BIOL40140 Science and Policy

Academic Year 2023/2024

The complexity of addressing global environmental problems such that more sustainable paths of development can be identified demands that a new approach to learning about our environment is taken. The foundation of this new approach – often called a transdisciplinary approach – is dialogue between experts and non-experts. However, scientists are not trained to enter such a dialogue and their effective participation in the dialogue is hampered by a lack of reflection on underlying values and disciplinary frameworks within which scientists conduct their work. In this module, we are going to reflect on the work of scientists so as to learn about our own values and disciplinary frameworks. Being able to articulate more clearly what the scientific method involves and how scientific knowledge about the world is gained will help to establish a dialogue with other experts and non-experts who bring a multitude of perspectives to bear on the problem at hand. Through the integration of these different perspectives, the transdisciplinary approach allows everybody involved in the dialogue to develop a shared, more holistic understanding of the problem and anticipate long-term consequences of addressing the problem in a particular way. This should clarify options and ease the decision making. Furthermore, the dialogue can be used to communicate uncertainties about the anticipated outcomes, and develop adaptive capacity through a framework for learning over time.

Student feedback: This module is being revised and adjusted every year based on student feedback received. In the next academic year, the on campus discussions sessions will be complemented by an online discussion board to enhance interactivity in the module. The weighting of the final project has been made more explicit and the relevance of module content to the science policy interface is highlighted throughout the module.