Spatial Implications of Environmental Change

Course manual 2023/2024

Course content

The climate and the environment are changing at an increasing pace, and at the root of these changes is human action. The scientific community now even speaks of a historical epoch called the Anthropocene. It is a period in history when humans' impact on the planet is greater than any other natural process. Humans have spread across the world in ever-increasing numbers and have physically changed the landscape of the earth. This course considers several different fields of environmental change as the main focus of the first period. In the second period, we will investigate local/urban implications and responses to environmental change. 

Of course, environmental problems are, by definition, human constructs. Nature is always in flux. Think, for instance, of the ice ages. For nature in general, change is a fact of life. However, the fact that the changes are occurring so rapidly and impact human livelihoods are the main reasons humans consider environmental change a problem. Therefore, it is in the interaction between social and natural systems that we must turn our theoretical lenses. Theories such as Political Economy, Political Ecology, and Environmental Justice will be used to understand these complex relations between society and nature, and concepts such as climate governance, ecological modernization, and institutionalization will be studied as individual and collective reactions to environmental change.

Study materials

Literature

• Academic articles (available on Canvas), and

  Moseley et al. (2014) An Introduction to Human-Environment Geography: Local Dynamics and Global Processes. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell

Objectives

• Students are able to critically reflect on environmental changes and their relation with social and physical processes.
• Students have an understanding of different theoretical perspectives and be able to use them to reflect on environmental changes.
• Students understand the role of space and geography in analysing these changes.
• Students have an understanding of the existence of institutional arrangements (from local to global) and their functioning in serving the solution of environmental problems.
• Students are able to reflect on their own actions and their consequences for social-ecological systems.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar

This course has a lecture + tutorial format in which the tutorials are used to solidify further the knowledge presented in the lecture. The approach will differ per tutorial, but the goal for you is to make sure you understand the course material and the lecture correctly. This requires an active engagement with the material, with your fellow students, and with the lecturers. Read the texts before the main lecture, reread the texts before the tutorial and exam. The lectures, tutorials, and the exam will take place on campus.

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

• Participation in fieldwork is compulsory and cannot be replaced by assignments or other courses.
• In case of practical sessions, the student is obliged to attend at least of 90% of the sessions and to prepare himself adequately, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. In case the student attends less than 90%, the practical sessions should be redone entirely.
• In case of tutorials/seminars with assignments, the student is obliged to attend at least 7 out of 8 seminars and to prepare thoroughly for these meetings, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. If the course has more than 8 seminars, the student can miss up to 1 extra meeting for every (part of) 8 tutorials/seminars. If the students attends less than the mandatory tutorials/seminars, the course cannot be completed.

Additional requirements for this course:

You are expected to prepare and participate during class, as a basic course requirement. Attending all scheduled education activities is strongly advised. By doing so, you actively contribute to a lively learning community and significantly improve your chances of successfully completing the course. The designated mandatory activities play a crucial role in achieving the
course objectives and are essential for your overall progress. By registering for this course, you are complying with the rules regarding attendance and agreeing to actively prepare for and participate in the mandatory activities. 

The tutorials mainly focus on class discussions and group assignments. The material is not just limited to literature, but also involves articulating and applying the ideas, theories, and concepts from the literature. Therefore, the quality of the tutorials largely depends on the attendance, preparation, and active participation of every student.

You are allowed to miss one tutorial. Each additional missed tutorial without the approval of your tutorial lecturer will lead to the subtraction of 1 full point of the final grade.

You are required to give a presentation that must be assessed as sufficient. See Canvas for a more detailed description. 

Assessment

The final grade is based on four components:

1. Preparatory assignments in block 4 (20%): For each tutorial, you are required to submit preparatory assignments (CALQs) on the literature and lectures. Throughout the block, one random preparatory assignment will be graded per student. See canvas for more details.
2. Exam in block 4 (30%): At the end of block 4, there will be an exam on all materials covered during the block (lectures, readings, tutorials). A retake is possible.
3. Preparatory assignments in block 5 (50%): For each tutorial you are required to prepare an essay using readings of that week. This essay is in the form of a response to a fellow students’ essay of the week before. Two of these essays (one towards the end of the course) will be graded. See canvas for more details.
4. Group presentation (pass/fail): Each week (except for week 1) two students will be responsible for providing an introduction for the tutorial. See canvas for details.

Assessment requirements & criteria:

Calculation: exam (30%) +  one preparatory assignment in block 4 (20%)  + two preparatory assignments in block 5 (50%)= 100% grade

The exam covers all materials from block 4. The grade for your CALQs and the exam are compensable, but if you fail the Block, you will be asked to retake the exam.

Students need ≥ 5.5 (average) in block 4 and block 5 to pass the course.

You are required to get a pass for the presentation. 

Assessment diagram

Inspection of assessed work

The moments of inspection for the exams will be communicated through Canvas.

Date final grade

The final grade will be announced within 15 workdays after the last deadline.

Feedback

The exam will be graded, and you will have the opportunity to look at your answers and ask questions if you have difficulty understanding what the answer was supposed to be. This will be arranged within two weeks of the publication of the results. The tutorial lecturers are there to help when you feel you might not completely grasp the subject, but it is your responsibility to ask them to help.

Assignments

There are assignments per article per topic. 

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Additional information

We vinden het belangrijk dat je je op de UvA en bij Future Planet Studies veilig voelt. Krijg je onverhoopt te maken met ongewenst gedrag of voel je je onveilig, dan kun je terecht bij verschillende personen. Je melding wordt altijd vertrouwelijk behandeld. Kijk op onze website voor meer informatie over waar en bij wie je terecht kunt.

It is important that everyone feels safe at the UvA and Future Planet Studies. We are committed to provide social safety and we offer various forms of support for people experiencing inappropriate or unsafe situations. Consult the UvA website or Future Planet Studies Canvas page for more information and contact info.

Last year's student feedback

In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. Karen Paiva Henrique PhD

Staff

• dr. H.J.L.M. Verrest (co-coordinator)
• M. Keijzer
• J.V. Rothuizen
• R. van Schaick
• L. de Groot