International politics is best conceived of as the study of how human societies interact with one another and how they deal with various forms of global change (economic, cultural and political); 1 of the main aims of this course is to give students training in how the international or global system is shaped by, and in turn, shapes the great historical turning-points; to do this well, students need to understand key concepts in international politics, employ different approaches to the field and draw on ideas from several disciplines other than international relations; human geography examines the everyday spaces which humans use, from the children's playground to the motorway hard shoulder; but it also addresses the major issues facing humanity today: globalisation; sustainable development; inequality and poverty; geopolitics; nationalism; regionalism; migration; multiculturalism; social and economic change; students study the historical processes behind contemporary trends, draw together perspectives from different countries and cultures, and use different sources ranging from maps and statistics to film, art and literature.