Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
What would you draw if asked to make a map of your location right now? What would you include and what would you leave out? We see maps around us everywhere, from route planning in Google maps to the fire exit diagrams in public places. But has it always been like this? How did people understand and represent space before photography, satellites or global travel? The medieval period (c. 500-1500) is often stereotyped as a time when people had strange ideas about the shape of the world: it was flat, the sun rotated around it, people mixed up real information with myths and religious ideology. These are all misunderstandings about complex and sophisticated medieval ideas about space. They are also stereotypes perpetuated by myths of modern progress and mastery of the world - myths that supported colonial domination and exploitative strategies of globalisation, for which new cartographic techniques were employed. Using examples drawn from across medieval Afro-Eurasia this module examines different ways of mapping and describing space. It will examine how people adapted ancient cartographic techniques and invented new ones, how mapmakers gathered knowledge and sought to represent physical space, and how people used travel guides and diagrams to move through the world. It will also unpack the representation of the world as part of larger systems of thought, such as Buddhist, Christian, or Muslim. Above all, it will explore the drawing of space as a political and discursive act. To represent space is to make claims on it and to assert truths about it. To understand how other people have drawn the world is to see better the ways in which political power and resistance is mapped out in our everyday lives. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The objective of this module is to introduce you to different systems of medieval map-making from across Afro-Eurasia and to engage you with current historiographical debates about spatial representation as a strategy of power. The module will enable you to read medieval maps and geographical texts as expressions of space, time, and identity. It will also give you confidence analysing visual and textual sources from medieval Afro-Eurasia.
Seminars will provide the opportunity to apply medieval ideas of space to contemporary experiences, with discussion and formative feedback (from peers and the module leader). You will be supported by two supervisions that will offer detailed feedback on work so far, with respect to the assessments.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Identify and describe visual representations of space from several different Afro-Eurasian knowledge traditions.
2. Demonstrate conceptual knowledge of mapping in medieval Afro-Eurasia through application and analysis of different historical approaches.
3. Evaluate maps and geographical texts as sources for exploring the worldviews, ideologies, and knowledge strategies of the societies that created them.
Skills learning outcomes (SLOs)
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
4. Gather conceptual information and perspectives about space in both the past and present.
5. Recognise and analyse how mapping approaches are embedded in complex systems of knowledge traditions and analyse the interdependencies of those systems.
6. Effectively communicate ideas about the drawing of space as a political and discursive act.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 179.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will receive formative feedback on their weekly exercises in order to enable you to choose the best three for expansion and final submission. You will be invited to an individual consultation with the module to discuss your approach to the assessed essay.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Portfolio | 40 |
| Coursework | Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The resit will take the same form as the original assessment. For this assessment you will be permitted to resubmit an improved version of your original submission, taking into account the tutor’s written feedback to help improve the reworked version. You can highlight the changes that have been made from the original version on the re-submitted work. Alternatively, you may prefer to choose to do an alternative question/title and should discuss this with your module tutor. Please note that if you are required to resit this assessment as the outcome of an academic integrity hearing you will need to submit an entirely new piece of work on a different question.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team