Geography

This course introduces students to the social dimensions of climate and climate change. The course takes a critical analysis of the dominant international process to mitigate climate change emissions, comprising of the IPCC, UNFCCC process and the Paris Accord. We will explore the different ways in which climate knowledge is constructed and how climate is represented and articulated in society. Existing discourses of climate change are placed in an historical perspective, and alternative aims for climate change mitigation explored. The course begins with a history of the discovery of climate change and an outline of the global governance regime for climate mitigation, as manifested through the Paris Agreement, UNFCCC process, and the IPCC reports. We will then critically analyse this process, by discussing the assumptions that underpin it, the unintended consequences of action to fight climate change, and alternative measures and outcomes that are not covered within the UNFCCC process.

This course gives an overview of political geography's historical and contemporary treatment of the questions of territoriality, state, and nation. Topics include nations and nationalism, and boundaries and territorial disputes, and students explore how territoriality, nation, and sovereignty are viewed in developing regions of the world.