Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

Poverty, ecological degradation, resource depletion, climate change and conflict prove to be the most important issues facing human life and nature today. Understanding and resolving the complexity and interrelatedness of these longstanding and looming developmental problems and environmental crises, as well as their attendant adverse social consequences, require not only advances in science and technology but also in social science studies. While there is a crucial need and urgent demand for cutting-edge studies to address these pressing global and transnational problems, one of the greatest challenges for social science is to understand the mutually constitutive relationship between development, ecology, and climate in critical, historical, and interdisciplinary perspectives. The establishment of this optional course in Development, Ecology, and Climate (DEC) is herein proposed to respond to these challenges and meet the demands in teaching, research, and policy advice.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• Has fundamental and systematic knowledge of various theoretical approaches to the study of ecology/environment and climate change in a development and international relations perspective;

Skills

• Has the ability to analyze aspects of economic, cultural, political, societal, and natural environmental developments with an interdisciplinary approach.

Competences

• Demonstrate practical experience of working in an inter-cultural environment derived both from participation in the degree program at Aalborg University and from an interactions with international students.
• Develop individual understanding and stance on the issues related to environment- development dynamics as well as the skill to constructively discuss and communicate these issues with others.

Type of instruction

Lectures of which some contain exercises.

Exam

Exams