UTVB3111 Energy and Climate Change in Africa and Latin America Course description

The Faculty of Education and International Studies at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA) offers interdisciplinary courses in Development Studies and North-South relations, leading to a Bacherlor's degree of 180 ECTS credits in Development Studies. This course on Energy and Climate Change in Africa and Latin America is at the intermediate level and represents a 10 ECTS credits module in the 5th semester of the Bachelor programme.

The course will be taught in English (or Norwegian, depending on needs according to the participants' language abilities). The exam papers can be written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.

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At the end of the course the student has obtained the following learning outcome:

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of key issues related to the production and distribution of energy in developing countries, for instance on:

competing claims and rights to energy producing territories;

contests over how to allocate the benefits and costs of such production among population groups (including indigenous peoples);

debates on how energy production interrelates with governance issues;

issues of access to energy;

theories of -the resource curse-.

• has knowledge about the strategy to mitigate climate change through reducing emissions of CO2 by deforestation and forest degradation (REDD);
• has knowledge on conflicts concerning uses of areas for local livelihood purposes on the one hand, and on the other for energy production, climate change mitigation and conservation;
• has acquired empirical knowledge of cases of such conflicts in Latin America and Africa.

Skills

The student

• has the ability to analyse conflicts between the interests of poor and marginalized groups, energy production and climate change mitigation and area conservation;
• has the ability to analyse linkages between energy options and their developmental and environmental implications.

General competence

The student

• is able to formulate central issues regarding climate change, human rights and the environment;
• is able to discuss energy issues and their economic, political and environmental dimensions.

The course will be running from late September until December (in parallel with the course Capitalist development and social transformation in India and China). There will be eight lectures and four teacher-led seminars. Students are expected to participate actively in group work and discussions during seminars.

Written assignment

An assignment (2000 word +/- 10 %) on a given topic shall be submitted within the set deadline in order to be admitted to the final exam. This assignment gives the students an opportunity to reflect on central topics in the course literature.

Students, who due to illness or other compelling reason, fail to submit this course work requirement within the set deadline, can be given a new deadline. In this case, the student shall present the documents confirming his/her illness or other compelling reasons.

The assignment is evaluated with -accepted- or -not accepted-. Students who get -not accepted- on their assignment may rewrite and submit maximum two new versions of the assignment. The student shall contact the teacher to get a new evaluation.

Activities with compulsory attendance

It is compulsory to attend three of the four seminars. These are considered essential for developing skills and general competence, as they give the students the opportunity to verbalize, analyze and discuss key issues of the course. The group work on which the seminars are based require that the majority of students are present.

Students with undocumented absence from more than one of these seminars cannot take the exam. Students who have attended less than three of the seminars/lectures, but can document valid compelling reasons for all the absences, will have to submit a written paper on a given theme as compensation in order to be able to take the exam. The length of the paper shall be in the range of 2000-5000 words, depending on the number of seminars missed.

The assessment is a four-hour written exam based on the course curriculum.

In case of failed exam or legal absence, the student can apply for a new or postponed exam. New or postponed exams are offered within a reasonable time span following the regular exam. The student is responsible for applying for a new exam within the time limits set by HiOA and the Faculty of Education and International Studies. Regulations for new or postponed examinations are available in Regulations relating to studies and examinations at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences. More information about registration and time for new or postponed examinations is available at the HIOA web site.

A graded scale from A to E for passed and F for not passed will be used.

The exam will be assessed by one internal and one external examiner.