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PAIS565 Politics and the Environment: Intersecting Crises

Credit Points 6
Offering
Responsible Campus Teaching Period Mode of Study
Armidale Trimester 2 Off Campus
Armidale Trimester 2 On Campus
Intensive School(s) None
Supervised Exam There is no UNE Supervised Examination.
Pre-requisites candidature in a postgraduate award
Co-requisites None
Restrictions PAIS365 or PAIS465
Notes None
Combined Units PAIS365 - Politics and the Environment: Intersecting Crises
Coordinator(s) Anthony Lynch (alynch@une.edu.au)
Unit Description

In this unit we consider the major environmental issues of today - resource security, climate change, peak food and water - and the capacity of contemporary politics to generate adequate responses to these intersecting challenges.

Materials Textbook information will be displayed approximately 8 weeks prior to the commencement of the teaching period. Please note that textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.
Disclaimer Unit information may be subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Assessment Assessment information will be published prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Learning Outcomes (LO) Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. show an appreciation of the importance and complexity of the relationships between environmental resources and the conditions of political existence;
  2. exhibit a historically informed view of the way that different societies, at different times and under differing technological and economic regimes, have dealt with (or have failed to have dealt with) their necessities on environmental security;
  3. have an understanding of the political challenges the environment confronts us with today;
  4. exhibit a critical awareness of the kinds of responses to such challenges likely to emerge under neo-liberal and neo-conservative political regimes;
  5. present coherent well-argued responses to these controversial issues in an essay format; and
  6. develop postgraduate level research and analytical skills;

Graduate Attributes (GA)
Attribute Taught Assessed Practised
1 Knowledge of a Discipline
Students will deepen their knowledge of advanced concepts and skills underpinning the political and international studies discipline, which will be taught through lectures and tutorials. It will be assessed through two written essays.
True True
2 Communication Skills
Students will be assessed on the style of writing, clarity of writing, expression and development of ideas, and referencing. Students will practise their communication skills through completing the assessment tasks.
True True
3 Global Perspectives
Students will demonstrate an awareness of the global context of the subject area and they will develop an awareness of the need for tolerance and inter-cultural understanding.
True True
4 Information Literacy
Students are encouraged to develop research skills in collecting and evaluating data, including the skills to assess the utility of information, identify the most useful sources of information and critically analyse and examine those sources.
True True
5 Life-Long Learning
By completing the assessments, students will be provided with the necessary lifelong skills to be able to research, write and discuss social issues. These skills can be transferred to any discipline, and will be useful in any research positions. These attributes will be assessed in all of the assessments (written skills; analytical skills).
True True
6 Problem Solving
Students will be assessed on their ability to conceptualise the questions and formulate a range of solutions to both research and presentation. They will be required to collect, collate and analyse relevant information to assist problem solving.
True True
7 Social Responsibility
Students will be taught about their professional responsibilities as a researcher to provide balanced and accurate research. In addition, students will be taught that they have a social responsibility to question and challenge some 'facts'. This will be assessed and taught through their responses to the assignment questions and discussions in online postings.
True True True
8 Team Work
Students will practise working collaboratively and network effectively to solve problems on the online discussion board, taking initiative and leading others in this environment. They will also negotiate and assert their own values and respect the values and contributions of others on the discussion board.
True
   

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