Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
Aims
This module aims to provide students with a broader understanding of the human involvement in climate change, both in relation to the problem and the solution. This module will provide students with tools to critically reflect on individual, collective, societal, and global behaviours and concepts in relation to climate change.
Intended Learning Outcomes
critically appraise and apply relevant literature within specific areas of climate change: 1critically reflect upon human causes of climate change and short- and long-term sustainability: 1design and communicate a strategy plan using theory and research to analyse the problem and offer sustainable solutions in the climate change context: 1
10h synchronous whole group interactive session10h PBL style seminar10h asynchronous material in preparation for PBL seminars120h independent reading**Independent reading:Students are expected to spend approximately 7.5h per week independently finding and reading literature to address the question they have created that week in their seminar group (approx. 75h).Students are expected to spend approximately 45h writing up the assessment (approx. 45h; literature and narrative already created in the seminars).
Description of Module Assessment
1: Report weighted 100%Strategy document (portfolio style)Students will submit a 2500 (+/-10%) word strategy document for a climate related issue, outlining the issue, context, and providing sustainable solutions. In the assessment, students will bring together areas they have focused their reading and knowledge on in the PBL seminars to develop a strategy plan for a campaign, area, organisation etc. of their choice (there will be examples provided to help guide students).
For the strategy document students will first identity `the issue¿. Students can choose a geographical area, campaign, social movement, organisation etc. where they identify an issue or area of improvement. For example, students might focus on a plan to increase mobilisation to a local environmental group, increase the public's recycling in England, or increase voices from the Global South in the climate change debate. As an introduction in the strategy document, students will outline `the issue¿ and context.
To provide sustainable solutions students will choose three areas from their seminars during the module and use relevant theories and research to support their arguments. For example, students might choose topics such as communication, politics, and collective action as their foundation for outlining mobilisation strategies for a grass-root movement, or behaviour change, morality, and collective behaviour to provide a basis for a sustainable recycling programme in England, or politics, collective action, and decolonisation to increase diversity in the climate change debate. As the PBL design of the seminars give students some agency within each topic, they will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge based on their own limitations, their own interests, and relevance for future careers in the assessment. The strategy plan should end in a clear conclusion and where appropriate clear actions points sustainable solution/s.
Even though the PBL seminars are group focused, the strategy document (assessment) is developed, written, and submitted as an individual piece of work. It is expected that the main part of the document (1500-2000 words) will be in relation to the three (3) seminar topics outlining the scientific basis and offering sustainable solutions.