Land, Power and Politics: a critical problem-based approach
| Module title | Land, Power and Politics: a critical problem-based approach |
|---|---|
| Module code | POL3294 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Nick Kirsop-Taylor (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
Society is increasingly coming to understand how resolving the major challenges of the ‘anthropocene’, from the climate crisis or the Holocene extinction, increasingly comes down to questions about land, land use change and how we manage land for food, the environment and climate. However, what’s often missing from this discourse is the that ‘land is power’, and the exercise of power lies in the political. In this module you learn about critical contemporary controversies in the politics of land and power through cases such as land grabbing in sub-Saharan Africa, apportioning indigenous land rights in the Amazon, and the future of food, technology, and land. You will initially gain an understanding of key theoretical debates and discourse illuminated through historical and international case studies before moving onto a number of important contemporary critical perspectives from the feminist, post-colonial, collapsologist and other perspectives.
In weekly seminars you will be set the challenge of solving a number of contemporary ‘problems’ in this field; such as ‘designing truth and reconciliation commission in post-colonial states, or ‘designing ‘just’ small island ‘loss and damage’ climate reparation programmes’. These seminars will be geared towards role-playing the ‘consultancy experience’ to give you important understanding and learning about transferable employment skills and opportunities in the professional world of consultancy. These will include important learning about the structure, form, and expectations of problem solving through problem-based learning approaches, whilst also building your skills for addressing critical contemporary ‘problems’ through problem-based learning.
There are no previous requirements for this module.
Module aims - intentions of the module
In this module you will cover a number of important areas giving historical and critical context to understandings about the ideas and notions of land, power and politics; rooted in the critical political ecology tradition. These include:
- Understanding why land equates to power, and the exercise of power in politics
- Understanding about the political ecology academic tradition
- Understanding contemporary land settlement, and why and how this should be critiqued
- Understanding emergent global political science discourse about what we use land for
Through a seminar series and assessments specifically designed to role-play the consultancy experience problem-solve critical real world political land-based problems
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the key historical trends and events that have shaped the contemporary normative global land-use and land management order.
- 2. Evidence understanding of the key theory and debates that underpin the politics of land.
- 3. Demonstrate a good-level of understanding of how and why the normative consensus of this global land-management order can (and should) be critiqued.
- 4. Demonstrate critical, nuanced, and independent problem-solving skills necessary for addressing urgent contemporary politicised land problems; in styles cognate with the commercial forms and processes expected in consultancy roles.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Locate and demonstrate a strong understanding of key theory, concepts, and debates in the political science discourse.
- 6. Critically apply theory, knowledge, and research to the problem-solving contemporary real-world challenges.
- 7. Demonstrate developed understandings of the rationale and barriers to policy and governance problem-solving.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Demonstrate team working skills in formats cognate with commercial/employment settings.
- 9. Evidence a well-developed understanding of the forms and processes that will be expected in professional commercial consultancy-style roles.
- 10. Communicate effectively in individual and group settings the synthesised solutions to complex problems for different audiences.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- The first agricultural and urban revolutions – land and power.
- Latifundia and agrarian power
- Political grand narratives of land and power
- Colonization, imperialism, and dependency
- Land and power in the age of colliding crises
- Making Peace with Nature
- Neo-colonialism, land and politics
- Futures of land and power
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 250 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 22 | Weekly 1-hour lectures over 22 weeks |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 22 | Weekly 1-hour seminars over 22 weeks |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 6 | Week twenty-one - consultancy assessment seminar |
| Guided Independent Study | 100 | Reading and seminar preparation |
| Guided Independent Study | 150 | Coursework research, preparation and writing |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formative presentation: consultancy interim-results exercise (week 11) | 5 minutes per group member | 4, 6-10 | Written |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | 0 | 35 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 35 | 2,500 words | 1-3, 5 | Written |
| Group consultancy report | 30 | 2,500 words per group member | 4, 6-9 | Written |
| Group presentation of consultancy report | 35 | 10 minutes per group member | 7-10 | Written and oral |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (2,500 words) | Essay (2,500 words) | 1-3, 5 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Group consultancy report (2,500 words per group member) | Written account of individual contribution to summative consultancy report (2,500 words per person) | 4, 6-9 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Group presentation of consultancy report (10 minutes per group member) | One-to-one viva (5 minutes per member) | 7-10 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
The group presentation cannot be re-assessed in a rigorous format after the group assessed event. Therefore, individuals will be asked to deliver a short 5-min viva/presentation detailing their contribution to PBL project within the context of the wider problem and solution. Presentation slides are encouraged for this.
Deferral – 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 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 – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as defined above. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Core texts:
Kirsop-Taylor, N., Appiah, D., Huggett, M. & Steadman, A. (2020). Problem-based learning for teaching and learning political ecology. The Journal of Environmental Education: 52 (1)1-13.
Fukuyama, F. (2011). ‘The Origins of Political Order’. London. First Ed.
Robbins, P. (2014). ‘Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction’. Wiley. London. Second Ed.
Contextual reading (illustrative):
Agrawal, B. (1994). ‘A field of one’s own: ender and land rights in South Asia’. South Asian Studies 58. Cambridge University Press. New York. First Ed.
Das, R. (2016). ‘The Politics of Land, Consent, and Negotiation: Revisiting the Development-Displacement Narratives from Singur in West Bengal’. SAMAJ: 13
Farley, J. Erickson, J. Daly, H. (2005). Ecological economics: A workbook for problem-based learning. Island Press. London. First Ed.
Linebaugh, P. (2014). Stop, Thief! The Commons, Enclosures and Resistance. Spectre. Oakland (CA).
| 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 | 03/02/2023 |
| Last revision date | 06/03/2023 |
