ENV5020 - Perspectives on Environment and Sustainability

Leader: Rebekah Brown

Offered

Clayton First semester 2007 (Evening)

Synopsis

People's approaches to environmental issues (what they see as problems and what they see as solutions) vary widely based on worldviews, assumptions, and value systems. This unit develops students' capacity to critically evaluate differing ideological, philosophical, and disciplinary approaches to environment and sustainability, such as positivistic science, technology, systems theory, social ecology, indigenous worldviews, deep ecology, bioregionalism, poststructuralism, neoliberalism, and sustainability science. Throughout, it will explore the implications of these approaches for policymaking, disciplinary research, environmental management, and political processes and action.

Objectives

Students successfully completing this unit will be expected to demonstrate:

1. A thorough grasp of the ideas and assumptions behind a range of key perspectives on the environment and sustainability.
2. An ability to recognize and analyse different philosophical and ideological perspectives on the environment in use (in writing, in speech, in political positions',...).
3. A capacity to understand the perspectives of different disciplines within an interdisciplinary context.
4. Skills in analysing the implications of differing environmental perspectives on practical courses of action and policy-making.
5. Skills in constructing critical and analytical arguments, in oral and written form, relevant to discussions of environmental worldviews and philosophies.
6. An in-depth understanding of the historical roots and current debates within one perspective.

Assessment

Reading commentaries 1000 words 20%, Oral presentation (debate participation) Equivalent to 500 words 20%, Short essay 1000 words 20%, Critical research essay 2000 words 40%

Contact hours

One 2 hour seminar per week