Syllabus for A Sustainable Future - Transdisciplinary Practices

Decisions and guidelines

Included in the minor field Sustainable Development.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course the student shall be able to:

• analyse the concept of sustainable development and apply the theoretical knowledge in a sustainability project;
• plan, carry out and present a project work that contributes to sustainability in the real world;
• choose and apply relevant methods in a real-world sustainability project;
• communicate the results of project work within the sustainability field to a broad audience;
• account for and critically evaluate practical and ethical dilemmas that can arise when working for transitions to futures that operate within the ecological limits of our planet.

Content

The course explores how human cultures, communities and economic activities can work in alignment with ecological systems. The course aims to provide students with the theoretical and practical skills needed for meaningfully tackling sustainability challenges. The course highlights and problematises the major relevant critical perspectives on sustainability and aims to go beyond simplified notions of sustainability. Instead, students will develop their own theoretical lens from the synthesis of the presented perspectives to be able to work with real complexity and develop first steps towards practices that focus on systematic change. Students will be supported to become experts in matters of cross-sectoral working, team-development, ethics and social responsibility and dealing with dynamic sustainability challenges. There is a strong focus on building collaborations with local communities with the aim of creating projects that are solutions-oriented.

This course provides a practical entry point to real-world sustainability challenges through literature drawn from natural and social sciences and the humanities, from interdisciplinary theory, and from insights into cases of complex sustainability issues and social movements around the world.

Instruction

The teaching includes lectures, excursion, exercises, workshops, seminars, and project assignments.

Assessment

Continuous written assignments and oral presentations, both individual and group (10 credits) and active participation in exercises, workshops and seminars (5 credits).

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.