Climate Change and Society
| Module title | Climate Change and Society |
|---|---|
| Module code | GEO3437B |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Catherine Leyshon (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
The study of the human dimensions of climate change has been growing in momentum through research which attempts to describe and evaluate perceptions of climate change, understand more about risk and assess the construction of policy. Nevertheless, the work of social scientists in respect of climate change is clearly felt to be incomplete, judging by recent calls that important work still needs to be done to understand how individuals and communities respond to climate change based on âtheir needs, values, cultures, capacities, institutional forms and environmental featuresâ. This module is of direct applied relevance to students interested in working in policy, government or consultancy.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module explores how as a society we imagine, understand, communicate and respond to climate change. It explores climate change as the object of study of social scientists and humanities scholars, looking in particular at the unique contribution of human geography to this work. It reviews how climate change is represented and responded to in fields as diverse as art, literature and economics and explores some of the reasons why this global environmental problem has proved difficult to address.
The social media campaign that forms part of the assessment is an example of applied learning that is research-led and puts employability at the heart of the module, giving you an opportunity to design, plan and deliver a climate change communication campaign suitable for the general public. The module draws explicitly on Prof Leyshonâs research into human geographies of climate change.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Analyse critically the social and cultural aspects of climate change
- 2. Review and evaluate the key research developments in the social sciences and humanities in studying the human dimensions of climate change
- 3. Outline the ways in which different social, political, economic and ecological processes are negotiated in the creation of policy for climate change
- 4. Recognise and work with the methodological issues that attend the conduct of research from different theoretical perspectives including social and cultural geography
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Describe in detail and analyse essential facts and theory across a sub-discipline of human geography
- 6. Analyse and evaluate independently a range of research-informed literature and synthesise research-informed examples from the literature into written work
- 7. Identify and implement, with limited guidance, appropriate methodologies and theories for solving a range of complex problems in human geography
- 8. With minimal guidance, deploy established techniques of analysis, practical investigation, and enquiry within human geography
- 9. Describe and evaluate in detail approaches to our understanding of human geography with reference to primary literature, reviews and research articles
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 10. Devise and sustain, with little guidance, a logical and reasoned argument with sound, convincing conclusions
- 11. Communicate effectively arguments, evidence and conclusions using a variety of formats in a manner appropriate to the intended audience
- 12. Analyse and evaluate appropriate data and complete a range of research-like tasks with very limited guidance
- 13. Evaluate own strengths and weaknesses in relation to graduate-level professional and practical skills, and act autonomously to develop new areas of skills as necessary
- 14. Reflect effectively and independently on learning experiences and evaluate personal achievements
- 15. Work in a small team and deal proficiently with the issues that teamwork requires (i.e. communication, motivation, decision-making, awareness, responsibility, and management skills, including setting and working to deadlines)
Syllabus plan
- Introduction
- Climate change, science, and society
- Climate change and everyday life
- Risk, vulnerability and futurity
- Climate change and cultural landscapes
- Art of climate change
- Literature of climate change
- Economics of climate change
- Research trajectories: the social sciences and climate change
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 130 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 10 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 5 | Seminars |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 5 | Workshops |
| Guided independent study | 130 | Additional research, reading and preparation for module assessments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student-led seminars | 5 hours in total across the module | All | Brief written feedback for each group and general oral in class |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group project management (Trello) | 5 | Updated Trello boards reflecting the activity of the group over 7 weeks | 7-9, 14, 15 | Written |
| Pledge social media campaign | 45 | At least two social media sites created and maintained | 1, 3, 4, 6-8,10-13, 15 | Written |
| Examination | 50 | 1 hour | 1-14 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group project management (Trello) | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Pledge social media campaign | Planning document describing the design of a social media campaign | 1, 3, 4, 6-8,10-13, 15 | August Assessment Period |
| Examination | Examination | 1-14 | August Assessment Period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral â if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The group Trello project is not deferrable because of its practical nature and the requirement to work in a group. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral â if you have failed the module overall (ie a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to sit a further examination. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will count for 100% of the final mark and will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Adger, W.N., Dessai, S., Goulden, M., Hulme, M., Lorenzoni, I., and Nelson, D.R. (2009) âAre There Social Limits to Adaptation to Climate Change?â Climatic Change 93, 335â54.
