Environmental Studies

The course develops an awareness of the structure and function of tropical forest ecosystems and provides an intellectually stimulating understanding of the biophysical, ecological and anthropic processes which characterize these environments. To develop an awareness of the human impacts on these important systems and the kinds of geographical tools available for monitoring, modelling, and mitigation of the worst effects of these impacts. 

This course examines the way systems thinking is used in sustainability studies, including in local, regional and international contexts. Students are introduced to some of the strengths, limitations and major challenges inherent in this approach to helping us address complex interdisciplinary problems.

This course examines the field of environmental sociology. In particular, it examines how societies build a sense of human/nature divide into their concepts of collective identity and how the struggle to responsibly utilize natural resources is a vexing social problem. It focuses on environmental social movements globally, analyzing how this growing site of social conflict interacts with other inequalities. It also explores the social transformations being enacted globally to build sustainability, improve human/animal coexistence, address environmental racism, and to think about climate change risk beyond the nation-state.

This course examines the interaction between forests and people, linking forest types and locations to their products and services. It covers sustainable forest management, the role of forestry tackling climate change, and Treaty of Waitangi obligations.

The course examines contemporary social theoretical explanations of the salience of risk within so-called "late modern" society.  The course then explores the factors that shape the politics, processes, and outcomes of risk governance, as well as the factors that shape public perceptions of environmental risk and the associated problems posed for policy-makers, businesses, and other stakeholders in communicating risk issues.  The course finishes with reflections on the future management of environmental risk issues.

This course provides an overview of the history, current status, and mitigation strategies for atmospheric environment. It covers the following contents: Formation of the atmosphere Urban atmospheric environment and environmental regulations Human activity and ozone hole After taking the course, you will be able to answer the following questions. Why do we have oxygen in the atmosphere? How does PM2.5 in Beijing form? How did ozone hole form? How have we been resolving these environmental issues in the atmosphere? 

The course provides students with an understanding of contemporary societal and policy debates around key energy policy challenges in the context of the transition towards sustainable and lower carbon energy systems. The course will take a distinctive Science, Technology, and Innovation Studies (STIS) approach which equips students with the analytical tools necessary to critically evaluate key energy technology and policy debates in the UK, Europe, and globally.

This course examines environmental change as a problem of governance. It scrutinizes major governance dimensions - such as actors, institutions, and problem structures - at multiple levels and across domains. This includes the interplay of government, market, and civil society in efforts to mitigate and adapt to environmental change. The course critically approaches the changing institutional architecture of environmental governance, including the rise of alternative forms of governance beyond the state. Actors like regions, cities, international organizations, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and social movements are studied. Cases of environmental governance on various levels are contrasted and compared, together with overlaps between environmental issues and other domains like trade and security. The course allows reflecting on these cases in relation to central political scientific concepts like democracy, justice, legitimacy, and effectiveness.