First Term (October – February)
FUNDAMENTALS (21 ECTs)
October – January (15 weeks / 110 hrs)
Calendar (tbc)
Module 1: Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations of Degrowth
6 ECTS, 30 hours
What is degrowth (Francois Schneider and Filka Sekulova)
This course will lay out the theoretical foundations of degrowth, surveying various contributions from various schools of thought. We will discuss writings of the French authors writing in the field of anti-utilitarianism, critics of development and progress (Latouche, Aries, Mauss.), as well as the conceptual foundations of degrowth related to the notions of voluntary simplicity, ecology, deepening democracy, decoloniality, social and biophysical limits to growth. The course will include interactive and deliberative workshops as well as field visits where some of the theoretical concepts studied in class are used as a source of inspiration for practical applications.
Module 2: Environmental Justice: Origins, Theory, Issues and Movements
6 ECTS, 30 hours
1.- Global Environmental Justice (Mariana Walter) 8 hours
Explore different approaches to Environmental Justice from academia and activism from the Global North and the Global South.
2.- Urban Environmental Justice ( Elia Apostolopoulou and Sergio Ruiz Cayuela ) 14 hours
The aim of this course is to debate and deepen students’ knowledge on some of the key themes, as well as new emerging approaches, in urban environmental justice scholarship and activism.
3.- Art expressions of environmental justice ( María Heras and Carlo Sella) 8 hours
This two-session workshop interoduces the use of theater and other artistic expressions in environmental conflicts.
Module 3: Political Ecology and Degrowth Economics
9 ECTS 50 hours
1.- Political Ecology (Marta Conde and Diego Andreucci) 30 hours
The course offers a critical introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Political Ecology (PE), the study of the ways in which power affects socio-environmental relations and processes. The course will offer a global view of the current ecological crisis and its political, economic, cultural and epistemological dimensions and interconnections. Drawing from a range of critical approaches, the course will examine key concepts and theoretical frameworks that underlie the contemporary political ecological critique of capitalism and development.
2.- Degrowth Economics (Giorgos Kallis and Salvador Pueyo) 20 hours
An introduction to the classics and foundational texts of ecological economics, followed by a discussion of political economy, and their application to the understanding of the growth process, and contemporary debates about degrowth.