POL30900 Global Environmental Politics

Academic Year 2022/2023

The environment constitutes a key issue of public concern and political contention. Crucial challenges of our times revolve around it: climate change, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, food and water, energy security, refugee crises, environmental conflicts and protest, pollution and waste management.
Recognising that multiple understandings of nature produce different perspectives on environmental problems, this module will explore how competing political, economic, and social interests and values contend to define environmental issues and to formulate solutions.
The students will study several conceptual and analytical frameworks and explore how ideas, interest groups and institutions have shaped environmental politics around the world, with an emphasis on environmental justice.
The module introduces students to recent public policy, debates, issues and case studies to understand empirically how environmental change is produced and what are its political implications.
Readings from a range of media, structured discussions, and problem-based learning will be employed innovatively to enable students to gain a critical and in-depth understanding on some of the most important issues of our times.

This module will be taught by a PhD student, Ms Emanuela Ferrari.

Show/hide contentOpenClose All

Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module, you will be able to:
Demonstrate awareness of how different ideas of nature, and the human place in it, shape environmental issues and translate into political interventions;
Identify political processes (institutions, interests and relations of power) that shape environmental issues and account for policy outcomes at the national and international level;

Synthetise and integrate knowledge acquired from different sources to critically assess evidence in relation to competing explanations on environmental problems and real-world responses to them;
Working in teams, practice analysis, problem solving and communication skills in order to develop meaningful, inclusive, and effective recommendations to challenges posed by environmental challenges;

Value the importance of the environment for human societies and the human place in the web of life and be able to reflect on their role as citizens - and potential future decision-makers - in decisions around environmental use in an open-minded and creative way.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

200
Total

224
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Through a combination of lectures, active participation in classroom activities and problem-based learning (PBL), the course will require students to engage with the extant literature on the topic and apply theories and concepts in the discipline to real world scenarios.
In particular PBL will ‘empower[s] learners to conduct research, integrate theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem’ (Savery 2006: 9).
Through the use of real-world scenarios, recent public policy analysis, empirical data and case studies, this course will engage students in critical thinking, critical literacy skills such as research and information retrieval and to construct their learning through the integration of new knowledge and its application to innovative problem solving. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Project: Tweet thread weekly Throughout the Trimester n/a Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

20
Assignment: Answer two questions from a list 500 word each (Answer 1) Unspecified n/a Graded No

20
Group Project: PBL Group Project: policy brief on a real-world issue problem and group presentation Week 11 n/a Graded No

40
Assignment: Answer two questions from a list 500 word each (Answer 2) Unspecified n/a Graded No

20

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

- Written group feedback will be provided based on the general rubrics as well as general in class feedback for the group project. - Detailed written feedback based on relevant rubrics will provided to each student on the written assignments within 20 working days of the deadline for the assignment in according with university policy. - Feedback will be provided through in class discussions for the tweet project.