| 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 | Professor. Chris Willmore |
| Open unit status | Open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
The unit will provide an introduction to the concept of sustainable development, the holistic nature of the challenges the planet and its people face, the concepts of resilience and future thinking - and the way in which different disciplines can contribute to addressing those challenges. After an introduction to the concept of sustainable development and its historical evolution, the unit explores how different disciplines see the challenges and opportunities faced and their contribution to creating a positive future. These will be selected to demonstrate the diversity of arenas of application of sustainable development (SD) and to invite comparisons and contrasts among them, not least those which students are able to draw for themselves of the experiences of SD in different sectoral, geographical and social contexts.
Aims:
On completion of this unit:
Knowledge:
Students will gain knowledge about sustainable development, future thinking and resilience. They will be able to describe the relationships between environmental, social and economic systems, including local and global examples; identity the risks and issues arising from system complexity, understand the causes of unsustainable development, the challenges of intergenerational equity as well as intra generational equity
They will explore the way in which different disciplines approach cognate problems, and the significance of holistic thinking and evidence driven decision making when addressing complex problems. They will work with students from other disciplines and be taught by staff from many disciplines and so will gain practical experience of interdisciplinary working.
The will learn to work in an interdisciplinary team, and to construct an authoritative wiki, gaining web authoring skills.
They will learn to reflect upon evidence from different disciplines and form judgements between differing arguments associated with sustainability. They will be able to describe how aspects of their own discipline and the disciplines studied in the unit contribute to sustainable development.
Skills
Students will be able to critically assess sustainability issues, in the context of two or more disciplines, be able to evaluate alternative models within those disciplines and engage in interdisciplinary discussion. They will be able to think systemically. They will be able to use historical knowledge but also engage with current problems.
The unit aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills identified in the QAA Guidance on Education for Sustainable Development and it is hoped students will develop the attributes identified in the Guidance.
The following transferable skills are developed:
Lecture and Seminar
25% from a wiki, produced as an interdisciplinary group project on an energy topic chosen by the group, to demonstrate interdisciplinary working skills and ability to express argument authoritatively and succinctly.
Elliott, J.A. An Introduction to Sustainable Development, 4th Edition 2013. Routledge Perspectives on Development.
Other texts relevant to individual lectures will be available within the unit handbook.
