81952 - Geographies of Global Challenges (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will show understanding of some of the global challenges the population of the planet has been facing since the second half of the XX century. Among these, the critical relation with the natural resources and with the concept of development and, above all, climate change, with its connections to territorial development, ecological risk, food security and the consumption of natural resources At the end of the course, the students will have acquired the theoretical and empirical tools to critically analyse the global strategies of climate resilience and cooperation and the relation between climate change and tourism. They will also have acquired the ability to work in groups and develop class discussions. They will be able to communicate both in experts and non experts groups the global dynamics connected to climate change, globalization, poverty, development and tourism.

Course contents

The course will analyse the following issues:

• Climate change: a global challenge
• Kyoto and Post Kyoto adaptation and mitigation strategies
• Climate change and tourism

Readings/Bibliography

PROGRAMME FOR STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE CLASSES

1. 1 book chosen between the two following:

•  Chivers D. The No-nonsense Guide to Climate Change: The Science, the Solutions, the Way Forward, New Internationalist, 2 edition, 2011.
•  Godrej D., No Nonsense Guide to Climate Change, New Internationalist, 2001/2006.

2. 1 book among those in the following list:

• Becken S., Hay J.E., Tourism and Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities, Channel View Publications, Clevedon, 2007 (Chapters 1-2-3-4-5-10 + 2 more chapters chosen from 6-7-8-9).

• Hoffman A.,How culture shapes the climate change debate, Stanford briefs, Stanford, 2015.

•  Klein N., This changes everything, Penguin Books, 2014.

•  Pelling M., Adaptation to Climate Change. From resilience to transformation, Routledge, London, 2010.

•  Scott D., Hall C.M., Gösslin S., Tourism and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation, Routledge, London e New York, 2012 (Chapters 1-2-3-5-8 + 1 more chapter chosen from 4-6-7).

•  Stoknes P.E., What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming: Toward a New Psychology of Climate Action, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction (USA), 2015.

•  Tokar B., Eiglad E., Toward Climate Justice: Perspectives on the Climate Crisis and Social Change, New Compass Press, 2014.

3. Production of a short essay, not exceeding 15.000 characters, on a topic chosen from one of the 2 books, that will have to be submitted by email to the professor not later than 10 days before the exam.

PROGRAMME FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING THE CLASSES

Attending students will be required to take part to several class activities, seminars and presentations, so their programme is reduced to: 

1. Study the power point presentations shown by the professor during the classes

2.  Study 1 book among those in the following list:

• Hoffman A., How culture shapes the climate change debate, Stanford briefs, Stanford, 2015.

• Klein N., This changes everything, Penguin Books, 2014.

• Pelling M., Adaptation to Climate Change. From resilience to transformation, Routledge, London, 2010.

• Stoknes P.E., What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming: Toward a New Psychology of Climate Action, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction (USA), 2015.

• Tokar B., Eiglad E., Toward Climate Justice: Perspectives on the Climate Crisis and Social Change, New Compass Press, 2014.

Other books may be selected in accordance with the professor.

Teaching methods

In presence lessons, supported by the use of power point presentations, available on the website: http://campus.unibo.it.

Students will be invited to share a participative attitude during the lessons, by participating to class/group discussions, seminars and other cooperative activities.

Assessment methods

The programme is differentiated between attending and non attending students, as follows:

STUDENTS ATTENDING THE CLASSES

Attending students have to study the programme here presented and fully described during the first lesson (and published on the power point "Presentation of the course").

Assessment methods:

For students attending the classes the assessment is an oral exam that will aim at testing their comprehension of the geographical, economical, social and cultural phenomena described during the lessons both by the teacher and the other students' presentations and discussed together. Participation to the discussion is a key element to evaluate the students, and with it personal reflection on the issues studied. Moreover, students will be evaluated on their communication skills and on the use of a correct terminology.

STUDENTS NON ATTENDING THE CLASSES

Non attending students have to study the programme here described. To them the exam is partly written (short essay as mentioned above) and partly oral: this last part is aimed at testing their study of the two books.

Assessment methods:

For students not attending the classes, the exam will aim at testing their comprehension of the geographical, economical, social and cultural phenomena studied, and during the exam they will be invited to propose a personal reflection on the issues studied. Moreover, they will be evaluated on their communication skills and on the use of correct terminology.

In order to sit the exam students will have to register for on the AlmaEsami website.

Teaching tools

The PowerPoint presentations used by the lecturer will be published on the website: http://campus.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Elisa Magnani