Wageningen University and Research Center

This course teaches the intricacies of the interaction between animal and plant parasites and their host. The focus is on current topics in the field of host-parasite interactions, including recent insights from many other disciplines such as ecology, soil biology, molecular and cell biology, plant and animal physiology, biotechnology, immunology, and genetics. Besides developing a more integrative view of host-parasite interactions as a broad biological phenomenon, students also discuss how this knowledge can be translated into better human, animal, and plant health. This course uses the development of effective writing skills help to deepen the understanding of a topic.

This course provides a systematic overview of the key topics of environmental ethics. It focuses on three protracted and heated debates at the interface of environmental ethics and ecological restoration. The first debate is about the value of ecological restoration (including ‘nature development’). The second debate is about the moral status of animals within ecological restoration projects. Here the course distinguishes between (complementary) two cases: the first one is about the (re)introduction of indigenous species that were once pushed out of their native environment; the other one is about the elimination or eradication of exotic and alien species that have invaded and degraded ecosystems. Both cases show that there is considerable tension between environmental ethics and animal welfare ethics. The third debate is about the role of human intervention in the Anthropocene. Old-school conservationists want to restore and protect pristine nature and call for an attitude of humility. Ecomodernists, on the other hand, see the Anthropocene not as an ecological disaster, but as an opportunity to increase human welfare and protect nature with the use of technology.

This foundational course combines theoretical and conceptual thinking from human geography and ways to analyze and understand the reciprocal relationships between humans and their environments, both natural and built. The learning materials are designed to introduce students to key themes and concepts that relate to human/environment relationships seen from the perspective of human geography and related social sciences, ranging from the complex and evolving relationship between society and nature to the significance of urban design for human wellbeing. Students work in small groups to further explore the weekly themes through discussion and practical exercises.

A basic course on veterinary epidemiology and economics. Specific diseases and their symptoms, prevention, therapy, and economic effects are used as an illustration of the following aspects: health and disease, how to diagnose, and which organizations are involved; types of disease, pathogen transmission, available preventive measures; types and design of epidemiological studies, analysis, and interpretation; basic economic principles and methods used in decision-making regarding animal health problems; and design of disease eradication and/or prevention programs.