- Aspinall, R. (2010) âGeographical Perspectives on Climate Changeâ, Annals of the Association of American Geographers [special issue: Climate Change] 100, 715â18. (Overview of environmental, human, social, political, and methodological issues of the geographical dimensions of climate change.)
- Barnett, J. (2010) âAdapting to Climate Change: Three Key Challenges for Research and Policy â an Editorial Essayâ, WIREs Climate Change 1, 314â17.
- Behringer, W. (2009) A Cultural History of Climate, Cambridge: Polity.
- Boykoff, M., Goodman, M. and Curtis, I. (2009) âCultural Politics of Climate Change: Interactions in the Spaces of the Everyday, Environment, Politics and Developmentâ, Working Paper Series: Department of Geography, Kingâs College London.
- Brace, C. and Geoghegan, H. (2011) âHuman Geographies of Climate Change: Landscape, Temporality, Lay Knowledgeâ, Progress in Human Geography 35, 284â302.
- Brierley, G. (2010) âLandscape Memory: The Imprint of the Past on Contemporary Landscape Forms and Processesâ, Area 42, 76â85.
- Demeritt, D. (2001) âThe Construction of Global Warming and the Politics of Scienceâ, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 91, 307â37.
- DeSilvey, C. (2012) âMaking Sense of Transience: An Anticipatory Historyâ, Cultural Geographies, 19, 31â54.
- Devine-Wright, P. (2011) âPlace Attachment and Public Acceptance of Renewable Energy: A Tidal Energy Case Studyâ, Journal of Environmental Psychology 31: 336â43.
- Dockerty, T., Lovett, A., SuÃ?nnenberg, G., Appleton, K. and Parry, M. (2005) âVisualizing the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Rural Landscapesâ, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems 29, 297â320.
- Doyle, J. (2007) âPicturing the Clima(c)tic: Greenpeace and the Representational Politics of Climate Change Communicationâ, Science as Culture 16, 129â50.
- Geoghegan, H. and Leyshon, C. (2012) âOn Climate Change and Cultural Geography: Farming on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, UKâ, Climatic Change, 113(1) (2012), 55â66, available at DOI: 10.1007/s10584-012-0417-5.
- Hulme, M. (2008) âGeographical Work at the Boundaries of Climate Changeâ, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 33, 5â11.
- Hulme, M. 2009) Why We Disagree about Climate Change, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Ingold, T. (2000) The Perception of the Environment: Essays in Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill, London: Routledge.
- Ingold, T. (2004) âCulture on the Ground: The World Perceived through the Feetâ, Journal of Material Culture 9, 315â40.
- Ingold, T. (2007) âEarth, Sky, Wind, and Weatherâ. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 13, S19âS38.
- Moser, S.C. (2009) âNow More than Ever: The Need for More Societally-Relevant Research on Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Changeâ, Applied Geography 30, 464â74.
- Nadai, A. and Van Der Horst, D. (2010) âIntroduction: Landscapes of Energiesâ Landscape Research, 35, 143â55.
- Nerlich, B., Koteyko, N., and Brown, B. (2010) âTheory and Language of Climate Change Communicationâ, WIREs Climate Change 1, 97â110.
- Spence, A. and Pidgeon, N.F. (2010) âFraming and Communicating Climate Change: The Effects of Distance and Outcome Frame Manipulationsâ, Global Environmental Change 20, 656â67.
- Strauss, S. and Orlove, B.S. (2003) Weather, Climate, Culture, Oxford: Berg.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 17/09/2012 |
| Last revision date | 06/02/2017 |