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Preparatory Reading for Geography Students

Dear New Undergraduate,

We are very pleased that you have chosen to come to Royal Holloway to study Geography.  You will find it useful to do some preparatory background reading before you arrive. In our first year, all single honours students take four lecture-based courses, in addition to a skills-based course in Geographical Techniques, and a course in Geographical Research and Field Training, which culminates in the residential field trip to Spain. The organisers of the four lecture courses have made the following recommendations for preparatory reading:

GG1001 Physical Geography I: Atmosphere, oceans & geosphere (Autumn term) & GG1002 Physical Geography II: Biogeography, ecology & scales of environmental change (Spring term)

Holden J. (2008) (ed) An Introduction to Physical Geography and the Environment. Pearson ISBN 0-13-175304-4 (Second edition)

GG1003 Introduction to Human Geography (Autumn term)

»Cloke, P., Crang, P., and Goodwin, M. (eds). 2005. Introducing Human Geographies (2nd edition). Arnold , London , ISBN: 034088276X.
»Daniels, P., Bradshaw, M., Shaw, D. and Sidaway, J. 2008 . An Introduction to Human Geography: Issues for the 21st Century (3rd edition). Pearson, ISBN 0132056844.

GG1004 Geographies of Development (Spring term)

»Potter, R., Binns, T., Elliott, J.A. and Smith, D. 2008. Geographies of Development (3rd Edition). London , Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN 0132228237.
»Willis, K. 2005. Theories and Practices of Development . London , Routledge, ISBN: 0415300533.

We don't necessarily expect you to buy all of these books, but they are used extensively in the first year, and will inform your studies later in the degree programme. If you are able to obtain these books before the start of the course, you needn't try to read them from cover to cover, but focus particularly on their introductions, and perhaps the ways in which they cover particular topics with which you may be familiar with from your studies to date.

We look forward to meeting you in September.

Yours faithfully,
Prof. David Simon (Head of Department)