FSS:ENS114 Environmental Humanities - Course Information

ENS114 Introduction to Environmental Humanities

Extent and Intensity

1/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

prof. RNDr. Hana Librová, CSc. (lecturer)
Ing. Zbyněk Ulčák, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Kateřina Rezková (assistant)

Guaranteed by

Ing. Zbyněk Ulčák, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ivona Tolarová

Timetable

Wed 14:00–15:40 P51 Posluchárna V. Čermáka

Prerequisites (in Czech)

Povinný kurz určený pro první ročník, bez limitu zapsaných.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 25 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

This course is an introduction to environmental studies. It explains how specific courses of the program correspond with complex environmental issues. It clarifies the relationship of the field to ecology, ecologism, and nature conservancy. The course explores the extent to which the human relationship with nature is determined biologically and through socio-cultural influence. It further examines the anthropological/evolutionary, demographic, economic, technological, moral and legal dimensions, which we investigate for possible causes of and solutions for environmental issues.
Students become acquainted with the structure of the environmental studies, which allows them to choose an appropriate curriculum for their study, especially in terms of the optional courses.

Syllabus

• I. Introduction
• 1. Why ‘environmental humanities’?
• 2. Relevance of ecology for understanding the human relationship with nature. Biomorphism and sociomorphism, its interpretive help and limitations.
• II.Influence of nature on humans and society
• 3. Evolutionary theory, etology, sociobiology
• III.Human impacts on nature – roots of the ecological crisis and potential solutions
• 4. Evolutionary psychology. Biologically and anthropologically-based evolutionary psychological determinants of the human relationship to nature.
• 5. Demographic context
• 6. Relationship between economics and ecological issues
• 7. Environmentally oriented legal interventions
• 8. Environmental issues and politics
• 9. Potential and limitations of technological solutions
• 10. ‘Moral’ solutions to ecological problems

Literature

• KELLER, Jan. Až na dno blahobytu. 2. vyd. Brno: Hnutí Duha, 1995, 143 s. info
• LIBROVÁ, Hana. Pestří a zelení. Kapitoly o dobrovolné skromnosti. (The Colourful and the Greens. Topics in Voluntary Modesty.). In Pestří a zelení. Kapitoly o dobrovolné skromnosti. Brno: Veronika, Hnutí Duha, 1994. ISBN 80-85365-18-8. info

Teaching methods

lectures on scheduled themes
students´ individual work - reading of obligatory and optional literature
discussions during the lectures

Assessment methods

Lectures and required and recommended literature.
The exam contains questions on lectured material as well as the required and recommended literature.
Students are expected to read the assigned literature. Each student's final evaluation (A-F) for the semester is based on a written exam.

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Kurz se otevírá při 5 a více přihlášených studentech.

Listed among pre-requisites of other courses

• ENSb1114 Introduction to Environmental Humanities
  !ENS114&&!NOW(ENS114)&&typ_studia(B)  

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2009, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2009/ENS114