COURSE INTRODUCTION AND APPLICATION INFORMATION


Course Name
Ecology, Politics, Planetary Thinking
Code
Semester
Theory
(hour/week)
Application/Lab
(hour/week)
Local Credits
ECTS
GEHU 303
Fall/Spring
3
0
3
4
Prerequisites
None
Course Language
English
Course Type
Service Course
Course Level
First Cycle
Mode of Delivery -
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course
Course Coordinator
Course Lecturer(s)
Assistant(s) -
Course Objectives This course aims to introduce key issues, major themes, and pressing problems concerning environmental politics and ecological thinking. Massive-scale expansion of urban areas; irreversible processes of deforestation and environmental degradation caused by the idea of "infinite growth"; careless urbanization and suburbanization; local and global threats posed by the climate change; and transnational impacts of changing public consumption habits into blind consumerism; all of these developments in the past few centuries address that in our age, the human-nature relationship takes place in the form of an "ecological crisis," meaning the time for taking significant steps towards rethinking of this relationship. In this respect, this course offers students to comprehend various issues of politics of environment from the perspective of "planetary thinking," which acknowledges contributions of conventional approaches; but it also brings a new approach by studying "human life" and "human health" in relation to planetary health that includes animal health, environmental/ecological health, and biodiversity.
Learning Outcomes The students who succeeded in this course;
  • define major shifts and developments in history on the relationship between human and nature leading to the age of global ecological crisis;
  • explain the interconnectedness between society and ecology in the sense of how society is affected by the environmental problems
  • compare and contrast the actions of various actors in ecological crisis;
  • develop a critical understanding on different opinions, attitudes, and actions of ecological movement at individual and collective levels;
  • examine the processes on how societal development, economic growth, and industrialization can take place in a positive-sum relationship with ecological progress and planetary health;
  • develop solutions for the problems posed by the ecological crisis through taking steps towards planetary thinking.
Course Description This course will develop in three parts. In the first part, we are going to spend some time in understanding the “ecological crisis” by looking at its symptoms and reasons, also climate denialism, and the idea of “planetary thinking” and “planetary health.” In the second part, we are going to elaborate on the critical perspectives towards the idea of environmental justice with an emphasis on green philosophy and politics as well as international cooperation on sustainability and ecological enhancement. We will devote the final part of the course on current debates.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

 



Course Category

Core Courses
Major Area Courses
Supportive Courses
Media and Managment Skills Courses
Transferable Skill Courses

 

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week Subjects Required Materials
1 Introduction to the course: Objectives and Expectations John Bellamy Foster (1999), The Vulnerable Planet, (NY: Monthly Review Press), Preface&Ch.1
2 Ecology and the Emergence of Environmental Politics Jaboury Ghazoul (2020), Ecology: A Very Short Introduction (NY and London: Oxford University Press), ch.1-2. Andrew Dobson (2016), Environmental Politics: A Very Short Introduction, (NY and London: Oxford University Press), introduction; ch.1-2. Pamela S. Chasek et al. (2018), “The Emergence of Global Environmental Politics,” Global Environmental Politics (7th ed.), (NY and London: Routledge), pp. 1-49.
3 The Rise and Fall of Developmentalism and “Infinite Growth” Kelley Johnson (2010), “Developmentalism Then and Now: The Origins and Resurgence of an Enduring Grand Theory,” Grand Theories and Ideologies in the Social Sciences (ed. Howard J. Wiarda), (NY: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 19-40. Sukhoon Hong (2010), “Environmental and Geographic Determinism: Jared Diamond and His Ideas,” Grand Theories and Ideologies in the Social Sciences (ed. Howard J. Wiarda), (NY: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 141-158. Jacobus A. du Pisani (2006), “Sustainable Development: Historical Roots of the Concept,” Environmental Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 83-96.
4 Actors and Regimes of Environmental Politics Pamela S. Chasek et al. (2018), “Actors in the Environmental Arena,” Global Environmental Politics (7th ed.), (NY and London: Routledge), pp. 51-103. Lindsay Maizland (2021), “Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures,” Council on Foreign Relations (https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/paris-global-climate-change-agreements).
5 Approaches 1: Population and Scarcity vs. Institutions and Commons Paul Robbins et al. (2014), Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, (UK: Wiley Blackwell), ch.2&ch.4.
6 Approaches 2: Environmental Justice *Deadline for setting up presentation groups Paul Robbins et al. (2014), Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, (UK: Wiley Blackwell), ch.5.
7 Midterm
8 Making Sense of the “Crisis” of Ecology TBA
9 Climate Change: Denialist vs. Alarmist Controversy **Deadline for submitting presentation topics with brief descriptions TBA
10 Solutions 1: Transnational Activism/ Environmental Movements ***Feedback on presentation topics TBA
11 Solutions 2: “Planetary Health” TBA
12 Presentations
13 Presentations
14 Presentations
15 Review of the Semester
16 Final Exam
Course Notes/Textbooks
Suggested Readings/Materials

 

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities Number Weigthing
Participation
1
10
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
1
20
Presentation / Jury
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exam
Midterm
1
30
Final Exam
1
40
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade
3
60
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
1
40
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities Number Duration (Hours) Workload
Course Hours
(Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
16
3
48
Laboratory / Application Hours
(Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
16
Study Hours Out of Class
16
1
16
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
1
8
Presentation / Jury
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exam
Midterms
1
10
Final Exams
1
18
    Total
100

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

#
Program Competencies/Outcomes
* Contribution Level
1
2
3
4
5
1

To be able to perform, execute and manage the various responsibilities and duties of an interior architecture and environmental design professional

2

To be able to recognize, analyze and integrate within their practice the particular local and regional needs and developments of their profession

3

To be able to communicate and collaborate with other individuals and groups on a national and international level within their profession

4

To be able to develop, integrate and promote independent critical approaches for their professional practice

5

To be able to understand the social and environmental issues and responsibilities of their profession

6

To be able identify, assess and utilize the most up to date research, innovations, trends and technologies

7

To be able to consider the national and international standards and regulations of their field

8

To be able to develop the abilities to communicate and present design ideas within visual, oral and textual formats

9

To be able to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to design on a national and international level

10

To be able to recognize their own strengths, and develop them within an environment

11

To be able to collect data in the areas of interior architecture and environmental design and communicate with colleagues in a foreign language

12

To be able to speak a second foreign at a medium level of fluency efficiently

13

To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout the human history to their field of expertise

*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest