2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

SOEE2372 People, Sustainability, and the Environment

30 creditsClass Size: 100

Module manager: Rachael Carrie
Email: r.h.carrie@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

Pre-requisites

SOEE1111

Sustainable Development

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module provides an understanding of the relationships between human needs and the environment, focusing in particular on the energy, food and climate change sectors. It explores different perspectives on the goals of improving human wellbeing and environmental conservation, particularly the extent to which these might be complementary, compatible or contradictory goals, and how this intersects with broader social phenomena such as globalisation, gender and property rights. The module considers how different disciplines and approaches from across the social and natural science view the relationships between people, sustainability and the environment. The first semester of this module considers the relationship between social and environmental objectives, whilst the second considers different disciplinary perspective on it.

Objectives

By the end of the module you should be able to:
- analyse the complex interrelationships between human wellbeing, poverty and the natural environment, including cause/effect relationships across scales from the local to the global and placing the issues within the wider debates surrounding sustainability.

-understand, appreciate and critically analyse the different approaches brought by different disciplines and perspectives from across social and natural sciences to the issue of human needs and the environment

Skills outcomes
The module places considerable emphasis on:
- recognising and using subject-specific theories, paradigms, concepts and principles;
- analysing, synthesising and summarising information critically, including prior research;
- applying knowledge and understanding to address familiar and unfamiliar problems;
- recognising the moral and ethical issues of investigations and appreciating the need for professional codes of conduct;

The module places moderate emphasis on:
- referencing work in an appropriate manner;
- communicating appropriately to a variety of audiences in written, verbal and graphical form.

The module places some emphasis on:
- collecting and integrating several lines of evidence to formulate and test hypotheses;
- receiving and responding to a variety of information sources (eg textual numerical, verbal, graphical).

Syllabus

- Definitions of ‘poverty’, ‘climate change’, ‘food security’, ‘energy security’, ‘governance’ and ‘power’ and examination of the assumptions underlying them; -Approaches to understanding environment and social relations, such as political ecology, political economy, livelihoods frameworks, ecosystem services, valuing natural resources, biodiversity conservation, participatory methods and approaches.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Computer Class	1	1.50	1.50
Fieldwork	1	5.00	5.00
Lecture	9	2.00	18.00
Seminar	10	2.00	20.00
Private study hours			255.50
Total Contact hours			44.50
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			300.00

Private study

Background reading: 123.5
Preparation for exam: 58
Preparation for coursework: 74

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Student progress will be monitored via weekly discussions and associated activities in class.

An opportunity is provided for formative feedback on an optional peer-marked 1,000 word essay, which asks students to explore concepts introduced in part 1 of semester 1.

The 2,000 word coursework assessment requires students to apply learning about concepts introduced in semester 1 and provides opportunity to receive guidance that can be built on in semester 2.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	2,000 word	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

There are two components. Both components must be attempted to pass the module.

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Open Book exam	48 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the failed component. If both components are failed, the resit will be by exam. Note, both components must be attempted to pass the module.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 08/04/2024

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