THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2023/2024

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Politics

Undergraduate Course: Environmental Politics (PLIT10136)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course examines environmental politics from a comparative and international perspective. Following an
introduction to the debates and concepts central to understanding environmental politics, the course explores
the key actors and dynamics shaping environmental policy and politics within and across states. We'll pay
particular attention to these actors: government institutions, parties, NGOs, business firms, experts and the
media. Key dynamics studied will be: power, justice, mobilization, capitalism and collective action. The
knowledge of national environmental politics will be the base from which to study the broader dynamics and
challenges of regional and global environmental politics. Throughout our course we will focus on a range of
environmental issues with particular emphasis on climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development.
Course description Beginning with an examination of green political thought, this course will provide a conceptually grounded, comparative analysis of contemporary environmental politics. An introduction to core debates and concepts will be followed by an analysis of key actors within and across states, including governments, business firms, NGOs and movements, media and experts. Our geographic focus will be wide ranging, covering politics at the local, state, regional and global level. Core substantive environmental issues we'll cover include climate change and biodiversity, and sustainable development. Some of the questions we¿ll address include: what makes environmental politics so contested? Who does and who should make environmental decisions? What makes international agreement on environmental issues more or less likely? Can capitalism be harnessed to address climate change?
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Introduction to Politics and International Relations (PLIT08004) OR Politics in a Changing World: An Introduction for non-specialists (PLIT08012) OR Politics and International Relations 1A: Concepts and Debates (PLIT08017)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Students who lack the compulsory pre-requisites but have completed comparable courses should contact the Course Organiser to confirm if they are eligible to take this course.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 4 Politics/International Relations courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course **
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2023/24, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  45
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 10, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 55 %, Coursework 35 %, Practical Exam 10 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Exam 55%
Coursework 35%
Tutorial Participation 10%
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the key debates and concepts surrounding environmental politics
  2. Describe the key features of environmental politics on the domestic, regional and international level
  3. Assess and apply contending approaches to understanding environmental politics
  4. Articulate an informed view about current issues and developments in environmental policy and politics
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserProf Elizabeth Bomberg
Tel: (0131 6)50 4248
Email: e.bomberg@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Alison Lazda
Tel: (0131 6)51 5572
Email: Alison.Lazda@ed.ac.uk
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