Unit name | Sustainable Development |
---|---|
Unit code | UNIV10001 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Michalopoulou |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
A trailer is available for this unit here and social media shorts here
This unit will provide an interdisciplinary introduction to the concepts behind the challenges of Sustainable Development. It will draw on content from a diverse range of academics at UoB, showing how interdisciplinary research and practice can help (i) understand the challenges and controversies of sustainable development; (ii) understand the approaches used to explore potential ways forward.
In it, students will gain an overview of the history and philosophy behind the idea of Sustainable Development, the particular challenges that are captured in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and critical perspectives on these. They will gain a more in-depth understanding of key challenge areas within Sustainable Development. Previous examples of these include the challenges of (a) Access to Fresh Water (b) Climate Change and decarbonisation of Energy Supply (c) Meat consumption and (d) deforestation. These may change from year to year.
These challenges will in turn be used as examples to show how different disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches can be used to provide insight and ways forward. These approaches will be presented under five broad headings: Science; Economics and Legal Institutions; Politics and Justice; Individual and Organisational Behaviour Change; Engineering and Innovation.
This unit takes a blended learning approach and students are required to engage with online content before attending weekly workshops. This content will be delivered via the Blackboard Online Learning Environment. These will cover the different interdisciplinary approaches and will involve reading documents and viewing videos of mini-lectures and case studies.
The unit will include a number of workshops which will encourage students to apply the insights from the online materials to specific case studies and critically discuss how contemporary sustainability challenges intersect with and influence our day-to-day lives.
The unit aims are:
By the end of the unit, students will:
The unit will be taught through a blended combination of online and, if possible, in-person teaching, including
50%: maximum 2500-word structured individual report discussing key personal insights from the course, supported with a portfolio produced from participation in online activities and face to face workshops. [ILOs 1,2,3].
50%: Group-work report (maximum 1000 words per student in the group, group size normally 4-5 students) on a specific Sustainable Development challenge. Marks will be awarded individually and may be subject to adjustment due to peer review and staff assessment [ILO 4]
Essential reading
Sustainable Development Goals - https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics
Planetary Boundaries: Stockholmresilience.org/research/planetaryboundaries.html
Raworth K, 2017, Doughnut Economics, London Random House
United Nations, 2015, Paris Agreement
The Earth Charter: www.earthcharterinaction.org