The purpose of this module is to provide a theoretical base from which to analyse sustainable development.  It does so by examining differing theoretical and practical uses of the terms sustainability and sustainable development. The module is organised around three themes. The first theme provides an analysis of the contested nature of sustainable development. The second theme reviews key actors and ideas that contribute to sustainability debates. The third theme examines selected strategies by which more sustainable societies might emerge. It then goes on to analyse key issues in the governance of sustainable development.

• Critically appreciate the historical development of the concept of sustainable development
• Understand the main aspects of the theoretical debate around sustainable development
• Critically analyse key interpretations of sustainability
• Evaluate key debates on governance and sustainable development; and
• Demonstrate a good understanding of how sustainable development is used in practice.

 

The module will be delivered by a combination of:

Lectures

Seminars

Directed reading

Lectures and seminars are supplemented by Powerpoint presentations (slides are copied and made available) and handouts. Key readings that are used in teaching sessions will be available in Learning Central before the session in which they are to be discussed. During seminars you may be required to lead or contribute to a debate/discussion.

Teaching will take place in time slots of up to @6 hours over 4 days. These will blend together lectures and seminars.

 Academic/subject-specific skills

Students will be expected to demonstrate skills of critical analysis through an ability to:

• identify key issues and relationships;
• critically evaluate various approaches—for example, ecological modernisation, bioregionalism to sustainable development, and to distinguish the merits and weaknesses of strong and weak versions of sustainable development;
• application of sustainability thinking to a range of policy and thematic contexts

 Transferable/employability skills

Students will practice and develop the following:

• Data collection skills – including qualitative data, data collection and synthesis using databases, web and other sources
• Use language accurately and communicate information efficiently and effectively
• Process large quantities of information rapidly

Critical Review Essay (35%)
Conference Poster (35%)
Presentation (30%)

Formative - Analysing key readings

 

Theme 1 Sustainable Development: core meanings and contestations

Introduction to the module: How development became unsustainable

Seminar:the environmental syndrome concept

Sustainable development: Genealogy, contestation the practical value of a contested concept

Seminar

Theme 2: Actors and idea

Bottom-up and top-down: green movements and green states

Seminar: Utopianism and sustainable development

Nature, culture and science

Seminar:guided reading

Bioregionlism

Seminar: guided reading

Theme 3: Sustainable development: Strategies and governance

Ecological modernisation

Seminar: Transitition towns

Economics and the environment

Seminar: Weak and strong SD

Environmental democracy or participatory managerialism? The ‘carrying’ of SD

Seminar:The participatory challenge

Seminar: Reflections on positions towards sustainable development

 Callenbach, E. (1978) Ecotopia, London: Pluto Press.

 Carter N (2007) The Politics of the Environment, (2^nd edn),Cambridge University Press

 Molly Scott Cato (2008) Climate Change and the Bioregional Economy in Reclaiming the Economy

 Hediger W (1999) Reconciling ``weak'' and ``strong'' sustainability, International Journal of Social Economics,Vol. 26 No. 7/8/9, 1999, pp. 1120-1143

 Lahsen M (2005) Technocracy, Democracy, and U.S. Climate Politics: The Need for Demarcations, Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 30 No. 1, Winter 2005 137-169

 Rose S, A Town Called Eco: What notions of sustainable development do the government’s proposed eco-towns embody? CSERGE Working Paper EDM 09-05

 Shove E (2010) Beyond the ABC: climate change policy and theories of social change

Environment and Planning A 2010, volume 42, pages 1273 ^ 1285

 

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