Course for international guest/part time students

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Organization

TTK Department of Social and Economic Geography

Code

llln9267i

Title

Approaches to spatial disparities

Usual semester

Autumn

Published semester

2026/27/1

ECTS

5

Language

en

Learning outcomes

The course is aimed at providing a multidisciplinary and historically situated overview of the main approaches to, theoretical concepts of, and methodologies on spatial inequality, including a critical evaluation of the potentials and constraints of their application in research practice as well as regional and urban planning. It is presented how and why spatial inequality became a matter of interest for the academia in the epoch of 19th century European Enlightenment, how it was reinterpreted in the classical Marxist discourse before coming to its heyday in the post-WWII Cold War context in service of both rival superpowers, and how it gradually faded out under the aegis of neoliberalism just to be reinvented by leftist researchers after the oil crises and, more recently, in light of the 2008 global economic crisis. A main goal is to embed all influential concepts in their historical, geographical, social, political, economic etc. contexts. This is used as basis to reveal the major reasons for the perpetual emergence of new concepts as well as their short- and long-term impact on scientific, political and public discourses. Great attention is paid to underlying, and often conflicting and contested, normative notions of social ideals and “the common good”, resulting in the problematisation (or de-problematisation) of spatial inequality and its various aspects perceived as the most important.

Course content

The course embraces the following topics: Spatial inequality: introduction The political discourse of spatial disparities The moral statistics approach: illiteracy, immorality and poverty as engines of inequality From classical Marxism to Marxism-Leninism and Stalinism: capitalism and its “uneven development” Early Cold War concepts in the United States: spatial inequality and its relevance for capitalist economies and liberal democracies Neoclassical economics and the hope of automatically diminishing geographical disparities In light of ongoing polarisation: polarisation theories I Polarisation theories II: it gets worse before it gets better Spatial disparities reappraised: the post-Fordist turn Neoliberal approaches and the world of “winners” and “losers”: spatial polarisation in service of competition and growth Dependency theories: spatial inequality as an outcome of global power asymmetries Neomarxism and “uneven geographical development”: contemporary views on the political economy of spatial disparities Conclusion: what is the moral for a post-crisis Pikettyan world?  Each lecture will last for 90 minutes.

Assessment method

Requirement is to write an essay in 2,500 to 3,000 words. Topics should be fixed per email (gyurisf@gmail.com). Evaluation is based on quality of the essay.

Bibliography

Gyuris F. (2014). The Political Discourse of Spatial Disparities: Geographical Inequalities in Science and Propaganda. Cham–Heidelberg–New York: Springer. 381 pages.

Programmes of the course