Second Term (February – July)
SKILLS (24 ECTs)
February – July (14 weeks / 140 hrs)
Module 4: Transformations
6 ECTS, 40 hours
Transformations (Syllabus)
Introduction to the Commons (Giacomo Dalisa) 10 hours
The course offers an introduction to the study of Commons by drawing on three different perspectives; the Institutional School, Political Ecology and Digital Commons. Subsequently, it will focus on the relation between Commons, Social Movements, Solidarity Economies and other contemporary forms of Commoning. Lastly, it will introduce a feminist appoach of the commons by focusing on the theory of Care.
Commons and Social Movements (Angelos Varvarousis) 10 hours
Commons and Social Movements are two forms of collective action whose interaction has not been studied enough. The course explores the frontiers of both theoretical fields and explores their potential interactions and connections in relation to future societal transformations.
Feminism, Ecology and Caring (Corinna Dengler) 10 hours
This course provides a basic understanding of core feminist concepts and analytical tools that are needed to (a) explore the hetero-patriarcal dimensions of the socioeconomic system and the growth society; and (b) examine the gender dimensions of environmental justice and conflicts. Ecological economics is revisited from a feminist economics perspective. And ecofeminist contributions are used to enrich and expand degrowth both as a discipline and as a social movement
Digital commons (Alekos Pantazis) 10 hours
This course is a theoretical as well as hands-on exploration of the theory and practice of online and offline collaboration and sharing. The goal is to engage in a critical discussion of the Internet-enabled collaborative initiatives. You will engage multi-disciplinary literature about what commons/digital commons is; what are the hidden socio-environmental costs of digital technologies etc.
Readings will explore various business models, including mainstream social media platforms and commons-oriented organizations, as well as discuss incentives of cooperation, and potentialities for conviviality transitions. This course will employ techniques from non-formal education for a hands-on exploration of the sharing economy. Through role-playing games and improvised group presentations, you will build on and interplay with the ideas discussed with the aim to face practical problems
Module 5: Methodological Applications for Action-Research
9 ECTS, 40 hours:
1.- Case study research and Q methodology (Christos Zografos, Diego Andreucci, Marien González) 10 hours
Case study research (Syllabus)
Syllabus (Q-Methodology) (tbc)
The purpose of this module is to familiarize students with principles and techniques of qualitative social research. The course will be divided in two parts. The first (4 hours, Diego Andreucci) will provide an introduction to basic principles of social research design and qualitative investigative methods, focusing specifically on the case study method and its application to the investigation of concrete social situations. The second part of the course (6 hours, Christos Zografos), will introduce Q methodology and explain how it can be used to explore conflicting views in collective decision-making processes. One class will focus on explaining the method, its steps/process, and what it serves, and another class will illustrate key applications and empirical case examples using Q methodology.
2.- Introduction to survey methods (Sergio Villamayor) 10 hours
Syllabus (tbc)
The course first offers the basic tools on how to design, test and execute a survey in different contexts and fields. Next, some techniques for data collection, processing and analysis are presented, all in the context of multiple practical examples
3.- Social metabolic analysis (Arnim Scheidel, Anke Schaffartzik, Raúl Velasco-Fernández, Gonzalo Gamboa) 20 hours
Syllabus (tbc)
The course “Analyzing social metabolism” provides an introduction into the conceptual foundations of social metabolism and an overview of how to apply the most common approaches to its quantitative analysis
4.- Social Multi-criteria Evaluation (Gonzalo Gamboa) 20 hours
(Syllabus)
The course presents the combination of participatory approaches and multicriteria evaluation methods applied to public policies. The course will introduce theoretical and practical characteristics of multicriteria models and their suitability in public decision making. The course will balance conventional lecturing and case study development by the students.
Module 6 – Professional skills in Environmental Justice and Degrowth
9 ECTS, 60 hours
The professional module will teach students in concrete skills necessary in work environments: policy-making at the local level; writing for the press; setting up a SSE; organizing an NGO campaign. The speakers will be practitioners and will share with students also their experience from their work environments (e.g. think tanks, NGOs, consultancies, newspapers) and what it takes to work there, what skills are necessary and how is the working day. Each course will be initiated by a core member of the masters faculty who will position the professional skill within current debates about degrowth and environmental justice, making links between theoretical issues debated in the Fundamentals module, and the practical skills.
1.- Facilitation techniques (David Villota, Filla Sekulova)
Syllabus (tbc)
The course presents the practical aspects of dealing with groups, with the goal of learning to facilitate group processes (such as decision-making, collective exploration of ideas, conflict-resolution, cohesion and communication)
2.- Contributing to policy (Erika Zárate, Oscar Galcerán, Alvaro Porro)
Syllabus (tbc)
This course will teach students how to communicate to and write for policy mak- ers. It will involve a class and workshop on how to make policy briefs, how to write a policy report and assessment. It will introduce also to the art of lobbying for the implementation of public policies.
The course will include tips on how to approach the politicians as an outsider, establish relations with key person in political parties; as well as insiders’ views for those who want to work professionally in the policy arena, and on the everyday realities of policy makers today and how to best prepare oneself for getting a job there. Case studies and examples will focus on environmental justice and alterna- tive economies stories
3.- The New Economy (Andrea Calsamiglia)
Syllabus (tbc)
The goal of this course is to learn the practical aspects of setting up an enterprise in the social, solidarity or collaborative sector. Professionals from the sector will be invited to participate
4.- Activism and Campaigning (Emma Avilès, Rakel Muñoz)
Syllabus (tbc)
This course aims at teaching the crucial aspects for setting up an actvist campaign. Professionals from the sector will be invited to participate