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Semester 2

Science, Nature and Environment (STIS08007)

Subject

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

1

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Course Summary

This course considers the ways that science and technology shape the relationship between humans and the environment. We will examine a number of topical historical and contemporary cases and in the process reflect on the role played by science and technology in how societies understand nature and environment. Themes to be dealt with include science and cultural uses of natural resources; sociology of climate science; science, technology and international development; science and public understandings of environmental debates; science, knowledge and power; environmentalism. We will approach these themes by studying various environmental topics, often reflecting current events.

Course Description

Academic Description This course considers the ways that science and technology shape the relationship between humans and the environment. In this course, we introduce students to theories and tools that will enable them to map and understand the causes and features of debates concerning nature and environment. This course offers perspectives from the history and sociology of science that examine scientific knowledge as a social construction. Using these theories and perspectives, students will achieve a deeper appreciation of how scientific knowledge about the environment is made and how that knowledge contributes to political and regulatory processes. We will also explore how non-scientific ideas about the environment influence and come into contention with more "scientific" understandings. Student Learning Experience The course is taught through two lecture and one tutorial per week. Students are also assigned readings, podcasts and videos linked to the week's theme. The lectures and readings complement one another, with the reading provided more specific detail. Tutorials are largely organised around discussions and activities concerning the content of the lectures and readings from the week before.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0% There are three assessments for this course 1. Media Project Report, 1500 words, 30%, due in week 5 2. Tutorial Reflection, 1000 words, 20%, due in week 11 3. Long Essay, 2000 words, 50%, due during revision week In order to pass the course, the long essay must be passed.

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