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GEHU 303 | Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Name

Ecology, Politics, Planetary Thinking

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
GEHU 303	Fall/Spring	3	0	3	4

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Service Course
Course Level	First Cycle
Mode of Delivery	-
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	-
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Ünsal Doğan BAŞKIR
Course Lecturer(s)	Öğr. Gör. Dr. Bengü AYDIN Öğr. Gör. ERDİNÇ ERDEM
Assistant(s)	-

Course Objectives

This course aims to introduce key issues, major themes, and pressing problems concerning environmental politics and ecological thinking. Massive-scale expansion of urban areas; irreversible processes of deforestation and environmental degradation caused by the idea of "infinite growth"; careless urbanization and suburbanization; local and global threats posed by the climate change; and transnational impacts of changing public consumption habits into blind consumerism; all of these developments in the past few centuries address that in our age, the human-nature relationship takes place in the form of an "ecological crisis," meaning the time for taking significant steps towards rethinking of this relationship. In this respect, this course offers students to comprehend various issues of politics of environment from the perspective of "planetary thinking," which acknowledges contributions of conventional approaches; but it also brings a new approach by studying "human life" and "human health" in relation to planetary health that includes animal health, environmental/ecological health, and biodiversity.

Learning Outcomes

#	Content	PC Sub	* Contribution Level
#	Content	PC Sub	1	2	3	4	5
1	define major shifts and developments in history on the relationship between human and nature leading to the age of global ecological crisis;
2	explain the interconnectedness between society and ecology in the sense of how society is affected by the environmental problems
3	compare and contrast the actions of various actors in ecological crisis;
4	develop a critical understanding on different opinions, attitudes, and actions of ecological movement at individual and collective levels;
5	examine the processes on how societal development, economic growth, and industrialization can take place in a positive-sum relationship with ecological progress and planetary health;
6	develop solutions for the problems posed by the ecological crisis through taking steps towards planetary thinking.

Course Description

This course will develop in three parts. In the first part, we are going to spend some time in understanding the “ecological crisis” by looking at its symptoms and reasons, also climate denialism, and the idea of “planetary thinking” and “planetary health.” In the second part, we are going to elaborate on the critical perspectives towards the idea of environmental justice with an emphasis on green philosophy and politics as well as international cooperation on sustainability and ecological enhancement. We will devote the final part of the course on current debates.

Course Category	Core Courses
	Major Area Courses
	Supportive Courses
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation	Learning Outcome
1	Introduction to the course: Objectives and Expectations	John Bellamy Foster (1999), The Vulnerable Planet, (NY: Monthly Review Press), Preface&Ch.1
2	Ecology and the Emergence of Environmental Politics	Jaboury Ghazoul (2020), Ecology: A Very Short Introduction (NY and London: Oxford University Press), ch.1-2. Andrew Dobson (2016), Environmental Politics: A Very Short Introduction, (NY and London: Oxford University Press), introduction; ch.1-2. Pamela S. Chasek et al. (2018), “The Emergence of Global Environmental Politics,” Global Environmental Politics (7th ed.), (NY and London: Routledge), pp. 1-49.
3	The Rise and Fall of Developmentalism and “Infinite Growth”	Kelley Johnson (2010), “Developmentalism Then and Now: The Origins and Resurgence of an Enduring Grand Theory,” Grand Theories and Ideologies in the Social Sciences (ed. Howard J. Wiarda), (NY: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 19-40. Sukhoon Hong (2010), “Environmental and Geographic Determinism: Jared Diamond and His Ideas,” Grand Theories and Ideologies in the Social Sciences (ed. Howard J. Wiarda), (NY: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 141-158. Jacobus A. du Pisani (2006), “Sustainable Development: Historical Roots of the Concept,” Environmental Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 83-96.
4	Actors and Regimes of Environmental Politics	Pamela S. Chasek et al. (2018), “Actors in the Environmental Arena,” Global Environmental Politics (7th ed.), (NY and London: Routledge), pp. 51-103. Lindsay Maizland (2021), “Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures,” Council on Foreign Relations (https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/paris-global-climate-change-agreements).
5	Approaches 1: Population and Scarcity vs. Institutions and Commons	Paul Robbins et al. (2014), Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, (UK: Wiley Blackwell), ch.2&ch.4.
6	Approaches 2: Environmental Justice *Deadline for setting up presentation groups	Paul Robbins et al. (2014), Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, (UK: Wiley Blackwell), ch.5.
7	Midterm
8	Making Sense of the “Crisis” of Ecology	TBA
9	Climate Change: Denialist vs. Alarmist Controversy **Deadline for submitting presentation topics with brief descriptions	TBA
10	Solutions 1: Transnational Activism/ Environmental Movements ***Feedback on presentation topics	TBA
11	Solutions 2: “Planetary Health”	TBA
12	Presentations
13	Presentations
14	Presentations
15	Review of the Semester
16	Final Exam

Course Notes/Textbooks
Suggested Readings/Materials

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities	Number	Weighting	LO 1	LO 2	LO 3	LO 4	LO 5	LO 6
Participation	1	10
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments	1	20
Presentation / Jury
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm	1	30
Final Exam	1	40
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	3	60
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade	1	40
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	3	48
Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)	16		0
Study Hours Out of Class	16	1	16
Field Work			0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques			0
Portfolio			0
Homework / Assignments	1	8	8
Presentation / Jury			0
Project			0
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam			0
Midterms	1	10	10
Final Exam	1	18	18
		Total	100

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

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#	PC Sub	Program Competencies/Outcomes	* Contribution Level
			1	2	3	4	5

*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest

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