HEN618a Environmental change and governance (Zahraniční expert)

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Christos Zografos (assistant)
PhDr. Jan Krajhanzl, Ph.D. (assistant)
RNDr. Naděžda Vlašín Johanisová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 2. 12. 18:00–19:30 U33, Tue 3. 12. 18:00–19:30 U53, Wed 4. 12. 8:00–9:40 exP52, Thu 5. 12. 18:00–19:30 U42, Fri 6. 12. 16:00–17:40 U32, Mon 9. 12. 8:00–9:40 U34
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course will be taught, in English, by Christos Zografos, PhD, Institute of Environmental Science & Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain.

The main topic of the course will be Environmental Change and Governance. The timing of the course in 2013: One session daily (except of weekend) between 2nd (Mon) and 9th (Mon) December.

The course explores some key ways in which power influences environmental change and governance, from an environmental social science perspective. The classes draw on the disciplines of political ecology, ecological economics, and environmental history that explain how environmental change is produced and what are its social implications. The purpose is to develop a critical understanding of environmental change and the relevance of power and politics in incurring this.

Learning outcomes:
After the end of the module, students should be in a position to:
1.Explain how the concepts of politics and power are useful for studying environmental change;
2. Use several models of how power operates to explain the role politics play in producing environmental change;
Syllabus
  • Course structure:
  • Most classes, i.e. classes 2, 4, and 5, are based on one reading (i.e. journal article or book chapter) done by students before the class. Students will answer a question (max. 500 words) based on the reading, email their answers to the course tutor until 2 hours before the class, and bring their answer in class where some of them will be 2 asked to present their answers. This will be followed by a 15-20 minutes class discussion on the question, the topics it touches upon and the issues it raises, which will be based on student answers to the question. The class is complemented by either a classroom activity or a more ‘traditional’ lecture format in which the tutor explains further points related to the topic and concludes with a summary of main points raised with the class.
  • Class 1 is an introductory class, and Class 3 involves watching a documentary in the classroom and then discussing it; students are not required to read a reading and answer an assignment question for those two classes. Class 6 involves a class exercise (for details see section ‘Student Evaluation’ below).
  • The following is a programme of class sessions:
  • 1. Introduction: Political and a-political approaches for the study of environmental change and introduction to environmental governance
  • 2. The power of structures
  • 3. The power of nature
  • 4. The power "from within"
  • 5. The power of rationality
  • 6. Class exercise
Literature
  • Schroeder, R.A., St. Martin, K., Albert, K.E. 2006. Political ecology in North America: discovering the Thrid World within? Geoforum 37, pp. 163-168
  • Barry, J. and Proops, J. 1999. Seeking sustainability discourses with Q methodology. Ecological Economics 28, pp. 337-345
  • Robbins, P. 2004. Political Ecology. Malden: Blackwell Publishing
  • Zografos, C., Howarth, R.B. 2010. Deliberative ecological economics for sustainability governance. Sustainability 2, pp. 3399-3417
  • YIN, Robert K. Case study research : design and methods. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2003, xvi,181 s. ISBN 0761925538. info
Teaching methods
lectures, projections, class discussion, student assignments, simulation game
Assessment methods
The student evaluation tool will be one essay (3000 words) that students will hand in after the end of the course; results will be communicated to students by e-mail. On the last day of the course, each student will present their essay-project plans in a ten minute power point presentation to the class, which will be followed by five-minutes Q+A feedback. The idea of this presentation is for students to receive comments from the tutor concerning their planned essay.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Nelze zapsat poté, co již student absolvoval předmět HEN611
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012, Spring 2015, Autumn 2016, Spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2013, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2013/HEN618a