ESSn4003 Energy and Society: An Introduction

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2020
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Hedvika Koďousková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Jan Osička, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Timetable
Wed 12:00–13:40 U23
Prerequisites
! ESS403 Exploring Energy Security && !NOW( ESS403 Exploring Energy Security ) && ! MEBn5010 Energy and Society && !NOW( MEBn5010 Energy and Society )
Ability to read, write, and discuss in academic English. Willingness to work independently during the course.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course serves primarily as an introduction to Energy Policy Studies programme. Its aim is to familiarize students with basic facts and concepts that they will address during their studies (especially in regional-oriented courses) so to increase their sensitivity and give them some pre-understanding to the phenomena discussed. The course is inspired by the approach of Bridge et al. (2018), which see energy security as only one of the existent energy-society framings. In the course, the traditional point of view on energy systems as ensuring security and reliability of supplies is broadened by reflections around accessibility and affordability of energy services and environmental sustainability. From a normative perspective, it thus discusses desired energy systems as not only safe, but also accessible and sustainable, and considers how and by whom they should be owned and managed. The course reasoning is further based on the assumption of mutual influence of social and material factors. On one hand, available energy resources are transformed to energy services and used to meet various human needs. On the other hand, energy systems have a retroactive effect on organization of society. They help to (re)produce economic and political power; they are part of economic strategies and foreign policies; they form new territories and identities; they connect and divide; they can lead to cooperation of various actors as well as to innumerable conflicts and negative phenomena, the most acute of which is climate change. Despite embeddedness of energy systems in the ongoing functioning of society, students learn not to understand them as something given and constant. Energy systems can also change and have been transformed many times in the history with direct repercussions on our everyday living. The main mission of the course is to develop students´ independent thinking and to encourage them to critically assess the context of energy systems´ development, their implications, and transformations.
Learning outcomes
After finishing the course the students shall be able to understand path-dependencies and trends within the existing energy systems, define the boundaries of the contemporary energy studies and think of various concepts in analytical terms.
Syllabus
  • The course will cover the following topics: Energy systems development: Resource Landscapes; Infrastructural Landscapes; Economic Landscapes. Energy systems implications: Energy Security; Energy Poverty; Energy Consumption; Energy and Environment; Energy Controversies and Conflicts. Energy systems transitions: Past Transitions; Future Transitions.
Literature
  • BRIDGE, Gavin, Stewart BARR, Stefan BOUZAROVSKI, Michael J. BRADSHAW, Ed BROWN, Harriet BULKELEY and Gordon P. WALKER. Energy and society : a critical perspective. First published. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018, xiv, 291. ISBN 9780415740746. info
  • The Oxford handbook of energy and society. Edited by Matthias Gross - Debra J. Davidson. New York: Oxford university press, 2018, xii, 583. ISBN 9780190633851. info
  • BRADSHAW, Michael J. Global energy dilemmas : energy security, globalization, and climate change. First published. Cambridge: Polity, 2014, xiii, 227. ISBN 9780745650654. info
  • BOUZAROVSKI, Stefan. Energy poverty : (dis)assembling Europe's infrastructural divide. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, xiv, 117. ISBN 9783319887494. URL info
  • Energy poverty and vulnerability : a global perspective. Edited by Neil Simcock - Harriet Thomson - Saska Petrova - Stefan Bouzarovski. First published. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018, xvii, 263. ISBN 9780367249441. info
Teaching methods
1) Students are expected to attend each lecture, with exceptions stated by the Masaryk University Study and Examination Regulations. 2) Students are expected to read required readings for each lecture. Readings serve to broaden and deepen the spectrum of knowledge students acquire during lectures. Compulsory readings for the course are to be found in Study Materials → Learning Materials folder of the Information System or easily accessible via “e-resources” portal of the FSS Central library (http://www.knihovna.fss.muni.cz/eng/index.php). 3) Presented PowerPoint presentations from given lectures will be provided in the Study Materials folder of the Information System. 4) Students are required to prepare and submit ten class preparation papers, and subsequently present and discuss their findings with colleagues during seminar parts of the lectures. 5) Students have to pass final oral exam based on given lectures and required readings.
Assessment methods
Class preparation papers and discussions; oral exam.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2020, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2020/ESSn4003