MA Sociology / Course details

The course will be divided into four core segments with each segment focusing on a particular type of environmental sustainability issue and each week devoted specifically to a different issue within that ‘genre’. Where possible these will be mapped alongside the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The course will apply a critical sociological lens to each environmental sustainability issue, exploring the societal impact but also where relevant critiquing techno-centric solutions to such issues and evaluating unintended consequences. Guest lecturers from across the university with research expertise in such problems will help students to build up a portfolio of current environmental sustainability issues and how they are being addressed. The course will advocate for the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in tackling the ‘wicked problems of the Anthropocene’ (Sardar, 2010), and the vital role of social science.

The unit aims to provide an opportunity for students to explore and critically reflect on key contemporary environmental sustainability issues, mapping these alongside the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).To support students in exploring the social impacts and inequalities of contemporary environmental sustainability issues. To support students in applying a sociological lens to key environmental sustainability issues and particularly techno-centric approaches.

1. Identify and explain core environmental sustainability issues and the dynamic relations between environment and society 2. Analyse and critique core environmental sustainability issues through a sociological lens. 3. Describe and critique key environmental sustainability issues. 4. Evaluate competing analytical perspectives.5. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of empirical evidence 6. Use electronic resources, including padlet, mentimeter and library resources 7. Undertake independent research 8. Write about key environmental sustainability issues evaluating and critiquing competing analytical perspectives. 9. Have a core understanding of and be able to explain key environmental sustainability issues and their connections to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 10.Be able to develop a critical approach to issues of environmental sustainability and to assess their social impact.

Syllabus (indicative curriculum content): Week 1: Introduction to course: understanding science, sustainability and society Access to resources Week 2: Food provisioning Week 3: Water security Week 4: Energy inequalities Responsible production and consumption Week 5: Overconsumption: fashion and textiles Week 6: Waste: the ubiquity of plastic Sustainable planning and the built environment Week 7: Sustainable Cities Week 8: The Sustainable University Sustainable Futures Week 9: Circular economy/Net zero Week 10: Policy futures An initial introductory week will introduce the course, its aims, core theories and assessments. This will include considering the role of both science and social science in key issues of environmental sustainability and the need for joined up, interdisciplinary approaches. The first three-week segment will focus on ‘Access to resources’. Mapping alongside SDGs – 2, 6, & 7 – this block will consider unequal access to basic resources, the drive to make the production and provisioning of these resources more sustainable, and the impact of other issues of sustainability (e.g. climate change, global markets) on their resilience. Week 2 will focus on food provisioning exploring issues with food security both globally but also within the UK. This will include considering the role of agriculture and land use management in sustainable food provision, but also exploring alternative forms of food provisioning. Week 3 will build on Week 2 to consider the provision of water – including exploring water inequalities and also innovations in water management. Week 4 will be devoted to energy inequalities considering and critiquing alternative energy sources and the extent to which they do/don’t exacerbate inequalities and result in unintended consequences. For example, this could include exploring the rise in electric vehicles, their affordability, issues with infrastructures and the production and disposal of lithium batteries. The second two-week segment will consider ‘Responsible consumption and production’ aligning with SDG 12. This block will consider specific areas where responsible consumption and production is needed for a more sustainable and equitable world. Week 5 will focus on issues of overconsumption – thinking about fashion and textiles. This will involve considering the global fashion trade, the global inequalities which exist within this and specifically the huge environmental impact textile production has. Week 6 will lead on from this to focus on waste, using plastic as the exemplar with which to explore the rising issues of plastic disposal and pollution. In each week attention will be paid to alternatives and techno-centric solutions put forward for these problems, such as greenwashing in the fashion industry or the rise in so called biodegradable plastics many of which are not actually biodegradable. The third two-week segment turns its attention to planning and the built environment aligning with SDGs 11 and 15. Week 7 thinks about the sustainable, inclusive city, including exploring innovations which are enabling greener urban areas (e.g. green infrastructure, Passivhaus) but also acknowledging the unintended consequences of such innovations. Week 8 will offer students the opportunity to reflect on the sustainable university, exploring innovations at UoM but also other institutions. This more utopian session will give students chance to discuss their thoughts and ideas for enhancing sustainability within education. Building on the reflective focus of Week 8, the final two-week segment of the course will think about sustainable futures and what is necessary to move towards a more sustainable and equitable society – aligning with SDGs 13 and 16. Week 9 will consider the concepts of circular economy and net zero as a way of creating a more sustainable future. Bringing together many of the other weeks of the course, we will look at how these more recent sustainability conce

Students will be well placed to critically assess and evaluate key environmental sustainability issues in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, their impact on society and the solutions which are currently put in place for them. Such knowledge will ensure they are well placed for future careers in the sustainability and third sector. Digital skills will be enhanced through use of multiple technologies and a focus on communicating to different audiences. Students will have the opportunity to develop team work, presentation and communication skills through peer to peer and group discussions.

Practically the module will equip them with a broader skillset enabling them to analyse multiple sources, apply a critical lens and identify key strengths and weaknesses in presented evidence.

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