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 |
Syllabus:
Week 1. Environmental Values
Week 2. Extending Ethics to Nonhuman Animals
Week 3. Animal Ethics in Context
Week 4. The Land Ethic
Week 5. Deep Ecology
Week 6. Aesthetic Value and Environment
Week 7. Environment and the Arts
Week 8. Environmental Justice
Week 9. Ecological Restoration and Rewilding
Week 10. Ethics and Climate Change
Week 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 |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 36 |
| 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 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written Exam: 40%, Course Essay: 60 %, Reading Portfolio: 0%.
The two-hour written exam, in the December diet, will cover course topics. The course essay is 2000 words (essay title chosen from a list provided). Students also have a Reading Portfolio assignment of 1500 words for formative assessment only. |
| Feedback |
Students will receive formative feedback (written comments) on the Reading Portfolio assignment. Summative feedback (written comments) will be given on the course assessments: the course essay and exam. All students will be invited to an examination feedback session following the release of course results. Informal feedback in the form of verbal comments will be provided to students during class discussions, small group work and during office hours if students wish to discuss aspects of the course or course assigments. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Values and the Environment | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop a detailed and critical understanding of environmental ethics and its key concepts and theories
- Develop an understanding of how aesthetic value relates to a range of environments, from the wild to the urban
- Develop 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
- Develop critical thinking on environmental values in discussion and in writing, a thinking which will be informed by recent, relevant developments
- 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
1. Armstrong, Susan.J. and Botzler, R. eds. (2004) Environmental Ethics: Divergence and Convergence. McGraw-Hill.
2. Brady, Emily (2003) Aesthetics of the Natural Environment. Edinburgh University Press.
3. DesJardins, Joseph (2000) Environmental Ethics. Wadsworth.
4. Gardiner, Stephen et al., ed. (2010) Climate Ethics: Essential Readings. Oxford University Press.
5. Gardiner, Stephen M. and Thompson, Allen, eds. (2016) The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Ethics. Oxford. Ebook.
6. Hourdequin, Marion (2015) Environmental Ethics: From Theory to Practice. Bloomsbury Academic.
7. Jamieson, Dale (2003) A Companion to Environmental Philosophy. Blackwell. Ebook.
8. James, Simon (2015) Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction. Polity.
9. Keller, David. ed. (2010) Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions. Wiley.
10. Leopold, Aldo ([1949] 2000) The Land Ethic/Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press.
11. OżNeill John, Light Andrew, and Holland Alan (2008) Environmental Values. Routledge. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | GEGR10079 |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Emily Brady
Tel: (0131 6)50 9137
Email: Jenni.Brown@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Kirsty Allan
Tel: (0131 6)50 9847
Email: |
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