Cycling in Society
Short Course
From 2013, Cycling in Society is available as a stand-alone short course running over a week in late June.
It can be taken with credit, meaning you complete two assessments during the Summer and if successful, receive 30 Masters-level credits. Or it can be taken without credit, meaning you get a certificate of attendance but do not complete the assessments and do not receive credit. The with-credit option is charged at the standard module fee (see the MSc page for details) and without credit, the fee will be £600. Students will participate in classes every morning and afternoon Monday-Friday and receive course materials. For more information please contact Rachel Aldred.
Content
We will consider the place of cycling in society from a variety of perspectives, including historical and cross-cultural comparisons. Topics studied include cultures of cycling, cycling and health, public bicycle hire schemes, and infrastructure, with field trips where students will critically observe (and experience) London’s cycling cultures and environments.
We will begin by studying the history of cycling up to World War Two and postwar cycling policy and practice, focusing on the UK but with comparisons with other national contexts. Students will be introduced to political and cultural analyses of cycling, including ways of defining and understanding different forms of cycling (e.g. as leisure, transport, and sport; as culture and as subculture). We will discuss cycling in relation to health and the environment, including attempts to measure cycling’s effects on these.
Students will examine and compare different approaches to providing for cycling, including a field trip to study London’s hire bike scheme and experience/observe local examples of cycling infrastructure.
Students will learn about accessing and using data sources relating to cycling, and approaches to evaluating cycling interventions (and evaluating other interventions in relation to their effects on cycling). The final day will begin by comparing different national and city-level approaches to cycling, with a particular focus on European countries, while the final afternoon will focus on the Global South and specific issues faces there in relation to cycling.
Sessions will involve a mix of teaching methods, with the emphasis on independent professional learning, Sessions will include lectures and AV material which will provide an overview of topics and theories, field trip(s), workshops and seminar discussions focusing on specific topics and texts.
Assessments (only for those taking the course with credit)
There will be two written assessments: a more theoretically focused essay, and a more practically focused report on cycling policy.
Resources
Online material for the module will be placed on UEL Plus: a printed module guide will also be made available. Resources available through UEL Library will include print and online journals, web resources, and books.
Core texts for the module:
Horton, D., Rosen, P. and Cox, P. eds. (2007) Cycling and Society. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Parkin, J. and Horton, D. eds. (2012) Cycling and Sustainability. Aldershot: Ashgate.
