| CODE | SOC5024 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Environment and Society | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Sociology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | A social-scientific introduction to the relationship between environment and society, with particular relevance to social impact assessment. This will comprise conceptualizations of nature-social interactions; analysis of environmental issues and environmentalism from a social-scientific perspective; the social construction of the environment; and the agency of non-human actors. A specific focus will be made on the urban setting in small island states and the associated impacts of development, such as mobility and transport. Study-Unit Aims: - To develop a critical understanding of the following sociological concepts in relation to natural-social interactions: Social Constructionism, Critical Realism, New Materialism, Risk Society, Capitalism; - To appraise the relevance of urban issues, transport and environmental movements in relation to SIAs. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Define the environment from a sociological perspective; - Analyse the importance of sociological constructs in environmental analysis; - Trace the development of environmental ideologies and discourses and their influence on policy-making; - Analyse the interaction between nature and society; - Appreciate the importance of multidisciplinary studies of the environment; - The student will also be able to analyse the importance of sociological constructs such as identity, structure and agency and different dimensions of power and networks (macro, micro); - The student will be able to trace the development, application and interpretation of ideologies and discourses. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Sociologically reflect and critically engage with environmental issues in relation to SIA; - Recognize the plurality of theories and concepts to analyse environmental-social interactions; - Apply the course material to analyse specific environmental issues in relation to SIA; - Write a scholarly paper. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Stuart, Diana (2021) What is Environmental Sociology? (Wiley). Supplementary Readings: - Attard, M. (2020) Mobility justice in urban transport. Transportation Research Procedia 45, 352-359. - Camilleri, R., Attard, M., Hickman, R. (2022) Understanding barriers to modal shift in Malta: A practice-theoretical perspective of everyday mobility. Journal of Transport Geog. Other readings will be assigned during the study-unit. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: Same for Masters in Social Impact Assessment | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
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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. |
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