| Unit name | Political Ecology |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOG30005 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Laudati |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Year 2 pathways |
| Co-requisites |
Cross-cutting unit |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
A concern for the relationship between nature and society has been one of the pillars of geographic inquiry, and has also been an important bridge between other disciplines. This critical thinking unit explores the how and why of environmental problems. We begin from the proposition that human-environment relations are always social relations: how natural resources are produced, distributed, valued, consumed, conserved and degraded are historically- and geographically-specific questions whose answers cannot be reduced to “the earth’s carrying capacity.” The question is how to understand these relations as simultaneously social and ecological. Key themes include; the politics of access to and control over natural resources, attention to the poor and marginalized, an examination of the environment through attention to social relations and history, the implications of different ideas of nature, the consequences of colonialism, uneven development, and recent neoliberal policies, and how these contribute to current struggles over landscape and livelihoods.
To aim of the course is to help students develop a critical and historical analysis of human-environment interaction that integrates the study of ecological and social/cultural processes, and places environmental issues in the context of broader social and political dynamics.
After accomplishing the course the student is expected to:
Lectures, small group discussions, activity based learning
Research Paper: (70%) A Political Ecology of Things: Doing First World Political Ecology - A Three Part Creative Project= The purpose of this activity is to provide students a tool for assessing their own position within the global environment, whether ideologically or as active consumers /participants, and promote dialogue and further discussion within the classroom and continuing after students have left the course. Students will identify an important resource commodity, and examine its link to the environment and to the global community. This activity consists of three parts, each of which must be turned in to receive credit for the assignment. The first component consists of a consumption diary. The second part consists of a finished creative product which will be presented and made accessible to the class (i.e. flyer, handout, poster, presentation, media, etc.) during exam week. Lastly, students will be responsible for turning in a 1500-2000 word reflection paper which ties their research findings to class readings and classroom discussions. This is due the same day as their presentation of their creative product.
Weekly Reading Contributions: (30%) During the first week of class students will be divided into smaller discussion groups that will serve to replicate seminar style classroom learning normally reserved for classes with smaller numbers. Each week students will be responsible for a particular article to present and effectively be the expert on, within their smaller groups. After these presentations, I will then give the groups a task, question, etc. for students to address still within their small groups. These will then be used to springboard an engaged and rich discussion with the wider class.
Robbins, P. 2012. Political Ecology: A critical introduction.
