Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Written Essay 2000 Words | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Group Presentation and Earth Summit Event Participation (10 minutes, maximum group size = 5) | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | Group Fieldwork Report (maximum group size = 5) 2000 Words | 25% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Individual poster and script of individual presentation In lieu of Group Presentation | 25% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Written Essay 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 500-800 word Individual fieldwork report In lieu of Group Report | 25% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Describe and evaluate the principles of sustainability.
Specify clearly the kinds of national and international factors that have given rise to the emergence of sustainability as a political objective.
Exemplify the different ways in which policies for sustainability are being developed in different parts of the world.
Discuss and evaluate, using specific examples, the limitations of sustainability as both an international policy discourse and set of social and economic practices.
Brief description
Sustainability is one of the most prominent concepts and policy goals associated with social, economic and environmental policy making in the world today. This module provides students with a critical background to the scientific and philosophical origins of the principle of sustainability, explores how sustainability is being implemented in different parts of the world and considers its limitations and future orientation.
Content
The module begins by providing students with an account of the practical and philosophical histories of the notion of sustainability and why it is so important in the world today. The second part of the module explores the emergence of sustainable development policies in different parts of the world. The third section considers attempts to create more sustainable societies at individual, community and urban scales. In the final section of the module students are introduced to some of the ways in which the concept of sustainability is being challenged.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | As part of this module students will be expect to engage with and analyse a range of different social and environmental statistics. |
| Communication | The module will develop the students' skills of written communication in writing their assessed essays. Students will also be expected to contribute to group discussions in the lectures (although this will not be assessed). |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Student attendance and participation in the lectures, and their undertaking of an assessed essay, will help them to enhance a range of learning skills. The module requires students to undertake 80 hours of self-directed study. |
| Information Technology | The assessed essays require students to undertake independent research using bibliographic search-engines and library catalogues. The module will enable students to enhance their research skills and practise their IT skills when writing the essay. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | The module will help students to develop a range of transferable skills. The course discusses themes which will be invaluable for students wishing to undertake postgraduate study in geography. The policy analysis sections of the module will also support students hoping to follow a career in environmental policy making. |
| Problem solving | The module will develop students' problem-solving skills in a number of ways. Students will be required to analyse a range of sources and texts, and they may be required to complete small problem-solving exercises during the lectures. Students will also have to address problems associated with research design when undertaking their assessed essays. |
| Research skills | Students are expected to research and synthesize a range of academic source material in completing their written assignments. |
| Subject Specific Skills | The module will enable students to develop and practice subject-specific skills which they have developed in year one and in concurrent year two modules such as 'Research skills in human geography'. Students will develop their analytical skills through their assessed essays. |
| Team work | The lectures may include class-based problem-solving exercises and discussions which will provide opportunities for students to develop team-working skills and discuss their thoughts with the class. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5