Negotiating critical geographies through a “feel-trip”: experiential, affective and critical learning in engaged fieldwork

Abstract

The paper proposes the notion of a “critical feel-trip” as a pedagogical narrative to entertain the relationships of experiential, affective and critical learning in field-based studies. It is argued that explicit mobilization of the triadic relations of these three modes of learning is a powerful way to strengthen students' appreciation of human geography's concepts and to interrogate their positionality. The paper particularly draws on a fieldcourse taught to UK undergraduates, which explores Moscow as a “field laboratory” for critical geographies. The analysis considers both effectiveness and limitations of such modes of pedagogy.

Keywords::

• student fieldwork
• critical pedagogy
• cross-cultural education
• urban studies
• post-socialism
• Russia

Acknowledgements

The material for this paper was drawn from the experience of a fieldcourse that was jointly taught with John Round of the University of Birmingham; his contribution, advice and support were vital for teaching the module, as well as for developing ideas for this paper. I am also grateful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on the previous drafts. Helpful comments were also provided by Elizabeth Staddon. Usual disclaimers apply.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.