Degrowth

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

Introduction

Welcome to the course. 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, you will explore the scientific foundations and practical relevance of this challenging idea.

Content

We are trapped in a growth-dependent economy that is socially unjust and environmentally destructive. Expansion deepens these crises, yet slowing down triggers instability. How do we escape this deadlock?

The first step is to diagnose the problem. To expose the flaws of economic growth, degrowth research draws from various intellectual and philosophical traditions, such as ecological economics, Marxism, feminism, anarchism, post-development, and psychology. The first part of the course explores these perspectives to uncover the root causes of the crises.

The second part examines degrowth as both a movement and a transformative pathway, exploring post-growth societies rooted in conviviality, care, and commoning. Current political and economic conditions hinder the movement's progress more than they facilitate it. Through resistance and activism, the degrowth movement therefore also exposes, disrupts, or obstructs adverse policies and practices.

Bringing these insights together, the course asks: How does growth imperativism fuel today’s crises? And how can we build just, thriving societies within planetary boundaries?

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 growth-based societies;
• 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:

• Lectures: Attendance at the lectures is strongly recommended. Lecture recordings will only be made available to students with exceptional personal circumstances that prevent them from attending the lectures. In this case, please coordinate this first with the study advisors. We will make the recordings available a week before the exam.
• Seminars: For seminars there is a strict attendance rule: During the whole course you may miss max. 1 seminar, but absence needs to be communicated to Andro Rilović (a.rilovic@uva.nl)

Through your participation, you actively contribute to the vibrant learning community we foster. Your contribution and attendance largely determine the quality of the educational activities and your chances of successfully completing the course. Furthermore, the seminars 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 seminars largely depend on the attendance, preparation, and active participation of every student.

Assessment

• Collaborative readings will be graded in Perusall, but ultimately subject to pass/fail.
• Collaborative readings can also bring bonus points: If the overall Perusall grade contributes to a higher final grade, it will be counted as 10% of the final grade (which would decrease the weights of the other assignments proportionally).
• An average grade of 5.5 or higher is required to pass the course. Note that at IIS/FNWI final grades are rounded to whole or half digits behind the decimal point (8.2 becomes 8.0). Final grades between 5 and 6 will not be awarded (5.5 becomes 6).

If you are entitled to special facilities during exams, you need to contact the IIS Education Desk (educationdesk-iis@uva.nl) no later than four weeks before the exam. This is a strict deadline, as it can take some time to arrange the facilities to accommodate your needs. You are responsible for notifying us yourself.

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.

Assignments

COLLABORATIVE READINGS

These assignments are 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 and book chapters 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. These assignments use the Perusall tool through Canvas. The assessment criteria can be found on Canvas.

EXAM

Your individual engagement with the lectures will be examined through a 2-hour closed-book exam. The exam deals with the content of the lectures. Attendance and attention during the lectures, as well as your own lecture notes, should be enough to prepare for the exam. The exam will contain closed and open questions (to be confirmed). Your grade will be provided within 15 working days after the exam. The resits will take place late January or early February (to be confirmed).

GROUP ARTICLE AND PRESENTATION

In groups of 4-5 people, you will write an article on your 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 (e.g. food, housing, security, etc.), and on concrete proposal(s) within this area (e.g. regenerative agriculture, co-housing, defunding the military, etc.). You will also need to argue why you believe that this particular area of transformation (and concrete proposal) is the most important one to focus on, strategically.

The article assignment consists of two parts: a presentation and the final article. In the last seminar in block 3 you will get 10 minutes per group to present your vision, after which you will get formative feedback from both the lecturers and from other students. You will also provide feedback to all groups other than your own. The presentation will constitute 25% of the final grade, 5% of which will be for the feedback you give to others. Afterwards, you will get a week to reflect on the feedback you have received, and to incorporate any changes into your final article.

The final article should be between 3000-3500 words. The article should follow the format of a popular-scientific publication (e.g., a long read in The Guardian or in Undisciplined Environments). It should contain important background information (what are the problems? why a transformation is needed?); a describtion and analysis of concrete proposal(s) (how they will best tackle the identified problems? how they fit in broader transformations? How they might support other degrowth proposals); a reflection on the proposals’ strategic necessity and effectiveness. If useful, you can also find cases that describe the area/proposals in question. A soft copy (.doc or .docx) should be handed in through Canvas (see deadlines on Canvas).

Summative feedback will be provided within 15 working days after the final 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 (lower than 5.5 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

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

Co-coordinator and serminars

Andro Rilović (a.rilovic@uva.nl)