Aims: To invite students to explore and evaluate a variety of sources which suggest that the current impact on the biosphere of human activity is unsustainable; that an underlying cause of this is the dominant paradigm or world view of Western civilization; and that major transformations of personal, organizational, economic and political life are required to address the challenges that arise from this situation.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, the student should be able to:
demonstrate they have understanding of the practical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual issues that face humanity in relation to environmental issues; to have considered what changes are needed in private and public arenas; and developed an ability to critically, actively and creatively contribute to public debate.
Skills:
Intellectual skills - to be familiar with a variety of ways of understanding the relationship of humans to their living space; to have developed a capacity T/A
Professional Practical skills - to be able to discuss these issues with broad familiarity with current information; to be able to engage in public debate. F
Transferable/ Key skills - to have started to develop the skills as a citizen and organizational member to contribute to the development of a ecologically sustainable world. F
Content:
A series of focused explorations of the state of the biosphere from perspectives such as changing paradigms; systemic thinking, Gaia theory, the limits to growth; ecological economics and natural capitalism; deep ecology; ecological conceptions of gender, self and spirituality; the implications of these for individual social and organizational lives.
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