Admission requirements
Required course(s):
- Social Theory in Everyday Life (for CHS students)
Completion of Global Challenges: Diversity, Global Challenges: Prosperity, and Global Challenges: Sustainability is strongly recommended.
Description
This course explores how the global political economy interacts with human society and environment. The unprecedented growth of global economy in recent decades and the changes it has brought to society have deteriorated environmental challenges, including but not limited to climate change, natural resource depletion, biodiversity and wildlife loss, and pollution. Understanding the dynamics between economy, society, and environment helps us reflect on how our lifestyle is shaped by capitalism and other economic/societal processes, thereby paving the way for making positive changes with individual and collective actions.
This course starts by surveying the basics of political economy and how economic processes shapes society and environment, with a critical approach. It then discusses a diversity of socio-environmental issues stemming from global economic processes, including forest management, waste, food, textile, conservation of biodiversity and wildlife, and natural resources. For each topic, we will discuss how the challenge is generated by and continue to evolve with economic and social processes, including but not limited to the tragedy of commons, race to the bottom (or top), consumerism, and Not-in-my-backyard movement.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students are expected to:
Understand how global political economy causes, worsens, but can also be used to tackle environmental problems
Familiarize with mechanisms how individual and collective behavior can affect economy, society, and environment.
Critically approach contemporary issues and the constitutive biases of primary, secondary and media sources that can affect their validity and reliability.
Describe, discuss, and think critically about key debates concerning a variety of socio-environmental matters and develop their own responses.
Develop original research questions, formulate arguments and write an academic essay on a subject of choosing related to the course content.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2024-2025 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
The course meets twice a week in seminar format. Most meetings will start with lecture and ends with group discussion, separated by a short break. Students should read assigned readings before each class and actively participate in the lecture and discussion. Attendance of classes is compulsory. For those missing more than two sessions, one point per extra absence will be discounted from the participation grade.
Assessment Method
Midterm exam, 30%
Final paper, 30%
Participation, 15%
Group presentation, 25%
Reading list
No textbook required. Readings of articles/chapters will be assigned and available on Brightspace.
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Shiming Yang, s.yang@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
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