HEN618a Power, politics and environmental change (Zahraniční expert)

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2016
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Christos Zografos (lecturer)
RNDr. Naděžda Vlašín Johanisová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Bohuslav Binka, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Veronika Išová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 7. 11. 13:30–15:00 Aula, Tue 8. 11. 18:45–20:15 P22, Wed 9. 11. 15:15–16:45 U33, Thu 10. 11. 17:00–18:30 exP21, Fri 11. 11. 15:15–16:45 U32, Mon 14. 11. 9:45–13:00 exP24
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 9 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 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 power and politics are useful for understanding and studying environmental change
2. Use different approaches as to how power operates to explain the role politics play in producing environmental change
Syllabus
  • Most classes, i.e. classes 2, 3, 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 (at the latest), and bring their answer in class where some of them will be 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 6 involves watching a movie in the classroom and then discussing it; students are not required to read a reading and answer an assignment question for any of those two classes.
  • Programme
  • Class Day Time Room
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Green materialism
  • 3 The power of structures
  • 4 The power from within
  • 5 The power of discourse and incomplete dominations
  • 6 Transforming nature (movie screening class)
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
  • Robbins, P. 2012. Political Ecology. John Wiley & Sons
  • Brownlow, A. 2006. An archaeology of fear and environmental change in Philadelphia. Geoforum 37, pp. 227-245
  • Robbins, P. 2007. Do Lawn People Choose Lawns? In: Robbins, P. Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, pp. 96-116
  • St. Martin, K. 2006. The impact of “community” on fisheries management in the US Northeast. Geoforum 37, pp. 227-245
Teaching methods
lectures, projections, class discussion, student assignments
Assessment methods
Students will be evaluated by their performance on two evaluation tools:
Final essay 80% of final mark
Class participation (including answers to class questions) 20% of final mark
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2018, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2016, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2016/HEN618a