Programplaner og emneplaner - Student
QUTVGEM Global Environmental Studies Course description
Introduction
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Required preliminary courses
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Learning outcomes
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Content
Course Structure
The course has a modular structure and is divided in three parts of equal status.
Module 1: Environment and development: an introduction
The module will introduce students to the intersecting study areas of environment and development. By the end of the module students should be able to grasp concepts such as sustainable development, ecosystem services and the green economy, as well as some of the challenges of climate change (including climate change governance) faced by countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Module 2: Political ecology
This module presents the students to Political Ecology - a critical approach to the analysis of power in relation to human-environmental dynamics. Political ecology originated in the 1970s and is centered on the idea of a -politicised environment-. Lectures and discussions in this module will trace the theoretical roots of political ecology and present some concepts of key importance to this approach. All of this will be exemplified through case studies (predominantly from sub-Saharan Africa) that employ a political ecology lens, exploring questions such as who are the winners and who are the losers of different environmental management practices.
Module 3: Environmental challenges in West Africa
This module engages with current environmental challenges and debates in the West African region; their historical background, local and global implications, main stakeholders, and possible future developments. The module also explores what kind of perspectives and analyses of these issues a political ecology approach can contribute with.
Teaching and learning methods
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Course requirements
The following course work requirements must be met before the examinations may be sat:
- Introductory assignment . Each student writes a paper of approx. 1800 words (+/- 10 %) / approx. 4-5 pages, where he/she must demonstrate good understanding of the key concepts introduced in the introductory part. At this stage, all communication between student and teachers is based on e-mail. The paper is to be submitted through e-mail before going to Ghana. It will be assessed within the following week and evaluated as Accepted/Not accepted. The students will get a brief individual feedback from the seminar leader on their paper during the second week of the course in Ghana.
- Participation. Participation in all academic activities is mandatory, at least 80 % participation in all lectures, seminars and field trips constitutes a required minimum. This is due to the central role this course gives to learning by taking part in critical examinations and discussions of the topics at all course activities. A medical certificate is required by absence from course activities exceeding 20 %. As compensation for a higher absence than 20 %, the seminar leader will issue an extra assignment and set the deadline for a paper of 1800 words +/- 10 %. It will be assessed and evaluated by the seminar leader as Accepted/Not accepted.
- A Group Paper . In the beginning of the work with the group exam papers (see Group examination below), each group of students is required to submit a paper of at least 1200 words with deadline set by the seminar leader. This paper must contain the following elements: A presentation of the proposed topic and design of the group exam paper; a draft abstract; and a presentation of how three course readings and four course concepts may be applied in the final work. The paper will be assessed within the following week and evaluated as Accepted/Not accepted.
- Oral Presentation. The students are required to take part in the oral presentation (about 10-20 minutes) of the above mentioned group paper at a seminar. A lack of participation will be counted together with other eventual absence from course activities, according to the point above (Participation).
Students, who, due to illness or other valid and documented reasons, do not meet the course work requirements within the fixed deadlines, may be given a new deadline. A new deadline for meeting the requirements is in each individual case given by the seminar leader.
Course work requirements are evaluated Accepted/Not accepted. Students who meet the work requirements within the fixed deadline, but get the evaluation Not accepted, are entitled to maximum two new attempts to fulfil the course requirements. A new deadline for meeting the course work requirements is in each individual case given by the seminar leader. If the course work requirement of either the Introductory Assignment or the Group Paper is evaluated as Not accepted, the new assignment will be to submit an improved version. An Oral Presentation that is Not accepted has to be given again.
Assessment
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Grading scale
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Examiners
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