Environmental Studies

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. This course examines the development and distribution of the diversity of life on Earth, with a special emphasis on plants. The course explores the spatial scaling of biodiversity, the role of biogeography, and the different levels of assembly organization, from the local to the global scales. Students shall become acquainted with methods for the measurement of biodiversity and its partitioning across scales, as well as the role of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning and stability and relations between biodiversity and climate. The course studies the use of biogeographical and macroecological theories and methods to understand the present strategies for biodiversity conservation. Students gain the capacity to investigate natural systems by means of data collection and analyses and preparation of a written report. The course discusses topics including: an introduction and historical overview; patterns of species distribution and range size; historical biogeography; ecological biogeography; spatial patterns of biodiversity in relation to latitude, climate, and area; relation between energy, productivity, and biodiversity; taxonomic and functional measures of biodiversity; data sources in biogeography and macroecology; partitioning of biodiversity in space and time; island biogeography; and human impacts on biomes and ecosystems; conservation biogeography.

This course provides methodologies and tools for the adaptation of water resource systems with respect to climate change and climate variability. The course provides a fundamental understanding of the physical processes behind climate change and its effects on the hydrological cycle.  Course topics include the climate of the world, global circulation patterns, climate variability, basic meteorology, rain-generating processes, downscaling in time and space, changes in rainfall patterns, extreme events, disaster risk reduction, sea level change and its consequences on near-shore constructions, urban hydrology, maintaining quality drinking water in a changing climate, and problems unique to arid areas and developing countries.

This course considers how the global pandemic of 2020-2021 has challenged the modus operandi, urban development model, and financial viability of the world's great cities at a time when those also have to face the profound challenge of making themselves more resilient against the multi-faceted threat of climate change. It highlights both the danger and opportunity brought on by the pandemic, in terms of rethinking transport systems, commercial real estate, commuting and work arrangements, food distribution, energy, waste management and recycling, housing policy, education, and the provision of essential business as well as personal services. The course examines the shake up of “established wisdom” in urban economics which has led to new thinking and an opening for innovation that extends to new organizational formations within the context of the “circular economy,” as well as “social solidarity economy” such as urban commons and cooperatives.

This course focuses on examining the contributions that social, cultural, political and economic factors have made towards environmental problems by applying insights from scholarship from across the social sciences. Working with case studies of contemporary environmental issues, students consider how and why these issues have emerged, and reflect on the risks, challenges, and opportunities associated with past, present, and future responses. Students pay attention to the roles and responsibilities of a range of stakeholders and institutions (including citizens, consumers, activists and social movements, state policy makers, international organizations, and corporations), and to the ethical and political tensions involved in enacting practical solutions to environmental issues.

This is an interdisciplinary course tackling questions of interest to political science, geography, environment, engineering, and anthropology. Infrastructure spans time and space, fills our daily lives but is said to be mostly invisible, especially when it works well. The course starts with a look at theories of infrastructure and its relation to power before turning to in-depth case study-driven work on roads, shipping and logistics, water and sanitation, failed infrastructures, and even the notion of "evil" infrastructure. Each of the thematic units develops skills and knowledge related to project management, public procurement and tendering, infrastructural financing in the developing world, decarbonization, debates on surveillance, as well as the geopolitical aspect of infrastructure seen in policies such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course provides an understanding of key issues involved in environmental politics, from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Environmental issues are critically discussed, with particular reference to the role and responsibilities of great powers in the international politics of climate change, power inequality, and the global ecological crisis. Students acquire and learn: 1) the essential conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools necessary to tackle and understand environmental issues; 2) knowledge regarding the major interpretations of environmental security; 3) basic knowledge about major environmental powers (United States, China, European Union, India, Brazil, Russia) and international institutions and issue areas (UN Security Council, multilateral environmental agreements, international climate leadership, coal politics); and 4) how to apply the acquired tools to the analysis of concrete cases.

The course focuses on Japan`s Environment and Energy Policies, especially its policies toward renewable energy. From a comparative perspective alongside other East Asian nations and Northern Europe (Norden), it analyzes Japan's role in global climate negotiations and its policies toward renewable energy in the context of its traditional reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power.

By the end of the course, students should be well-versed in global environmental issues as well as Japan's policies for combating climate change and promoting a shift toward renewable energy. An understanding of the current state of Japan's transition toward using renewable energy for energy generation; the further electrification of transportation, and the shift toward a hydrogen economy, is also an expected outcome.

This course emphasizes hands-on laboratory experience and teaches students research background, relevant theories, and basic laboratory techniques relevant to their field of study. Students formulate a research plan, implement it by conducting experiment-based research, and convey the results in scholarly presentations. Students submit a written research report at the end of the course.

In this course students acquire a broad knowledge base and develop analytical and critical thinking skills. Students actively participate in seminars, read assigned texts and research papers, and analyze research data. Students also discuss results obtained in their own experiments with peers and senior laboratory members.

This course provides students with an introduction into European environmental and climate politics and policy. Theories on European integration are discussed and students consider their explanatory value in understanding the emergence of environmental and climate policy. Special attention is paid to the European Union's institutional set-up and the actor constellations involved in policy-making processes. The course then reviews the policy cycle and explores the influence of different actor groups on the initiation, agenda setting, decision-making and implementation of European environmental policy. The focus is on regulatory areas related to the environment, climate change, and energy policy. Students consider the problems, debates, and decisions, and compare political expectations and results.