Environmental Problems within Social Science: From Tragedy of the Commons to Planetary Boundaries
Summary
This course covers environmental problems from different social-scientific perspectives, with an emphasis on political science. You will learn different ways in which social science explains environmental problems as well as how society is organized to solve—or fail to solve—these problems. The course also teaches green political theory.
About
The course begins by covering explanatory perspectives on environmental problems in the social sciences. It discusses collective action problems as well as how population, technological development and material proseperity relate to environmental problems. The second part of hte course analyzes the arenas and actors of environmental policy, that is, how environmental policy works in practice. Here we cover topics such as the connection between governance and environmental protection, the implementation of environmental policy in public administration, and environmental policy opinion. The third and final part covers green political theory and thus focuses on what may and should be done with regard to the environment. Here we discuss the environment using normative concepts such as value and justice. Examples of questions posed in this part of the course is how environmental consequences can and should be incorporated into cost-benefit calculations and what the relationship between human rights and the environment looks like.
Prerequisites and selection
Entry requirements
Admission to the course requires the successful completion of a minimum of 15 credits from courses at the second cycle in socialscience or in economics or in business administration or equivalent knowledge. Applicants must prove their knowledge of English: English 6/English B from Swedish Upper Secondary School or the equivalent level of an internationally recognized test, for example TOEFL, IELTS.
Selection
Selection is based upon the number of credits from previous university studies, maximum 165 credits.