Course syllabus

Course-PM

FFR160 Sustainable development lp1 HT19 (7.5 hp)

This course is offered by the department of Space, Earth and Environment

A PDF version of the course PM is available for download here

Contact details

Names and contact details of all teaching and administrative staff for this course are available here

Course purpose

The aim of this course is to give students the opportunity to acquire a systems perspective on society of today, and based on this develop their insights into restrictions and possibilities that follow from the need to transform the society to conform to a sustainable development.

Besides attaining knowledge of the concept of sustainable development, including different perspectives on this concept, students will learn about the consequences of societal resource use, and about strategies for changing this use into a more sustainable direction.

Schedule

The course schedule is available via TimeEdit. A PDF version of the schedule is furthermore available here

Course literature

Most literature for the course will be made available at the course portal (Canvas). In addition, all students need to obtain a copy of the book ‘Sustainable development – perspectives and nuances’ by Fredrik Hedenus, Martin Persson and Frances Sprei, before the start of the course. This book can either be bought online (e.g. from Studentlitteratur) or from Cremona.

Reading material for the four seminar/exercise sessions will be listed separately, in the respective seminar/exercise modules at the course portal (Canvas).

Some of the guest lectures may refer to additional publications, which will in that case be uploaded on the course portal.

Course design

Lectures

The course starts with a block of lectures giving perspectives on the concept sustainable development and on human interactions with nature from a historical perspective. Environmental ethics and intergenerational justice, and aspects of consumption are discussed. After this, lectures are dedicated to the concept of industrial ecology, providing systems perspectives on human-nature interactions and the societal metabolism in a sustainable development perspective. This block includes lectures on sustainable use of land and other resources, including agriculture and forestry systems, energy systems, as well as the use of metals and other materials in society. Specific lectures are also dedicated to past and present climate protocols and negotiations. In a third block of lectures – working for sustainability – invited guest lecturers present their own experience of working for sustainability in various functions in society. Earlier themes include environmental diplomacy and negotiations, eco-labelling of consumer goods, sustainability certification of forestry and sustainability strategies in companies.

Seminars and exercises 

During the course, two seminars and two exercises with preparatory tasks are arranged, providing opportunities for the students to discuss and learn more about specific topics of relevance for sustainable development. These seminars and exercises will facilitate orientation and learning related to central themes in the course.

These sessions should thus be seen as an opportunity to work with and apply, e.g., core concepts and definitions that have been introduced during lectures, thus allowing students to deepen their understanding and clarify open questions about these concepts. Active participation in group and classroom discussions is highly encouraged to make the most of this learning opportunity.

The seminars and exercises are compulsory. Students not participating in a specific seminar or exercise will need to perform an individual task that relates to the theme that was covered in the respective course session. Based on students’ hand-in for seminar two, up to two bonus points for the exam will be awarded. Students are advised to consult Chalmers guidelines on academic honesty that informs about the most common ways in which to use and refer to the work of others.

Before each seminar or exercises session, you will be assigned preparatory tasks. These can for example involve calculations to obtain information that are illustrative for the seminar or exercise theme. In addition, you’ll have to submit a written individual reflection after exercise one.

Some preparatory tasks can be done individually or in groups containing 2-3 students. Others need to be prepared in pre-defined groups. You will hand in your tasks before the course session via the course portal (Canvas), where you will also find further information about the hand in process. Deadlines for hand-ins are given in the schedule. The teachers will use the hand-ins in their planning of the seminars and exercises. However, no individual feedback will be given.

You will also be presented with a number of issues related to the seminar or exercise themes. These issues will be subject to discussion and debate during the course session. You should think them through and be prepared to state your own views in relation to the issues, with a presentation of the bases for these views. You can prepare in groups (where you do not need to reach consensus) or individually.

Learning objectives and syllabus

• Account for the meaning of sustainable development and its three principal dimensions: the ecological, the economic and the social dimension, including intergenerational justice;
• use a systems perspective, to describe sustainability challenges and possibilities for major technical systems and for their transformation to meet sustainability requirements;
• account for major restrictions and options for the use of resources and technologies from the standpoint of sustainable development;
• account for, on a basic level, socially and economically related conflicts of interests that may block implementation of sustainable development;
• account for strategies, international agreements and major policy instruments for a sustainable use of resources and ecosystem services;
• account for relevant analytical concepts, and have the capability to use these for analyzing issues related to sustainable development;
• account for basic ethical theory and apply it to analyze arguments and decisions on issues of sustainability.

The study plan for this course on Studieportalen is available here

Examination form

Written examination (4 hours). The grade scaling (for points) are failed (<25), 3 (25), 4 (32), or 5 (40), respectively. Maximum achievable points are 50.

Submission of all assignments and participation in all four seminar and exercise sessions is necessary to pass the course.