School of Management, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
MN30028 Thinking about sustainability |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: CW 100% |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: This unit starts with an overall account of the crisis of planetary sustainability that confronts late capitalism, inviting students to explore and evaluate a variety of sources which suggest that the current impact of human activity on the biosphere is unsustainable and that an underlying cause of this is the dominant world view of Western civilization. Understanding of this crisis depends not on knowing the 'facts' alone, but on an appreciation of the multiple discourses that shape how these 'facts' are experienced. The unit is based on the premise that radical transformations of the way we think, and 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; * to have 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 the living space of the planet 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 an ecologically sustainable world. F Content: The course explores the crisis of sustainability through a number of different discourses - reformist and radical, prosaic and imaginal - which point us to a range of literature including: * the economic problem solving of the Stern review; * the systemic thinking of Meadow's Limit to Growth; * the range of proposals for 'natural capitalism' 'as if the planet mattered' including Porritt, Hawken, Lovins, McDonough; * Gaia theory (Lovelock), deep ecology (Naess), and the spiritual perspectives of Berry, Macy and others. |