CODE | IES5017 | ||||||||||||
TITLE | Sustainability, Society and Change | ||||||||||||
UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||
DEPARTMENT | Institute of Earth Systems | ||||||||||||
DESCRIPTION | This study-unit introduces students to the concept of sustainability, explaining how this notion has evolved over time and why it has taken on global importance in the wake of environmental and human development crises. The study-unit will introduce students to defining principles of environmental management and sustainability and to selected sustainability metrics, with the use of various illustrative case studies focused on topical issues. Sustainability will be discussed from multiple facets, including its environmental, social and economic dimensions. The influence and relevance of personal ethical beliefs and behaviours and of community and societal dynamics will also be explored. The study-unit will then relate discourses on sustainability to the related notion of complex coupled social-ecological systems (SES), explaining the interdependence of people and nature at a variety of nested scales, with a particular focus on the dynamics of environmental change. Through examples, students will analyze interactions between humans and their landscapes over time using SES frameworks, and will also be introduced to related concepts. Study-Unit Aims: - To introduce fundamental principles of sustainability and environmental management; - To provide an overview of the history and evolution of key sustainability concepts; - To make students aware of links between environmental ethics and sustainability discourses; - To provide students with an understanding of social-ecological systems and related analytical frameworks; - To foster an appreciation of the interdisciplinary and cross-cutting nature of sustainability discourses. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe how humanity has changed the functioning of Earth Systems with reference to planetary boundaries; - Critically evaluate the concept of sustainability and its importance in relation to global environmental and human development crises; - Define socio-ecological systems and their core characteristics; - Trace the emergence of key sustainability ideas in academia and politics over time; - Appreciate the relevance of personal ethical choices to sustainability. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify factors that may promote or limit the likely success of policies aiming to foster sustainability; - Analyze the significance of his/her own personal actions in relation to sustainability; - Critically evaluate selected sustainability metrics; - Identify and apply strategies to encourage collaborative behaviours; - Collaborate on group-based deliverables. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: Blewitt, J. (2008). Understanding Sustainable Development. UK: Earthscan Publications Ltd. Newton, L. H., & Dillingham, C. K. (1997). Watersheds (series of 4 books): Ten Cases in Environmental Ethics. CA, US: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Walker, B. H., & Salt, D. (2006). Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World. Washington, D.C., USA: Island Press. (+ additional journal papers to be made available to students) Supplementary Readings: McNeill, J. R. (2000). Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World. NY, US: W.W. Norton & Company. Des Jardins, J. R. (2001). Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy. US: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Edwards, A. R. (2005). The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. US: New Society Publishers. |
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ADDITIONAL NOTES | ** Resits will be held during the period indicated by the partner institution responsible for the study-unit in accordance with the regulations applicable at the respective institution. | ||||||||||||
STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Fieldwork and Seminar | ||||||||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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LECTURER/S | Elisabeth Conrad |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |