Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Unit Catalogue 2010/11 |
BB30108: Life, environment & people |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Honours |
| Period: | This unit is available in... |
| Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW 60%, ES 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description:
| Aims: To reflect, through participatory co-inquiry, on how to use, develop and communicate basic scientific and biological knowledge in order to contribute effectively and creatively to the future understanding and remedy of environmental and social problems. Learning Outcomes: After taking this course the student should be able to: * explain how different perceptions and logical premises, both orthodox and heterodox, concerning the nature of space and living system boundaries affect interpretations of patterns of organization and environmental transformation over scales ranging from microscopic to global. * use this understanding to critically evaluate the origins and underlying assumptions of various kinds of knowledge, value-judgements and assertions about the way human beings relate to one another and their environmental context. * communicate this understanding in a variety of scientific and social contexts. Skills: Learning and studying T/F/A, Written communication T/F/A, Oral communication T/F/A, Information handling & retrieval T/F/A, Working independently T/F. Content: Lecturer-led discussions of key scientific and biological themes in the context of their social and environmental relevance: rationalistic and 'inclusional' views of nature; water as the dynamic context of life; divided and united states - genes, cells, bodies, societies and communities; the role of death in life; evolutionary transformation - natural creativity, opportunity space, life history patterns, elemental ingredients, linearity and non-linearity; unpredictability - its sources and implications for management of life and environment. Student-led 'round-tables' on environmentally-related topics of their choice. |