GEOG*1220 - Explaining Environmental Change

Course Description

A global overview of the changing relationships among society, technology and the environment. This course emphasizes the major stages of human use of resources and the environmental consequences of global changes in production systems. It contrasts Third and First World experiences, focusing on core-periphery relationships.

Note: This course can be taken individually or as a part of a certificate program.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:

Identify and describe human impacts on the environment across a variety of earth systems and scales;
Define concepts from earth system sciences that characterize environmental change from a biophysical perspective (e.g., feedback loops, open/closed systems, nutrient cycles, etc.) and apply these concepts to specific cases and examples;
Discuss the social scientific concepts that drive human impacts on the environment (e.g., institutional failures, market failures, environmental racism, etc.) and different ways governments, companies, and civil society actors govern environmental change, and apply these concepts to specific cases and examples;
Investigate, evaluate, and synthesize diverse sources of knowledge about real-world, place-based environmental issues; and
Write a policy memo that provides an overview of what we know about a specific environmental change, its societal drivers, and potentially effective governance approaches.

Course Topics

Earth System Science
The Anthropocene
Population
Institutions
Ethics and Values
Risk Governance
Markets
Political Economy
Settler Colonialism
Environmental Justice
Writing Research Summaries and Synthesizing Research

Additional Requirements

Pre-requisite(s): None

Co-requisite(s): None

Equate(s): None

Restriction(s): None

Assessment

Assessment Item	Weight	Learning Outcomes
Weekly Quizzes (Best 7 out of 9; 3% each)	21%	1, 2
Comprehensive Exam	24%	1, 2
Research Journal – Topic	10%	3
Research Journal – Sources & Summaries	20%	3, 4
Research Journal – Policy Memo	25%	3, 4, 5
Total	100%	1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

Certificate in Environmental Citizenship : Electives
Certificate in Environmental Conservation : Electives

Technical Requirements

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*Course details are subject to change.