Admission requirements
None.
Description
Are you interested in how environmental change is defined and experienced across South and Southeast Asia? Do you wonder about the historical context of today's environmental relations, impacts and inequalities? Are you curious about the ecological basis of revolts and crises, and the social basis of climate change? Have you always wanted to study the environment from a humanities and social sciences perspective? This highly interdisciplinary course offers an introduction to the study of ecology and ecological crises in its convergence with religion, culture, politics, and economy. This course will open up to a variety of, both academic and non-academic, perspectives and approaches to the study and analysis of contemporary socioenvironmental issues, in conversation with a variety of (coastal, maritime, island, highland) places. This course goes beyond nature and society as variables of analysis, disparate and opposed, to suggest that nature and society can no longer be conceptualised. institutionalised and communicated as disparate and clearly delineated realms but rather as mutually constitutive notions. In this course, lecturer and students will discuss a variety of topics such as deforestation, mining, pandemics, migration, crises, revolution, food, waste, racism and sustainability in context. A strong component of this course is the relevance of native theory across the world vis-à-vis the knowledges and practices of institutions, organisations, corporations and industries. As mentioned earlier, this course challenges conceptual, theoretical binaries that situate environmental epistemic diversity in decontextualised analyses. No prior knowledge is required for this course. However, openness to new angles and perspectives which can help us confront our own biases is required.
Course objectives
After successful completion of this course, students are able to:
Knowledge:
Depart from existing knowledges and allow new perspectives and approaches to critically inform opinions.
Describe, discuss and think critically about key debates and perspectives concerning socioenvironmental crises in South and Southeast Asia.
Assess the interrelatedness and mutually constitutive nature of religion, culture, politics and ecology in a variety of contexts across the region.
Construct and develop their own arguments as a response to urgent socioenvironmental matters in the region.
Critically situate scholarship and deconstruct biases (both personal and professional) and power relations that have also played an important role in defining and developing fields like environmental studies, ecology, geography and anthropology, area studies, asian studies.
Broaden knowledge of ‘the environment’ by bringing perspectives and paradigms from the social sciences and humanities into existing knowledge stemming from the natural sciences.
Academically engage with the environmental theory of non-academic contexts and contribute to the advancement of epistemic diversity.
Skills:
Analise academic literature pertaining to the themes discussed in the weekly sessions
Formulate original arguments, in discussion and in writing, question and write an academic essay on a subject of choosing related to the course content.
Communicating opinions in an academic manner and with the assistance of existing relevant literature.
Coherently present relevant materials (including extra sources) in front of an audience.
Critically moderate relevant debates.
Research and design a podcast which approaches a chosen topic critically (group work).
Assess the validity and reliability of research and literary sources beyond the politics of institutionalising knowledge.
Critically approach contemporary issues and the constitutive biases of primary and secondary sources, as well as media sources.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
The course is conducted in seminar-style meetings, which will take place once a week. This requires thorough preparation through the study of the compulsory readings and active engagement on the part of the students. Every week, students will need to complete compulsory readings and complete these with suggested further readings. In addition, they will have to show critical engagement with readings by submitting a short summary of the readings before the session. Class meetings will include short lectures, moderated plenary, and group discussions led and moderated by students. The attendance of classes is compulsory.
Assessment method
Assessment
Student performance will be assessed in three ways:
First, each student will introduce and moderate a debate that relates to the week’s topics. Each debate will start with a brief introduction of no more than 10 minutes (the use of supporting visual material is recommended) to then moderate a short debate. Each week, two students will run and moderate a session. This will be organised with the course convener during the first week of the course (25%).
Second, in groups of 4 or 5, students will plan, design and record a podcast critically focusing on a socioenvironmental topic of interest which is relevant for the region (35%).
Third, students are required to write a final reflective essay of 3000 words (excluding references/bibliography) further developing any of the topics and/or queries from the debate they had moderated in class (or, after consultation, a different topic) (40%).
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
A resit will be arranged directly with the lecturer. A resit is offered to those who have failed the final assignment only.
Inspection and feedback
If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will be organised.
Reading list
Please consult the course syllabus.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Herta Mohr
Remarks
None.