Syllabus Studying Local Rural Systems (HEN 633)
Teachers:
Mgr. Eva Fraňková, Ph.D., Dr. Simron Jit Singh, Dipl. Ing. Willi Haas
Description:
During the first week of the spring semester there will be an information meeting for all the students
registered for the course. If there are more than 3 students registered in the course, we will decide together
who is going to take part (hence, if you are interested in the course, please do register it even if the limit of 3
is already filled up - usually some people drop off once the full course information is provided and the dates
are settled). • The course itself begins with a one day pre-seminar in March (March 23rd
) at the Institute of
Social Ecology in Vienna with an overview of the theoretical and operational framework of social ecology
and societal metabolism (it will be possible to participate via Skype call from Brno) • The actual seminar
takes place as a 5-day block in May (May 14th
– 18th
) in a culturally challenging environment of Třeboňsko
(Františkov village, near Třeboň, Czech Republic) where further inputs are given and actual field work is
undertaken. Here we learn and experience how to establish contact, build rapport and interact in a culturally
sensitive way. We also learn to design innovative field methods of generating data that provides relevant
information on the functioning of local rural systems such as material and energy flows, time use, land-use,
and to estimate quantities of society’s stocks such as population, livestock, land, and artefacts. The seminar
concludes with reflection on our experiences and results, and makes an attempt to interpret them within the
framework of sustainability and development interventions. • Main topics: • Material and energy flow
analysis • Land use • Functional time use analysis • Institutional aspects
Additional information:
The course schedule details: • 1-day theoretical seminar in Vienna (March 23rd
) • 5-day field course in
South Bohemia (Třeboňsko, May 14th
– 18th
) • The course is organized by the Institute of Social Ecology
(Vienna) in collaboration with the University of South Bohemia and Masaryk University, Brno. The number
of students is limited to 15 participants from Austria, 3 from University of South Bohemia and 3 from
Masaryk University.• The field part of the course will take place in the village of Františkov. • The students
are supposed to cover all the costs related to the course (traveling, accommodation and meal expenses,
approx. 2000 CZK) by themselves. Students of the Department of Environmental Studies can apply for
small department and faculty grants to cover these costs, but these are not guaranteed in advance.
Literature:
Fraňková, E., Haas, W. and Singh, J.S. (Eds.) 2018. Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the
Sustainability of Local Food Systems - Insights for Science, Policy and Practice. Springer, Cham
Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London, p. 364
Fraňková, E., Haas, W. and Singh, J.S. 2018. Introduction. In: Socio-Metabolic Perspectives on the
Sustainability of Local Food Systems - Insights for Science, Policy and Practice. (Eds.) Fraňková,
E., Haas, W. and Singh, J.S., Springer, Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London, p. 1-24
Haas, W. and Andarge, H.B. 2017. More Energy and Less Work, but New Crises: How the Societal
Metabolism-Labour Nexus Changes from Agrarian to Industrial Societies. Sustainability 9, p. 1041,
doi:10.3390/su9071041
Singh, J.S. and Haas W. 2016. Complex Disasters on the Nicobar Islands. In: Social Ecology: Societynature
Relations across Time and Space (Eds.) Haberl, H., Fischer-Kowalski, M., Krausmann, F.
and Winiwarter V., Springer, Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Singh, J.S. and Haas W. 2016. Method Précis: A Methodological Guide to Local Studies. In: Social
Ecology: Society-nature Relations across Time and Space (Eds.) Haberl, H., Fischer-Kowalski, M.,
Krausmann, F. and Winiwarter V., Springer, Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Haas, W. and Krausmann, F. 2015. Transition-related changes in the metabolic profile of an Austrian
rural village. Workingpaper Social Ecology 155, IFF Social Ecology, Vienna, 42 Seiten ISSN 1726-
3816
Singh, S.J., Ringhofer, L., Haas, W., Krausmann, F., Lauk, C., and Fischer-Kowalski, M. 2010. Local
Studies Manual: A researcher's guide for investigating the social metabolism of rural systems.
Social Ecology Working Paper 120, IFF Social Ecology, Vienna, p. 74, ISSN 1726-3816