Undergraduate Course: Values and the Environment (GEGR10079)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines issues related to two important modes of human valuing of nature, the ethical and the aesthetic. The course first covers key concepts and theories in environmental ethics including (normally): anthropocentrism and nonanthropocentrism; animal ethics; Leopold¿s land ethic; environmental pragmatism; urban environmental ethics; and climate ethics. We then examine aesthetic value in our engagement with wild nature, rural environments and other cultural landscapes. The course also considers conflicts between aesthetic, ethical and other values as they arise in various environmental issues, such as ecological restoration and climate change. |
| Course description |
1. Environmental Values
2. Extending Ethics Beyond Humans: Animals
3. Animal Ethics in Context
4. The Land Ethic
5. Deep Ecology
6. Aesthetic Value and Environment
7. Ecological Restoration
8. Environment and the Arts
9. Ethics and Climate Change
10. Geoengineering the Climate
11. Course review
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
170 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
40 %,
Coursework
60 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Class assessment: As outlined in course handbook
Degree assessment: One 2,000 word essay (40%)
One two hour examination (2 questions) (60%)
Overall mark for the course (ie degree coursework and examinations) of at least 40 to pass. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Values and the Environment | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
A detailed, critical understanding environmental ethics and the key concepts and theories
An understanding of how aesthetic value relates to a range of environments, from the wild to the urban
An understanding of the role of values in engagement with a range of environments and the conflicts that arise between values in conservation and policy-making
Expression of the student's own critical thinking on environmental values in discussion and in writing, a thinking which will be informed by recent, relevant developments
The group discussions/ tutorials will give students the opportunity to demonstrate some originality and creativity in dealing with professional level issues and allow them to practise critically identifying and analysing complex problems.
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Reading List
Reading Lists
Armstrong SJ and Botzler R eds. (2004) Environmental Ethics: Divergence and Convergence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Brady E (2003) Aesthetics of the Natural Environment. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
DesJardins J (2000) Environmental Ethics. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Gardiner, S. et al., ed. (2010) Climate Ethics: Essential Readings (Oxford UP).
Jamieson D (2003) A Companion to Environmental Philosophy. London: Blackwell.
Keller, D ed. (2010) Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions. Wiley.
Leopold A ([1949] 2000) The Land Ethic/Sand County Almanac. New York: Oxford University Press.
Light, A and Katz, E ed. (1996) Environmental Pragmatism. New York: Routledge.
O¿Neill J, Light A and Holland A (2008) Environmental Values. London: Routledge.
Palmer, C. (2010) Animal Ethics in Context (Columbia UP), especially Chapters 1-3.
Parsons, Glenn (2008) Aesthetics and Nature (Continuum).
Throop, W. (ed) (2000) Environmental Restoration: Ethics, Theory, Practice Amherst: Humanity Books.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | GEGR10079 |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Emily Brady
Tel: (0131 6)50 9137
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Beth Muir
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: |
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