Global Environmental Governance
Course content
Global environmental governance (GEG) is an interdisciplinary project oriented course on how the global community addresses, or ought to address, environmental problems and their solutions.
The course is interdisciplinary in that we take outset in concepts, approaches, and theories from political science, international law, and human geography. We draw mainly on examples from climate change and tropical forestry, but also from other environmental areas. The course is project oriented in that the students in parallel to the classes must write a group based project assignment, which along with the rest of the curriculum and presentations, forms the basis for individual oral exams. For the assignment, the students can chose from a broader range of environmental topics.
The lectures fall into the following six modules:
1) Introduction to the general field of GEG
2) The emergence of (ideas and ideologies about) global environmental problems
3) GEG actors, architecture, and international relations (perspectives mainly from political science and human geography)
4) State-led global regulation, institutions, and regimes (perspectives mainly from international law)
5) Global economic governance, the market, and the environment
6) The role of non-state actors in GEG
Since the course has different teachers, the succession of the modules and lectures may not necessarily follow a straight path from 1)-6).
The course includes one or more excursions to national or international organizations that are located in Copenhagen and knowledgeable about, relevant to, and active in GEG.
When you have passed this course, you have met one of the requirements for obtaining a certificate in Global Environmental Governance. You can find more information about the GEG certificate here: https://geg.ku.dk/
MSc Programme in Climate Change
MSc Programme in Environmental Science
MSc Programme in Forest and Nature Management
MSc Programme in Nature Management
Objective of the course:
The main objective of the course is to provide interdisciplinary
knowledge, skills, and competences that can assist you in dealing
with global environmental governance in an international and/or
national work context.
Learning outcomes:
Knowledge
At the end of the course, the students can retrieve, recognize, and recall knowledge aquired from the course (including lectures, readings, and assignments) on:
- Global environmental problems and issues,
- Concepts and theories,
- International organizations and regimes,
- Different types of actors and the roles they play in global environmental governance
Skills
The students can:
- Explain and compare theories and concepts from the course,
- Exemplify and compare environmental problems and the challenges they pose to global governance
Competences
Finally, the students can:
- Apply concepts and theories from the course in discussions and analyses of global environmental problems and solutions, institutions and regimes,
- Compare and critically reflect on the (relative) strengths and weaknesses of different concepts and theories in relation to carrying out such analyses
As a rule, the lectures will be based on dialogue between teachers and students. The course includes theoretical exercises and guidance for writing the project assignments.
You can find a good introduction to the topic, for instance, in:
O’Neil, Kate (2017): The Environment and International
Relations, Cambridge University Press (Course book)
Harris,P.G. (ed.) 2015. Routledge Handbook Of Global Environmental
Politics, Routledge, London.
This course is for graduate students, i.e. students who hold a BSc degree in any field. Students who have some previous experience with social science, law, and environmental studies may have a small advantage from the outset, but for students with other backgrounds, a genuine interest in the topic can make up for it.
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
-
Oral examination, 25 min.Oral examination, 25 minute including assessment. No preparation time. The exam starts with a five minutes individual presentation of the obligatory written assignment, and relate to all the curriculum.
- Aid
- All aids allowed
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
Several internal examiners
Criteria for exam assessment
See Learning Outcomes
Single subject courses (day)
- Category
- Hours
- Lectures
- 40
- Preparation
- 62
- Theory exercises
- 10
- Excursions
- 6
- Project work
- 84
- Guidance
- 4
- English
- 206
Kursusinformation
- Language
- English
- Course number
- LNAK10072U
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Programme level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
-
1 block
- Schedulegroup
-
A
- Capacity
- 40
- Studyboard
- Study Board of Natural Resources, Environment and Animal Science
Contracting department
- Department of Food and Resource Economics
- Department of Geoscience and Natural Resource Management
- The Natural History Museum of Denmark
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Science
Course Coordinator
- Iben Nathan (2-6c71436c697572316e7831676e)
Teacher
Different teachers
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Courseinformation of students