who successfully complete the paper will:
- Gain an appreciation of the nature of geography as a social science
- Become familiar with the theoretical traditions of social geographic thought
- Gain an understanding of the major debates and concepts in contemporary social geography
- Demonstrate how social geography intersects with everyday life and in particular how social processes as well as individual experiences shape people's wellbeing within and across different scales, spaces and places.