Description

The planet and humankind face major current environment and development challenges, including climate change, losses of natural habitats and biodiversity, poverty, and non-sustainable food production systems. Using selected problems and cases, the purpose of this course is to understand how social and natural sciences address the relationship between environment and development. This includes (i) giving students a well-grounded understanding of key theoretical, conceptual, and practical debates and issues, and (ii) allowing them to experience interdisciplinary approaches to research through active participation in discussions, group work, and essay writing. The course thus introduces students to tools and frameworks, which can be used to think and generate knowledge across disciplines. The geographical scope of the course is global, as it discusses processes and case studies across the planet. It is local, as it pays attention to community dynamics, and to local environmental and social change. During the course, the students write a group based essay, which along with the rest of the curriculum forms the basis for individual oral exams. The course is mandatory for the MSc Programme in the Environment and Development and for the MSc Programme in Global Environment and Development (MERGED). 

After completing the course the students should:

Knowledge:

• Understand the ways different disciplines address environment and development challenges
• Be acquainted with current debates on environment and development issues, including those related to agricultural production;
• Be familiar with challenges at the intersections of economic growth, social development, and environmental protection; 

 

Skills:

• Evaluate and differentiate approaches to environment and development challenges from a variety of disciplines;
• Problematize the relationship between environment and development and formulate related relevant research questions 
• Apply concepts from different disciplines when working with environment and development topics 

 

Competences:

Towards the end of the course, students should be able to (i) critically reflect on and discuss approaches to challenges in environment and development, and (ii) Cooperate with persons from different disciplinary backgrounds using different data sources relevant to understanding environment and development challenges.

Recommended qualifications

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.