Admission requirements
This course is obligatory for students of the MSc Industrial Ecology (joint degree TU Delft and Leiden University).
Description
Society’s metabolism refers to the interactions between society and nature, characterized by material and energy flows. These include the input of raw materials, processing into manufactured products and services, and the release of waste and emissions, encompassing energy conversion and usage. This metabolism is shaped by society's modes of production (economy), technology, and lifestyle (culture).
This course introduces students to the evaluation of the impacts that society’s metabolism has on the functioning of the Earth’s physical and biological systems. The main themes addressed are:
The Anthropocene
Economics of the Anthropocene
Environmental and social impacts of society’s metabolism
Resources and energy scenarios
Water systems
The food system
Each lecture session consists of:
Analysis of readings facilitated by course lecturers
Content lectures given by course coordinators or invited speakers
Class exercises and student presentations
Workshops and interactive tutorials complement the lectures, supporting students in structuring their group projects. Course coordinators occasionally facilitate hands-on tutorials to deepen students' understanding of specific topics. Preparation before class and active participation during class are fundamental to the success of the course. To foster a collaborative learning environment, we encourage discussions where students can share their experiences, values, and opinions with their peers.
Course objectives
After completing this course, students are able to…
Describe society’s metabolism and the pressures it exerts on the environment;
Understand the connections between the drivers of demand for energy and natural resources;
Design effective ways to assess and analyse the interactions between society’s metabolism and the environment;
Analyze the water, food and energy systems and understand their contribution to society’s metabolism;
Investigate the extraction and use of natural resources at the global level and examine societal issues related to these;
Discuss economic constructs, theories, and models to establish relationships between economic growth and the environment.
Timetable
You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have sucessfully registered for in MyStudyMap will automatically be displayed in MyTimeTable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.
MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).
For more information, watch the video or go the the 'help-page' in MyTimetable.
Please note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.
Mode of instruction
The course will be given one day a week, with lectures given in the mornings and workshops/tutorials in the afternoons.
Education methods include lectures (including flipped classroom format), presentations, discussions, elaboration of group projects, writing of reports.
Assessment method
50% final exam (Take-home)
50% final project (40% group project report + 5% group project proposal + 5% in-class presentation)
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by the average of the mark of the individual exam (50%) and that of the final project (50%). The final mark of the course is expressed by means of a figure between 1 and 10, rounded to the nearest half. The rounding process is done, only at the end, for the final calculation. The mark 5,5 cannot be granted. Marks between 5,01 and 5,49 are rounded to 5,0 and marks between 5,50 and 5,99 are rounded to 6,0. To succeed the course, the minimum unrounded mark of the written exam and that of the group project should both be 5,50.
Resit
A resit is offerred for the individual final exam.
Reading list
The reading list will be described on Brightspace and in the syllabus of the course
Registration
Every student of all years must enroll via MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you will see step by step how to enroll in courses in MyStudyMap. Note that your enrollment is only completed when you submit your course planning in the 'Ready for enrollment' tab by clicking 'submit'.
There are two registration periods per year: registration for the fall semester opens in July and registration for the spring semester opens in December. Please see this page for more information.
Please note that it is compulsory to register for every exam and retake. Not being registered for a course means that you are not allowed to participate in the final exam. Keep in mind that there are enrollment deadlines, see this page for more information.
Extensive FAQ on MyStudymap can be found here.
Contact
- For substantive questions, contact the course coordinator listed in the right information bar.
Remarks
MSc Industrial Ecology students can register for the course and exam via MystudyMap. Other students need to contact the study advisors of the programme via studyadvisor-ie@cml.leidenuniv.nl