Last modified: 15 Oct 2025 15:16
Through lectures, student-led seminars and presentations by external experts, this course enables students to engage at an advanced level with social, demographic, economic and policy issues associated with the contemporary countryside at local, regional, national and international scales. Course topics include: conceptualising rurality and the commodification of the countryside; rural socio-economic restructuring; accessibility and services provision; rural policy and governance; and selected contemporary rural issues.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Indicative course content: conceptualising 'rural'; the diverse rural economy; the changing demographics of rural communities (including lived reality of rural life for different demographic sub-groups and/ or alternative rural lifestyles); rural challenges and opportunities (including e.g. accessibility and mobility, service provision and service restructuring, housing, social exclusion, digital rural society, entrepreneurialism; the commodification of the countryside); rural policy and governance (including e.g. community development, rural policy models and priorities, the differentiated countryside, rural resilience).
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
2,500-word essay worth 50% of the overall grade. |
Word Count | 2500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Analyse how those processes have differentiated outcomes for those who live in contemporary rural communities. |
| Factual | Understand | Demonstrate a critical understanding of the diverse social economic and regulatory processes that (re)produce rural places. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Articulate coherent, sustained arguments about the nature of contemporary rural challenges and opportunties that reflect critical engagement with academic, policy and grey literature. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
2,750-word preparation of a briefing report on a contemporary Scottish rural issue, worth 50% of the overall grade. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Analyse how those processes have differentiated outcomes for those who live in contemporary rural communities. |
| Factual | Understand | Demonstrate a critical understanding of the diverse social economic and regulatory processes that (re)produce rural places. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Articulate coherent, sustained arguments about the nature of contemporary rural challenges and opportunties that reflect critical engagement with academic, policy and grey literature. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | Demonstrate a critical understanding of the diverse social economic and regulatory processes that (re)produce rural places. |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Analyse how those processes have differentiated outcomes for those who live in contemporary rural communities. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Articulate coherent, sustained arguments about the nature of contemporary rural challenges and opportunties that reflect critical engagement with academic, policy and grey literature. |
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