ATS3730 - Sustainability and society - 2018

The sustainability challenges confronting us are staggering in their pace, scope and complexity as climate change, environmental pollution, rapid urbanisation, population growth, resource constraints, and rampant consumption put the environment, economy and society under extreme pressure. As the world urgently searches for pathways towards greater sustainability, it is critical to understand the social, cultural, institutional, political and economic dimensions of these global environmental drivers and potential solutions. This unit explores these issues, with a view to understanding the policy reforms institutional arrangements, citizen attitudes and behaviours, economic frameworks, media influences, and broader social changes needed to create sustainable societies.

Upon successful completion of the unit students will be able to:

1. identify and articulate key perspectives in environmental sociology;
2. apply sociological and social science perspectives to analysing issues of global and local environmental change and sustainability;
3. demonstrate strong comprehension and analytical skills in class discussion and assessment tasks.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Sociology