Course syllabus

POLITICS 313: Governing Planet Earth

SEMESTER 2, 2019

15 points

 

Well-Being Always Comes First We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there. For more information, look at this Canvas page, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

 

Course Co-ordinator:

Julie MacArthur - j.macarthur@auckland.ac.nz

Graduate Teaching Assistant:

Cathrine Dyer

Course delivery format:

2 hours of lectures and 1 discussion hour

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

Summary of Course Description:         

From climate change and land-use conflicts to air and water pollution, environmental problems play an increasingly important role in the contemporary political landscape. In this course we examine the relationship between the exercise of political power and environmental degradation, which opens up questions such as: what does it mean to be ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’? How do political institutions shape environmental policies and practices?  Which actors should bear the costs environmental problems and their solutions? This course critically examines the role of different ideologies and institutions in shaping these challenges and the solutions to them. It draws from examples around the globe. Topics include: limits to growth, sustainable development, ecological modernization, ecolocalism and environmental justice.

 Course outcomes:

On successful completion of this paper students will be able to:

• Compare and critically discuss a range of theoretical perspectives in environmental politics;
• Understand the political nature of a range of contemporary environmental challenges;
• Analyze how varied actors, sectors, and public institutions play important roles in enhancing or eroding environmental sustainability;
• Identify the characteristics of multilevel institutions shaping environmental challenges and their solutions;
• Create an engaging oral presentation linking a course reading to a current environmental challenge;
• Gain experience conducting online and library research, constructing evidence-based arguments and writing a research paper.

 Assessment Summary:

Group presentation	10%	15 minutes	discussion hour (assigned in week 1)
Midterm test	20%	1 hour	29 August, in class
Research paper	30%	2500 words	20 October, 10 pm via Canvas
Final Exam	40%	2 hours	During exam period

 

Weekly Topics:

Week	Lecture	Lectures	Discussion Hour
Week 1	Introduction	25 July	none
Week 2	Perspectives on environmental governance	1 August	2 August
Week 3	Governing the commons	8 August	9  August group presentations 1 & 2
Week 4	International regimes & Multilevel governance	15 August	16 August group presentations 3&4
Week 5	Greening government	22 August	23 August group presentations 5
Week 6	Non-state actors in global environmental governance	29 August  midterm	30 August  group presentations 6 & 7
Mid-Semester Break     2-14 September
Week 7	Growth and its discontents	19 September	20 September group presentations 8 & 9
Week 8	Governing water, energy and food	26 September	27 September  School Strike for Climate
Week 9	Consumption and global commodity chains	3 October	4 October group presentations 10, 11 & 12
Week 10	Indigenous environmental governance	10 October	11 October group presentations 13
Week 11	Governing knowledge - citizen science	17 October	18 October group presentations 14 & 15
Week 12	Conclusion - democratizing planet Earth	24 October	25 October  group presentations 16

 

Resources:                             

Textbook

There is no assigned course textbook.

Canvas

Required readings are available in your Talis reading list link on the Canvas course page. Please ensure that your email address is current so that you receive course information and updates.

Recommended

You may find useful the following textbooks for an overview of environmental politics as a field of research.

Steinberg, P. and S. VanDeveer (2012). Comparative environmental politics: Theory, Practice and Prospects. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Dryzek& Schlosberg (2005). Debating the Earth. Oxford University Press.

Carter, N. (2007). The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy, 2^ndedition. Cambridge University Press.

 Structure: 

The course material is delivered over a 12 week period. There will be a two-hour lecture each week and a one hour discussion hour assigned to you in your schedule. In the latter you will review topics in further detail, receive assessment guidance, and work on problems for the week. Group presentations will also occur in the discussion hours. Students are required to attend their discussion hours having completed the assigned readings for the week. A detailed breakdown of the weekly lectures and readings is contained in your TALIS reading list. You will be expected to discuss the material with your classmates and share your thoughts with the class.

 Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as serious illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without an approved extension will be penalized according to the following sliding scale: 

1. Assignments submitted up to two days late will lose 5% of the total assignment grade.
2. Assignments submitted three to five days late will lose 10 % of the total assignment grade
3. Assignments submitted six to ten days late will lose 25% of the total assignment grade
4. Assignments s submitted more than ten days past the due submission date will not be accepted and the student will be given a 0% mark for the essay.