Unit information: The Politics of (Un)sustainability in 2016/17

Unit name	The Politics of (Un)sustainability
Unit code	POLIM0028
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Parrott
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit introduces students to the ‘politics of (un)sustainability’, through critical evaluation of the gradual emergence of sustainability politics and practice over the last 50 years. The ‘true’ state of the environmental crisis and the implications of this for long term human and non-human flourishing are considered, and the relationship between capitalism, accumulation and (un)sustainability is critically assessed. Through case study examples from the global North and South, key concepts (such as ‘the tragedy of the commons’, ‘limits to growth’, ‘ecological footprints’, the ‘steady state economy’, ‘resilience’ and ‘ecological citizenship’), are evaluated and critiqued from a range of theoretical and philosophical perspectives. Particular emphasis is placed upon the importance of how we understand nature and the environment as a determinant of the actions and agendas undertaken to solve environmental ills, and the intersections between global environmental degradation, social inequality, political representation and participation, and economic development/growth are highlighted and explored throughout the unit.

This unit aims to:

• Encourage an interest in and understanding of the politics of (un)sustainability.
• Develop a critical understanding of the conceptual and theoretical frameworks underpinning ‘sustainability’ actions and agendas at the international, national, grassroots and individual level.
• Provide an analytical outline of the rise of the politics of (un)sustainability and highlight the intersections between global environmental degradation, social inequality, political representation and participation, and economic development/growth.
• Create opportunities to develop key skills such as reading and research, analysis and evaluation, and essay writing.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an awareness of the key environmental problems facing the world in the 21st century, and the intersections between global environmental degradation, social inequality, political representation and participation, and economic development/growth.
2. Critically evaluate diverse conceptualisations of nature and the environment, and the consequences of these for actions and agendas undertaken.

3. Identify, critique and defend different stakeholder positions with regard to the politics of (un)sustainability.

Teaching Information

• Seminars taught through a variety of methods including: workshop activities, focussed discussion and bite-sized lectures
• Independent research

Individual meetings with the unit convener (e.g. office hours)

Assessment Information

One Policy Brief (formative assessment), one assessed 4,000 word essay (100% of unit mark).

The Policy Brief will allow students to engage with an environmental issue that is of particular interest to them. The Policy Brief assesses LOs 1 and 3, and may also assess LO 2.

The essay will facilitate additional research, enabling students to indulge their curiosity in a particular aspect of the politics of unsustainability to a far greater extent. Furthermore, the essay will afford students the opportunity to display the depth and breadth of their comprehension of the major themes of the course. The essay assesses LOs 1, 2 and 3.

Reading and References

1. Barry, John (2012) The Politics of Actually Existing Unsustainability, Oxford: OUP.
2. Bluhdorn, Ingolfur and Walsh, Ian (2015) The Politics of Unsustainability, Abingdon: Routledge.
3. Dryzek, John et al (2013) Climate Challenged Society, Oxford: OUP.
4. Hannis, Mike (2016) Freedom and the Environment: Autonomy, Human Flourishing and the Political Philosophy of Sustainability, London: Routledge.

Naguib Pellow, David (2014) Total Liberation, London; Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.