Encouraging reflexivity in urban geography fieldwork: study abroad experiences in Singapore and Malaysia

Fieldwork in urban geography courses can encourage reflexivity among students regarding the cities they encounter. This article outlines how student reflexivity was encouraged within a new international field research course in Singapore and Malaysia. Drawing on examples from students' field exercises written during an intensive and occasionally emotional field experience and from interviews held after the students' return, I argue that student research journals and reflective field exercises are especially useful in international field courses. Combining modes of writing provides a venue for negotiating and contextualizing unexpected and uncomfortable encounters in the field, and encourages self-reflection for both students and instructors.