Undergraduate - UnitATS3730 - Sustainable societies

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	Clayton Second semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Prof Alan Petersen

Notes

Previously coded SCY3580

Synopsis

The proposed unit aims to introduce students to a range of ideas and approaches to sustainability - environmental, economic, and social; and, to provide them with a critical sociological frame through which to understand and analyse these approaches. The unit is structured around a series of critical questions such as, what alternative perspectives can be offered on the question of sustainability? What might it mean to create a sustainable society? What kinds of economic, political and social changes would be needed to create such a society? Who wins and who loses from economic and social changes oriented to creating more sustainable societies?

Outcomes

Students successfully completing this subject should be able to:

Identify a range of ideas and approaches to sustainability - environmental, economic, and social
Develop a critical sociological frame through which to understand and analyse these ideas and approaches
Apply sociological perspectives to analysing documents pertaining to sustainability issues.

In addition, third year students will be expected to:

Demonstrate strong analytical skills in analysing the sociological aspects of sustainability issues; and
Demonstrate wide reading and comprehension of the literature pertaining to the sociological aspects of sustainability.

Assessment

Written work (3,500 words, in total): 80%
In-class test (1 hour): 20%
Third year students will be required to respond to a wider question in the test.