Spatial Implications of Environmental Change

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

The climate and environment are changing at an accelerating pace, largely driven by human activity. Scientists now refer to a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene—a period in which human influence has become the dominant force shaping Earth’s climate, environment, and ecosystems. In this course, we study environmental change and their relation with social and physical processes: why impacts are uneven across places, how they spread across landscapes, and what this means for people, livelihoods, and planning.

In the first part of the course, we discuss several theoretical lenses for better understanding the implications of environmental change: environmental justice and climate justice, political economy, political ecology, ontological pluralism, and planetary urbanization. Together, these lenses help us understand what drives environmental change and why its impacts are unequal across people and places.

In the second part of the course, we take a thematic approach to explore specific consequences and responses. We will study environmental change and human migration, conflict, managed retreat, and habitability as key outcomes of environmental transformation. We also study climate activism, looking at today’s climate movements, the strategies they use, and the challenges they face.

By linking core theories to concrete themes, this course highlights the spatial dimensions of environmental change and situates the study of the Anthropocene within broader debates in human-environment geography and planning. It prepares students to critically evaluate the multifaceted challenges facing our planet today.

Study materials

Literature

• Academic articles (available on Canvas), and the book:

  Moseley, W. G., Perramond, E., Hapke, H., & Laris, P. (2014). An introduction to human-environment geography: Local dynamics and global processes. John Wiley & Sons.

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

Lectures introduce the foundational theories and themes related to the Anthropocene, human-environment geography, and the social and physical consequences of environmental change. They provide students with the core knowledge needed to engage with course readings and in-class discussions.

Weekly tutorials build on the lectures and allow students to solidify the knowledge presented in the lecture. During the tutorials we will critically analyze and debate key ideas. The tutorials require an active engagement with the reading material, with your fellow students, and with the lecturers. To solidify your learning, read the texts before each lecture, revisit them before the tutorials, and review again in preparation for the final exam. All lectures and tutorials will take place on campus.

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

For this course, attendance is mandatory for the tutorials/seminars. During these sessions, learning objectives 1 through 5 are addressed. The guidance and exercises provided in the tutorials/seminars are essential for achieving these learning objectives. These learning objectives are assessed through the CALQs, the pair/duo assignment, and the exams. By registering for this course, you agree to comply with the attendance policy and to prepare for and actively participate in the mandatory activities.

During the seminars we will focus on articulating and applying the ideas, theories, and concepts from the lecture and the literature. Therefore, the quality of the seminars largely depends on the attendance, preparation, and active participation of every student.

Students are allowed to miss up to two tutorials. If a student misses more than two tutorials, the course cannot be successfully completed.

Assessment

Assessment
The final grade is based on four components:

1. CALQs (Lectures 1–6): 20% (no minimum grade; no resit)
2. Exam 1: 25% (no resit; may be compensated by Exam 2)
3. Pair/duo assignments (Lectures 7–9): 30% (no minimum grade; no resit)
4. Exam 2: 25% (may be compensated by Exam 1)

Pass requirements
You pass the course if:

1. Your weighted final course grade is at least 5.5, and
2. Your exam average is at least 5.5, calculated as (Exam 1 + Exam 2) / 2.

Resit
If your exam average is below 5.5, you may take one resit at the end of Block 5. The resit covers both blocks and counts as a single combined exam grade worth 50% of the final grade. In that case, the resit grade replaces both Exam 1 and Exam 2 in the grade calculation.

A note on the exams
Both exams are in person, on campus. Students are responsible for being physically present for both exams and, if applicable, the resit in June. There is no option to take the exam remotely.

Assessment diagram

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years

Partial results remain valid for one year. However, because the course assessment has changed significantly from previous years, please contact the course coordinator (r.j.vanduijne@uva.nl) before the course begins.

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 afterward you will have the opportunity to review your answers and ask questions if you have difficulty understanding the expected solutions. This review session will be organized within two weeks after the results are published. The tutorial lecturers are available to assist you if you find a topic challenging, but it is your responsibility to seek their help.

Assignments

• CALQs: an individual written assignment (1 A4) that is based on the core argument (CA), linkages between lectures and readings (L), and a question the student has (Q). In block 4, students write 6 CALQs in parallel with the 6 lectures. Two of these CALQs will be randomly graded. The average grade of these two CALQs counts for 20% of the total grade. Feedback on written CALQs is provided in the seminars.
• Duo/pair assignments: in Block 5 you complete three duo assignments. You work in pairs, and the composition of the pairs changes each week. Together, the three assignments make up 30% of the final grade.
• Exams: after block 4 there is a written exam based on the lectures, seminars, and literature (25% of final grade). After block 5 there is a written exam based on the lectures, seminars, and literature (25% of final grade).

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. R.J. van Duijne PhD

Staff

• C. McDonnell
• J. van der Klei
• J.V. Rothuizen
• J. Nijman