Zaïda Floren 7018169 Global Sustainability Science
Overview lectures & reading
Foundati ons of Social Sciences for Sustainability
,Zaïda Floren 7018169 Global Sustainability Science
Inhou
Lecture 1, chapter 2 & articles.........................................................................................................................................4
Lecture 1...................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Articles......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Lecture 2, chapter 7 and 9 & articles...............................................................................................................................7
Chapter 7.....................................................................................................................................................................7
Chapter 9.....................................................................................................................................................................9
Lecture 2 Part A – What is nature?............................................................................................................................11
Lecture 2 Part B social-ecological systems (exemplified by the food system)...........................................................14
Lecture 3 and dictionary entries....................................................................................................................................17
Lecture 3 – how does society stick together..............................................................................................................17
Dictionary entries......................................................................................................................................................19
Lecture 4, chapter 3 & articles.......................................................................................................................................21
Chapter 3 – money and markets...............................................................................................................................21
A companion to Environmental Geography..............................................................................................................24
Ecological modernization (page 246-250).................................................................................................................26
Lecture 4, part 1 – how does society change.............................................................................................................26
Lecture 4, part 2 - EMT..............................................................................................................................................28
Lecture 5, chapter 2 + chapter 13..................................................................................................................................30
Chapter 2 – consumption and materialism................................................................................................................30
Chapter 13 - living in the ecological society...............................................................................................................33
Lecture 5 – behaviour change...................................................................................................................................35
Extending the “rational man” model of human behaviour: seven key principles......................................................37
Lecture 6, chapter 11 & articles.....................................................................................................................................40
Lecture 6 – social mobilization..................................................................................................................................40
Chapter 11.................................................................................................................................................................41
System change, not climate change: radical social transformation in the twenty-first century................................43
Classical and contemporary conventional theories of Social Movements, chapter 2................................................44
Lecture 7 and articles....................................................................................................................................................46
Lecture 7 – institutional change................................................................................................................................46
Case study on Institutional change, Sustainability and the Sea (during lecture 7)....................................................49
Institutional change, Sustainability and the Sea........................................................................................................50
Lecture 8, chapter 4 and articles...................................................................................................................................52
Lecture 8 part A – innovation, firms and sustainability transitions............................................................................52
Lecture 8 part B – the politics of transformations to sustainability and the role of power.......................................56
The politics of sustainability and development.........................................................................................................59
Chapter 4 – technology and science..........................................................................................................................62
Lecture 9 & articles........................................................................................................................................................67
,Zaïda Floren 7018169 Global Sustainability Science
Lecture 9.................................................................................................................................................................... 67
Understanding the Complexity of Economic, Ecological, and Social Systems............................................................72
Problem solving: complexity, history, sustainability..................................................................................................76
Tutorial 3, chapter 10 & article......................................................................................................................................79
Chapter 10 – the rationality of risk............................................................................................................................79
Tutorial 3................................................................................................................................................................... 80
Cultural theory and risk: a review..............................................................................................................................82
, Zaïda Floren 7018169 Global Sustainability Science
Lecture 1, chapter 2 & articles
Lecture 1
Every environmental problem is socially constructed We live in human communities in which some actions are seen as
'normal' and make sense while other do not
Our lives are guided/shaped by the possibilities our social
situation presents to us and by our vision of ourselves, the future
and what those possibilities are
Human communities are organized in certain ways, they are
based on certain ideas of who we are and on functioning daily
practices
→ human communities constitute the circumstances in which people
(as individuals or members of social groups) live their life and make
environmentally significant decisions (even when they are not
consciously considering the environmental consequences of their
actions)
What do we have to do to make sustainability the We have to think of change towards sustainability as a reconstruction
normal outcomes of the lives of our human of our social world
communities?
