Uppsala University

The course provides an overview of Africa's historical, cultural, and societal development. Themes like precolonial societies and livelihoods, the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, independence, and postcolonial transformations are described with the help of anthropological, archaeological, and historical approaches and insights. Teaching is composed of lectures, seminars, group exercises, film screenings, and study visits.

This course focuses on environmental issues and sustainable development. The course covers three themes: the historical roots of and current discourses on sustainable development; the theories of managing common pool resources and their implications for sustainable development; and connections to specific environmental challenges. The course introduces students to the multidimensional aspects of sustainable development and their link to environmental challenges on global, national, and local levels. A special focus is put on the sustainable management of common pool resources. In addition, specific environmental challenges are used to illustrate the complexity of the issues and their implications for sustainability.

This course teaches communicative skills in spoken Swedish, such as pronunciation, fluency, grammatical correctness, rhetoric, and presentation techniques. Students analyze spoken Swedish, use the language in communicative situations, and receive individual feedback. Student's practice speaking Swedish to create conditions for well-functioning oral communication.
 

In this course concepts of sustainable development and design from an interdisciplinary perspective are introduced. Includes a broad orientation of different design principles and models of sustainable design, for example design with inspiration from nature and based on ecological systems and conditions. These examples are reviewed and problematized from a critical analysis and discussion with focus on ethics, power, risks and possibilities, idea-historical examples, different culture and world views, and aesthetics. In the course acquired theoretical knowledge is applied within a specific design principle on a field within the sustainability field. An interdisciplinary work process including technical, social, economical, ecological integrated, and sustainable systems is required. The project work offers the possibility to explore different creative presentations techniques.

The course examines the concept of sustainable development, the ecological foundations of human existence on Earth, and our way of using natural resources. Examples of themes covered in this course are ecosystem services, biodiversity, climate change, water supply, and energy systems. Lifestyle issues, leadership roles, and political strategies for a transition towards sustainable development are also addressed. Issues on ethics, health, cultural patterns, globalization, and technological development are discussed in connection with sustainable development. The course also includes studies of sustainability aspects and the implications of the national environmental goals at the local area. This course illustrates many issues including; energy production, water purification, waste management, education for sustainable development, effects of natural resource use, social and economic structure and local problems, solutions, strategies and visions. Students carry out independent in-depth work on any topic in the field of sustainable development.

The course is given as online education. Assignments are submitted in the e-classroom, and the student receives feedback from the teacher. In addition to the students' own literature studies, compulsory discussion forums and chat seminars are included.