Contemporary Social Problems
Objectives
It is intended that at the end of the course the student demonstrates :
(a) knowledge and understanding of contemporary social problems that result from the interaction of societies with the environment; these problems stem from the way societies and the environment co-evolve, relate to each other and seek to harmonise.
b) Ability to situate these problems in the context of modernity, of the risk society and the Anthropocene.
c) Capacity for a critical and autonomous reflection on these problems as well as sensitivity to the diversity of approaches
d) Competences to apply this knowledge in the preparation, presentation and critical discussion of an essay.
General characterization
Code
722081099
Credits
10.0
Responsible teacher
Iva Maria Miranda Pires
Hours
Weekly - 3
Total - 280
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
Available soon
Bibliography
Alford J, Head B (2017). Wicked and less wicked problems: a typology and a contingency framework. Policy&Soc. 36(3):397–413
Beck, U (1992). From Industrial Society to the Risk Society: Questions of Survival, social structure and Ecological Enlightenment. Theory and Culture&Soc, 97-123.
Kirschke, S.; Newig, J. (2017). Addressing complexity in environmental management and governance. Sustainability, 9, 983.
Levin K, et al (2012). Overcoming the Tragedy of Super Wicked Problems: Constraining our Future Selves to Ameliorate Global Climate Change. Policy Sci 45, 123–152.
Ostrom, E (2010). A Multi-Scale Approach to Coping with Climate Change and Other Collective Action Problems. Solutions, 1(2):27-36
Robinson S; Toulmin C; Whiteley R (2010). The future of the global food system. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 365: 2769-2777
Turnbull N, Hoppe R (2019). Problematizing ‘wickedness’: a critique of the wicked problems concept, from philosophy to practice and beyond. Policy&Soc. 38(2):315–337
Teaching method
The following forms of work are used in the course:
(1) introductory lectures with power-point slides, discussion of texts from the course literature in the class;
(2) video watching, discussion in working groups and in the class;
Students will have access to a wide range of analytical perspectives, both academic and non-academic. Based on these materials, students must develop his/her own critical opinion on the issues and discuss them in a context of a group dynamic.
Examination includes (a) participation in the video sessions and writing of a summary report from one session in a working group; (b) writing a short individual essay based in a literature review designed to get students critically engaged with arguments in existing academic literature.
Evaluation method
Evaluation Methodologies - discussion in the class(25%), individual essay(50%), writing of a summary report from a video session(25%)
Subject matter
The syllabus is organized into autonomous but interdependent thematic sessions:
Introduction
1.The Impact of Human Actions on the Ecosystems. The discourses on the Limits to Growth, the Anthropocene and the Planet Boundaries.
2.Problems Associated with the Use of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services: Ecological Unequal Change and the “Resource Curse”.
3.Socio-ecological Systems (SES): a framework to analyze Human-Environmental interactions and its consequences.
Contextualization
4.Environmental Problems as Societal Problems.
5.Characterization of Complex Problems (Wicked Problems)
6.“Wicked problems” in the framework of the Risk Society
Case Studies
7. Climate change as a wicked social problem: processes and impacts on society, economy and environment. Climate urgency, climate change adaptation and mitigation.
8.The future of food: food safety, food sovereignty and food waste. The consequences of globalization of the food system.
Programs
Programs where the course is taught: