Module: Sustainability Discourses and Environmental Sociology (4302-440)

Persons:

• Prof. Dr. Claudia Bieling (verantwortlich)
• Dr. Cinzia Piatti (begleitend)

Degree Program:

• Agricultural Sciences - Agricultural Economics (Master, since 01.10.2014)
  2. Semester, semi-elective
• Biobased Products and Bioenergy (Master, since 01.10.2014)
  2. Semester, elective
• Biobased Products and Bioenergy (Master, since 01.04.2019)
  2. Semester, elective
• Biobased Products and Bioenergy (Master, since 01.10.2019)
  2. Semester, elective
• Bioeconomy (Master, since 01.10.2014)
  2. Semester, elective
• Bioeconomy (starting WS 16/17) (Master, since 01.04.2017)
  2. Semester, elective
• Communication Management and Analysis (Master, since 01.10.2019)
  2. Semester, semi-elective

Prerequisites for Attendance:

.

Sprache:

English

ECTS:

6 credits

Frequency:

every summer semester

Length of the Module:

1 semester

Module examination:

Two essays (70%, split in 35% each); presentation of reading (30%)

Workload:

56 h presence + 104 h preparation at home = 160 h workload

Professional competences:

After completion of the module, students will have an overview on sustainability discourses and political economy and ecology concepts, which will prove useful to place their agriculture-related competences and professional engagement in context. The course will explore human-nature relationships in order to critically reflect on some of the most common assumptions around sustainability. Students will be able to identify main paradigmatic societal discourses associated to sustainability and relate them to the main concepts of environmental sociology. Confronting issues related to political and ecological understanding of human-nature relationship, market, risk, technological innovation, and agriculture and conservation policies, students will gain a better understanding of structural limitations and hope-full opportunities in their professional and social life, as individuals and members of a collective.

Key competences:

Students will acquire the ability to understand the complex social construction of sustainability and relative paradigms. Thanks to basic concepts of environmental sociology, students will be able to debunk, and spot fallacies in, sustainability discourses associated to risk, to ecology and to general politics of production and consumption.
Because of the innovative assessment method, students will:
- improve their argumentation abilities because of class discussion and participation;
- increase their writing skills thanks to writing two short essays,
- increase their reading skills, thanks to an extensive selection of topics,
- increase their presentation skills, thanks to the assigned readings that will be presented in class individually.

Comments:

In order to create an interactive working environment, this module is limited to 25 students. Students must register via ILIAS (registration opens 25 March 2019, first come first serve).

Courses