Unit name | Apocalypse or Ecotopia? Green Political Thought |
---|---|
Unit code | POLI20008 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
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 |
Over the last three decades, prominent geologists and – increasingly – social scientists, have argued that the Earth is entering a new geological era: the Anthropocene. Human activity, they argue, has altered the Earth’s climatic and other natural systems to the extent that the geo-physical make-up of the planet and its atmosphere has been irrevocably changed. In this unit we explore the political, social, cultural, economic and ecological causes and consequences of this transformation, and ask whether humanity currently stands on the precipice of ecological ‘apocalypse’ or whether an ‘ecotopian’ future is both pragmatically possible and normatively desirable.
Throughout the unit we apply core environmental concepts, such as ‘the tragedy of the commons’, ‘limits to growth’ and ‘ecological footprints’ to case-study analyses from the global North and South in order to critically evaluate the value of distinct strands of green political thought to political theorising in the Anthropocene. In doing so, we simultaneously interrogate and critique dominant, liberal environmentalist and ecological modernisation responses to a range of ecological problems, including climate change, deforestation, land degradation and biodiversity loss.
Unit aims:
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
One hour lecture and one hour seminar per week. Two hour workshop every other week.
Summative Assessment 1: Group Conference Poster Presentation (20%)
In groups of three, students are required to research, design and present a Conference Poster on one of the following conceptual themes: ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’; ‘Limits to Growth’; ‘Ecological Footprints’, ‘Bioregionalism’, ‘Ecotopia’.
The assessment will comprise three component parts: group based research, design and production of an A0 sized Conference Poster, using PowerPoint (10%); 15 minute group presentation / Q&A (5%); 500 word written self-reflection on the group work component of the assessment (5%).
This assessment assesses Learning Outcomes 3, 4 and 5.
Summative Assessment 2: Essay, 3000 words (80%)
This assessment assesses Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 4 and 5).
Barry, John (2012) The Politics of Actually Existing Unsustainability: Human Flourishing in a Climate-Changed, Carbon-Constrained World, Oxford: OUP.
Chasek, P. S., Downie, D. L. & Welsh Brown, J., (2014) Global Environmental Politics: Dilemmas in World Politics, Sixth Edition, Boulder CO: Westview Press.
Dobson, Andrew (2007) Green Political Thought, London: Routledge.
Dryzek, John (2013) The Politics of the Earth: Environmental Discourse, Oxford: OUP.
Dryzek, John, Norgaard, Richard and Schlosberg, David (2013) Climate-Challenged Society, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hannis, Mike (2016) Freedom and the Environment: Autonomy, Human Flourishing and the Political Philosophy of Sustainability, London: Routledge.
Levitas, Ruth (2013) Utopia as Method: the Imaginary Reconstitution of Society, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Naguib Pellow, David (2015) Total Liberation: The Power and Promise of Animal Rights and the Radical Earth Movement, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press