Geography Annotated Bibliography

Writing about what you read is the most effective method of learning and retaining. In this series of assignments, you will summarize each of the course readings, identify connections across the readings, and provide your own analysis and reaction to the readings. These responses are opportunities for you to reflect thoughtfully on course readings and allow me to evaluate your grasp of the material.

Part 1: Write a one paragraph summary of each of the week’s readings in which you respond to the following questions:

• What is the author’s main point, argument, or thesis? Is the author arguing against a particular approach or position? If so, what is it?

• What methods does the author use to support the argument? Are these methods tied to any particular disciplinary approach (i.e. history, anthropology, economics, geography, cultural studies, gender studies, etc.)?

• What kind of evidence does the author use to make or support the argument? What significant primary and secondary sources does the author cite? If empirical evidence is provided in the text, what is it?

Include a full citation in Chicago Author-Date style for each of the articles before responding to the above questions. Please alphabetize your entries based on the author’s last name.

Part 2: Write 250 words in which you make connections across the week’s readings. You should consider all of the readings for the week but can pay greater attention to one or two particular texts. Use the following questions to guide your writing:

• What are some points of difference across the readings? Are the authors making different arguments? Are the authors making similar arguments but using different methods or drawing on different kinds of evidence to make their claims? Do the authors come at the issue from different perspectives or viewpoints?
• What are some points of convergence across the readings? Where do the authors’ arguments overlap? Are the authors making different arguments but using similar methods or drawing on similar kinds of evidence to make their claims?
• How might the authors respond to each other’s pieces?

Part 3: Write 250 words in which you bring in your own analysis or reaction to the readings. You should consider all of the readings for the week but can pay greater attention to one or two particular texts. Use the following questions to guide your writing:

• Do you find any of the authors’ arguments persuasive? If so, why?
• What, if any, blind spots, significant oversights, or omissions are made by the authors?
• In what ways do the readings help you, or not, think differently or more deeply about the particular issue or about social justice more broadly?

A sample annotated bibliography is available here: Annotated Bibliography Sample

Readings:

Part 1: Theories of social justice

1. Young, Iris Marion. 2011 (1990). Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
   1. “Introduction,” pgs 3-14 (12 pages total)
   2. “Displacing the Distributive Paradigm,” pgs 15-38 (24 pages total)
   3. “Five Faces of Oppression,” pgs 39-65 (27 pages total) *there are a few blank pages for some reason between pages 50 and 51

Part 2: Spatial justice and cities

1. DeFilippis, James and Juan Rivero. 2014. “Just Cities.” In Cities and Social Change: Encounters with Contemporary Urbanism, edited by Ronan Paddison and Eugene McCann, 186-198. Sage Publications (10 pages total)
2. Harvey, David. 2003. “The Right to the City.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 27(4): 939–941. (3 pages total)