Aims

The module aims to introduce students to key issues and processes within the overall context of a climate resilient future. The module argues that the climate crisis and the climate emergency to be at the forefront of our way of thinking and shaping the built and natural environment, and for actions and decision-making processes to be accountable in mitigating and adapting to climate change, whilst preserving and enhancing environmental values and resources.

1.       Understand the context of climate science.
2.       Develop an informed critical perspective on the multitude of philosophies and discourses on climate change from a wide geo-political spectrum.
3.       Develop an understanding of climate science, looking at principles, discourses, agency and path dependency.
4.       Understand and synthesise competing views and underlying assumptions in landscape and planning policy planning debates within the wider context of sustainability and resilience.
5.       Develop an awareness of potential solutions from a global to local perspective

Outline Of Syllabus

Lectures, seminars and other learning activities include conceptual debates that have emerged in the last 150 years of fossil fuel carbon history in relation to climate. Students are introduced to the spectrum of recent climate discourses from climate denial to climate action. A brief history of socio-political discourses provide the setting to understand and harness key concepts such as: Climate emergency, climate change adaptation and mitigation.

As landscape and planning professionals and agents, students are exposed to low-carbon and climate resilience approaches including how to overcome the status-quo by breaking path dependency; decentralising approaches to land-use by seeking alternatives for city futures; designing nature based solutions and working towards circular bio-economy for communities; decentring humans from climate responses enables an understanding of the landscape as a multi-species environment.

With the support of international case studies of differing socio-economic contexts in conjunction with relevant readings students are provided with the opportunity to develop a more in-depth understanding of climate action and how to become active agents in their future careers. All activities aim to support and guide students in the preparation for assessed coursework.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This module will be delivered via both scheduled and structured learning activities. These include present in person lectures, which will provide students with weekly contact with the module leader and with their peers, and an opportunity to ask questions, seek clarifications or expand on the discussions in an informal manner. During these sessions, the portfolio of guided structured learning activities for each session will be explained, including how they relate to the module learning outcomes. They include selected readings and participation to non-synchronous discussion boards, which provide students with the opportunity to discuss further the complex issues explored in the lectures and in the selected readings in a structured way, to critically reflect on the interactions and tensions between the different dimensions of climate emergency, and their implications for the landscape and built environment.

The assignment is also supported by means of present in person group seminars where students have the opportunity to discuss content delivered and essay draft.Seminar sessions will provide students with an overview of theoretical concepts, previous research, and the development of the field. Specialist input will provide a variety of views on the subject.

Workshops will encourage students to contribute through in-class discussions and presentations; participation will focus on an on-going survey of sources, and include students’ own consumption and production of knowledge through an interactive diary (blog). Participation is essential in this module since a range of theories, methodologies, and contexts will be explored, it is important that students engage with the sources and in discussions in order to critically assess these issues

A discursive and dialogic type of learning environment in which learners exchange ideas and experiences under the guidance of tutors will be encouraged. Formative assignments throughout the semester will provide the basis for discussions and students will lead workshop sessions under the guidance of tutors.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The written coursework assignment is a reflection (a reflective essay) of how the student conducted the research (blog post theme), how the blogging worked and how they presented their research in the performance. This enables the students experiential learning to be evaluated at four stages (Kolb, 1984):
•       Concrete experience (DO)
•       Observation or reflection (REFLECT)
•       Abstract conception (THINK)
•       Experimentation (PLAN)

And also, cyclically (after Schon (1994), Thompson and Pascal (2012) namely:
•       Reflection-in-action
•       Reflection-on-action
•       Reflection-for-action

At its heart is the process of discovering and deepening the learning gained through experience.
Hence students are encouraged to adopt a more informal style than a traditional essay, write personally with explicit permission to use the ‘I’ hence recognizing emotions, link to theory and literature and seek out learning points to inform studies/work. Key questions are posed to get the students started: -
•       What did I do?
•       Why did I do that?
•       What happened?
•       What did I think/feel?
•       Why did that happen?
•       What influenced it?
•       Who thought that?
•       Why did they think that?
•       What would improve it?
•       Why did that work well?