Welcome to Human Geography

Human geography is the study of the interplay between people, places and the environment. The subject focuses on how we live, act and make sense of our world and our place in it. Humanity shapes the world, while being shaped by it. The interaction has multiple dimensions - political, economic and social. Human geography further focuses on this interaction between people, places and the environment at different scales - from the local to the global. The main difference between human geography and other social sciences is that both historical and contemporary social phenomena are studied through spatial concepts such as place, space, globalization, mobility and landscape.

Human geography has the world as its field of study and the subject is characterized by both breadth and depth. As a student of Human Geography at Karlstad University, you will gain knowledge about the impact and diverse outcomes of globalization (both social and spatial), urbanization processes, rural and urban development, and newer forms of urbanity and urban design. Furthermore, you will gain knowledge about place identity and spatial practices like place marketing. Not the least, you will learn about the political, social, economic and spatial footprint of mobile society from a sustainability perspective. Within the framework of our urban planning program, you will gain knowledge and skills in urban and regional planning.

At Karlstad University we offer courses in Human Geography at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level. This means that you can obtain both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree. You can also study Human Geography at the postgraduate level, which leads to a Licentiate of Philosophy and/or a Doctor of Philosophy.

The subject of Human Geography has existed at the university since the 1970s. It conducts research and education in human geography, urban planning and tourism and is now part of the Department of Geography, Media and Communication.

Research

Karlstad University has a number of active researchers and doctoral students in human geography, several of whom are part of various centers. Among these are the Center for Geomedia Studies, which conducts research on a range of issues related to place/space, media and mobility and how these affect our time, and CRS, Center for Research on Sustainable Societal Change, where research focusing on various aspects of sustainable societal change and transition related to urban and rural development is conducted. CRS also hosts the Graduate School in Sustainable Societal Change, where several of the PhD students in Human Geography are active. Furthermore, there are links to ROSE (Research on Subject-Specific Education), which is a multidisciplinary research environment with a special interest in subject didactics - learning and teaching in geography), and CSD (Center for the Didactics of the Social Sciences), which is a center for subject didactic research and development in geography, history, religion and social studies.