What are the five points of the framework used to 1. The environment is socially constructed
analyse the social constitution of environmental a. Some societies see humans and nature as separate entities,
problems? while others view them as interconnected
b. Social construction of the environment matters
i. Influences the way the environment becomes part
of our human communities
ii. Human communities that share different ideas of
the environment are organized in different ways
→ determines the different possibilities and constraints in the way
human action interacts with the environment
2. Environmental problems are caused by society
a. Anthropologic age = humans and human actions are now a
major force of environmental change
b. So environmental problems are caused by society, but not by
everybody in the same way or to the same extend
→ not useful to talk about 'humanity' when talking about
environmental problems
3. Environmental problems are socially constructed
a. No environmental problem exists per se. every
environmental problem is constructed (framed, given
meaning and placed into causal relations and a context)
b. The way in which an environmental problem is constructed
matters for the way society responds to that problem (or fails
to do so)
4. Costs and benefits of environmental problems are unevenly
distributed within society
a. Not everybody experiences a given environmental problem in
the same way there are always people who gain or lose more
b. The type and magnitude of responses are influenced by:
i. Different emotional connections
ii. Experiences of impact (social/economic/health)
iii. Different degrees of salience of an environmental
problem
5. Solutions to environmental problems are identified within
society
a. No solution is neutral as every solution reflects the interests,
beliefs, worldviews, etc. of some
individuals/collectives/organizations more than those of
Overview lectures & reading
Foundati ons of Social Sciences for Sustainability
,Zaïda Floren 7018169 Global Sustainability Science
Inhou
Lecture 1, chapter 2 & articles.........................................................................................................................................4
Lecture 1...................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Articles......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Lecture 2, chapter 7 and 9 & articles...............................................................................................................................7
Chapter 7.....................................................................................................................................................................7
Chapter 9.....................................................................................................................................................................9
Lecture 2 Part A – What is nature?............................................................................................................................11
Lecture 2 Part B social-ecological systems (exemplified by the food system)...........................................................14
Lecture 3 and dictionary entries....................................................................................................................................17
Lecture 3 – how does society stick together..............................................................................................................17
Dictionary entries......................................................................................................................................................19
Lecture 4, chapter 3 & articles.......................................................................................................................................21
Chapter 3 – money and markets...............................................................................................................................21
A companion to Environmental Geography..............................................................................................................24
Ecological modernization (page 246-250).................................................................................................................26
Lecture 4, part 1 – how does society change.............................................................................................................26
Lecture 4, part 2 - EMT..............................................................................................................................................28
Lecture 5, chapter 2 + chapter 13..................................................................................................................................30
Chapter 2 – consumption and materialism................................................................................................................30
Chapter 13 - living in the ecological society...............................................................................................................33
Lecture 5 – behaviour change...................................................................................................................................35
Extending the “rational man” model of human behaviour: seven key principles......................................................37
Lecture 6, chapter 11 & articles.....................................................................................................................................40
Lecture 6 – social mobilization..................................................................................................................................40
Chapter 11.................................................................................................................................................................41
System change, not climate change: radical social transformation in the twenty-first century................................43
Classical and contemporary conventional theories of Social Movements, chapter 2................................................44
Lecture 7 and articles....................................................................................................................................................46
Lecture 7 – institutional change................................................................................................................................46
Case study on Institutional change, Sustainability and the Sea (during lecture 7)....................................................49
Institutional change, Sustainability and the Sea........................................................................................................50
Lecture 8, chapter 4 and articles...................................................................................................................................52
Lecture 8 part A – innovation, firms and sustainability transitions............................................................................52
Lecture 8 part B – the politics of transformations to sustainability and the role of power.......................................56
The politics of sustainability and development.........................................................................................................59
Chapter 4 – technology and science..........................................................................................................................62
Lecture 9 & articles........................................................................................................................................................67
,Zaïda Floren 7018169 Global Sustainability Science
Lecture 9.................................................................................................................................................................... 67
Understanding the Complexity of Economic, Ecological, and Social Systems............................................................72
Problem solving: complexity, history, sustainability..................................................................................................76
Tutorial 3, chapter 10 & article......................................................................................................................................79
Chapter 10 – the rationality of risk............................................................................................................................79
Tutorial 3................................................................................................................................................................... 80
Cultural theory and risk: a review..............................................................................................................................82
, Zaïda Floren 7018169 Global Sustainability Science
Lecture 1, chapter 2 & articles
Lecture 1
Every environmental problem is socially constructed We live in human communities in which some actions are seen as
'normal' and make sense while other do not
Our lives are guided/shaped by the possibilities our social
situation presents to us and by our vision of ourselves, the future
and what those possibilities are
Human communities are organized in certain ways, they are
based on certain ideas of who we are and on functioning daily
practices
→ human communities constitute the circumstances in which people
(as individuals or members of social groups) live their life and make
environmentally significant decisions (even when they are not
consciously considering the environmental consequences of their
actions)
What do we have to do to make sustainability the We have to think of change towards sustainability as a reconstruction
normal outcomes of the lives of our human of our social world
communities?
What are the five points of the framework used to 1. The environment is socially constructed
analyse the social constitution of environmental a. Some societies see humans and nature as separate entities,
problems? while others view them as interconnected
b. Social construction of the environment matters
i. Influences the way the environment becomes part
of our human communities
ii. Human communities that share different ideas of
the environment are organized in different ways
→ determines the different possibilities and constraints in the way
human action interacts with the environment
2. Environmental problems are caused by society
a. Anthropologic age = humans and human actions are now a
major force of environmental change
b. So environmental problems are caused by society, but not by
everybody in the same way or to the same extend
→ not useful to talk about 'humanity' when talking about
environmental problems
3. Environmental problems are socially constructed
a. No environmental problem exists per se. every
environmental problem is constructed (framed, given
meaning and placed into causal relations and a context)
b. The way in which an environmental problem is constructed
matters for the way society responds to that problem (or fails
to do so)
4. Costs and benefits of environmental problems are unevenly
distributed within society
a. Not everybody experiences a given environmental problem in
the same way there are always people who gain or lose more
b. The type and magnitude of responses are influenced by:
i. Different emotional connections
ii. Experiences of impact (social/economic/health)
iii. Different degrees of salience of an environmental
problem
5. Solutions to environmental problems are identified within
society
a. No solution is neutral as every solution reflects the interests,
beliefs, worldviews, etc. of some
individuals/collectives/organizations more than those of
