MA International Relations (Standard) / Course details

Content: Brief overview of the syllabus/topics. 

1. Introduction 
2. The origins of climate change: carboniferous capitalism, global inequalities, daily life and culture
3. Responses to climate change: global cooperation, national policy, key conflicts
4. Exploring national variation in climate change: underlying dynanmics
5. How have different countries responded given their different circumstances?
6. Business pressures in different countries
7. International strategies of different countries
8. Multilevel dynamics in different countries
9. Variations in daily life
10. NGOs and social movement campaigns

The course unit aims to:

1. Explore the politics of climate change, at multiple scales and through a range of perspectives.
2. Develop students' research skills.
3. Develop students' capacities for collaborative work and group learning.

Unless conditions change radically, it is envisaged that the course will proceed through face-to-face weekly seminars. These will combine regular discussion of academic texts, with group work in small groups, each focused on a specific country, to analyse the theme in detail in that country and discuss differences across countries.

Understand the key perspectives on climate change politics, and have detailed empirical knowledge of the patterns of climate change governance.

Understand the importance of conceptual framing for how the politics of climate change are shaped.

Develop further their research and argumentation skills through the development of a group presentation and a research paper.

Participate in the research for and presentation of a substantial group project.

• Willis, Rebecca (2020) Too Hot to Handle? The Democratic Challenge of Climate Change. Bristol: Bristol University Press.
• Evans, Kate (2006) Funny Weather: Everything You Didn;t Want to Know About Climate Change But Probably Should Find Out. London: Myriad Press. This is an excellent cartoon book. It is in the library but an e-book is available for around US$4.99 which is extremely good value. You will get as good an introduction from this as from any dry academic text.  http://store.sequential.cc/catalogue/book/funny_weather_by_kate_evans/479 
• Dessler, Andrew and Edward Parson (2010) The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Newell, Peter, and Matthew Paterson (2010) Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the Global Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.