Degrowth

Course manual 2023/2024

Course content

The idea of degrowth appeared in the academic literature in the 1970s and some of its principles have been part of philosophical debates for centuries. More recently, it has appeared as a rapidly rising academic and activist movement. The movement proposes a deliberate and just downscaling of overproduction and overconsumption to increase human well-being and regenerate ecological conditions on the planet. In this course, students explore the scientific foundations and practical relevance of this challenging idea.

Study materials

Literature

• Readings to prepare for the lectures and the assignments will be shared via Canvas.

Objectives

• Recognise and distinguish key perspectives in degrowth/post-growth debates;
• Explain and evaluate degrowth/post-growth arguments for changing the growth-based economy;
• Interpret and examine processes of growth and degrowth by applying relevant conceptual and methodological frameworks;
• Develop and defend alternative approaches based on the principles of degrowth.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Self-study

Lectures contribute to objectives 1, 2, 3 and 4. Seminars contribute to objectives 2, 3 and 4. Self-study contributes to objectives 3 and 4.

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

• Students must attend at least 9 out of 10 lectures, and at least 5 out of 6 seminars.
• Absence needs to be communicated to your lecturers (Ilaha Abasli, abasli@iss.nl and Max Keijzer, m.c.keijzer@uva.nl) 

Assessment

Individual Perusall assignments are compensable, but the quizzes and essay are not (>5.5 average for the three quizzes, and >5.5 for the essay). Perusall assignment W44 is optional.

Assessment diagram

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years

Inspection of assessed work

Written feedback will be provided within 15 working days after exam or submission. It will include general comments pertaining to the assessment criteria. We will offer a possibility for inspection after the third quiz.

Assignments

COLLABORATIVE READINGS

This assignment is intended to help you better understand the two compulsory weekly materials, and get more out of your classes (see deadlines on canvas). You will be annotating articles, book chapters or documentaries with others in your class. The help you will get and provide to your classmates will make it a collaborative process. The idea is that while you read, you will simultaneously receive answers to your questions, help others resolve their questions (which also helps you in the learning process), and advise the instructor how to use class time most productively. 

This assignment uses the Perusall tool through Canvas, which allows you to start a new annotation thread by highlighting text, asking a question, or posting a comment. You can also add a reply or comment to an existing thread. You should aim to stimulate discussion by posting good questions or comments and to help others by answering their questions. To help you connect with classmates, you can “mention” a classmate in a post to have them notified by email (they will also see a notification immediately if online), and you will also be notified when your classmates respond to your questions. The assessment criteria can be found on Canvas.

INDIVIDUAL TAKE-HOME QUIZZES

Your individual engagement with the lectures will be examined through three "open-book" 30-minutes take-home quizzes spread out over the semester. Each quiz deals with the content of the lectures that preceded the quiz. You can start the quiz at any time between 09:00 and 17:00 on the quiz date (see deadlines on canvas), but you must complete the quiz in one go (i.e., you cannot stop halfway and continue later). Attendance and attention during the lectures, as well as your own lecture notes, should be enough to prepare for these quizzes.

Most questions will be closed (multiple choice, but also 'matching' or 'categorising' types of questions) and some will be open (short answers, could be about a definition, a concept, some important relationships, etc). For the open questions, it is important to actually draw on the lectures for arguments and evidence, but references or citations to particular authors mentioned during the lectures are not necessary. The length of your responses will be limited automatically. The number of points allocated to the questions will be mentioned in the quiz. Your grade will be provided within 15 working days after the quiz. It will include general comments pertaining to the assessment criteria, which can be found on Canvas. The resits will take place late January or early February (to be confirmed).

GROUP ESSAY

Students will write a group essay on their vision for a degrowth social transformation. You will describe the transformation that (you believe) needs to take place in order to successfully address the problems we will have discussed in the first part of the course. You will then zoom in on one particular area of transformation from a preselected list (e.g. food, housing, security, etc.), and on concrete proposal(s) within this area (e.g. regenerative agriculture, co-housing, defunding the military, etc.).

The essay should provide a background (what are the problems? why is social transformation needed?). You will also describe and analyse the concrete proposal(s) (why are the proposals necessary to tackle the problems? how do they fit in the broader transformation), find cases that describe the area/proposals in question, reflect on their effectiveness, and explore how it might rely on or support other degrowth areas of transformation and proposals. 

The essay should be between 3000 and 4000 words, no more no less, excluding references. The format for the assignment is an essay. If you are unfamiliar with the writing of an essay, you will find useful tips here and here. A soft copy (.doc or .docx) should be handed in through Canvas (see deadlines on canvas). The three seminars during the second part of the course will support and facilitate this group work through various activities and exercises.

Written feedback will be provided within 15 working days after submission. It will include general comments pertaining to the assessment criteria. It will also include a breakdown of the grade based on the assessment criteria, which can be found on Canvas. This grade is not compensable (5.5 or lower means a fail). The deadline for the resit will be 10 days after publishing the grades/feedback of the first attempt.

Fraud and plagiarism

This course adheres to the general rules on ‘Fraud and Plagiarism` as set by the UvA. Students are expected to have familiarized themselves with these rules.

The terms Fraud or Plagiarism are to be interpreted as the copying of the work of peer-student and/or the copying of (scientific) sources of information, without explicitly referring to its source.

Fraud/plagiarism is forbidden and actively checked by staff. When one is suspected of having committed fraud/plagiarism, the exam committee of beta-gamma and future planet studies will be informed. The highest punishment for fraud/plagiarism involves the student to be disallowed to partake of any exams or examination activities within the future planet studies programme, for the duration of a whole academic year, or may even face dismissal from the programme. More information about Fraud and Plagiarism can be found at: www.uva.nl/plagiaat

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Additional information

Teaching and Examination Regulations

The IIS elective and honours courses are covered by the examination board and the OER of the Bachelor Beta-gamma. Teaching and Examination Regulations (OER) are published annually and lay down all the rules and guidelines regarding assessment and examination which the IIS pursues. The OER can be found via https://student.uva.nl/en/topics/teaching-and-examination-regulations-and-other-regulations. Students and contractors who follow courses at the IIS can draw appeal to the Board of Appeals Board (COBEX).

Social safety and Evaluation Committee

The Evaluation Committee for Elective Education ensures the quality of electives and is committed to providing a safe learning environment. The committee, consisting of students and teachers, meets at least four times a year to provide requested and unsolicited advice on all educational matters related to IIS Elective Education. It utilizes course evaluations and actively seeks contact with students enrolled in IIS Elective Education.

The Evaluation Committee is very interested in comments, suggestions, recommendations, and other insights regarding the content, implementation, and offerings of IIS Elective Education. Students can contact them at evaluatiekeuzeonderwijs-iis@uva.nl.

If you experience undesirable behavior or unsafe situations, you can contact the study advisor of your educational program, one of UvA's confidential advisors, the Evaluation Committee, or the coordinators of the IIS Electives Program (via keuzeonderwijs-iis@uva.nl). More information and contact details of confidential advisors can be found at: https://student.uva.nl/en/topics/help-with-undesirable-behaviour

Last year's student feedback

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. ir. Crelis Rammelt

Staff

• Ilaha Abasli (abasli@iss.nl), assistant coordinator. Seminar groups B and D.
• Max Keijzer (m.c.keijzer@uva.nl). Seminar groups A and C.