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| Semester | fall semester 2020 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Philipp Aerni (philipp.aerni@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Ivo Wallimann-Helmer (ivo.wallimann-helmer@unibas.ch) |
| Content | Sustainability builds upon the ability of human beings to embark on collective action designed to shape the future in ethical responsibility and to enable change through the power of innovation. This understanding of sustainability addresses the concerns of future generations by converting sustainability challenges into opportunities that help solve the related to problems while promoting inclusive growth and decent work. It is deeply rooted in the new United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. However, sustainability is not an uncontested concept. There is a widespread tendency to shape the term in accordance with respective stakeholder agendas. This leads to the risk of propagating approaches that serve private rather than public interests. This course addresses these challenges in business, government, academia and civil society by exploring the concept of sustainability from two perspectives: ethics and social sciences. Students are to become familiar with basic empirical insights on the political economy of sustainable change as well as the ethics of sustainable action. We encourage students to scrutinize various sustainability concepts, to address moral dilemmas and to suggest sustainable pathways addressing global challenges. These include not only environmental goals like the sustainable management of natural resources, biodiversity conservation and climate change. They also concern socioeconomic challenges in regard to youth unemployment, social and legal inequality, discrimination in cultural and economic life based on gender, race or socioeconomic status, or access to basic resources such as food, water, shelter, education, health services etc. The course further introduces ethical challenges related to SDGs on the local, national and global policy levels and makes them familiar with empirical insights on how to effectively promote sustainable development. Based on the insights gained, students carry out their own critical analysis on a selected sustainability topic and the claims of the stakeholders involved. |
| Learning objectives | - to become familiar with an interdisciplinary, context sensitive and dynamic understanding of sustainability - to discuss and apply ethical theory in practical decisions related to sustainability - to explore the meaning of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and their targets - to discuss possible pathways to implement SDGs in an effective way in OECD and non-OECD countries - to be able to reflect different concepts of sustainability in a critical manner. |
| Bibliography | Aerni, Philipp. (2018) Global Business in Local Culture: the Impact of Embedded Multinational Enterprises. SpringerBriefs in Economics. Springer, Cham. Aerni, Philipp. (2015) The Sustainable Provision of Environmental Services: from Regulation to Innovation. Springer Series on CSR, Ethics and Governance. Springer, Heidelberg. Hidalgo, Cesar. (2015) Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies. Basic Books. Jacobs, Jane. (1969) The Economy of Cities. Vintage Books. Boserup, Ester. (1981) Population and Technological Change: A Study of Long-Term Trends. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Gardiner, S. M., Thompson, A., & Minteer, B. A. (Eds.) (2016). Environmental Ethics, Sustainability Science, and the Recovery of Pragmatism - Oxford Handbooks: Oxford University Press. Norton, B. G. (2007). Sustainability: A philosophy of adaptive ecosystem management ([Nachdr.]). Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. O’Neill, J., Holland, A., & Light, A. (2008). Environmental values. Routledge introductions to environment series. London: Routledge. Page, E. (2018). Environmental Justice and Sustainability. In C. Brown & R. Eckersley (Eds.), The Oxford handbooks of international relations. The Oxford handbook of international political theory (pp. 178-192). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wallimann-Helmer, I. (2019). Justice in Managing Global Climate Change. In T. Letcher (Ed.), Managing Global Warming: An Interface of Technology and Human Issues (751-768). Amsterdam: Elsevier. |
| Comments | Die Veranstaltung findet unregelmässig statt. Meeting takes place irregularly. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Wirtschaft, Wissen und Kultur (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Students present midterm insights and write an essay on their own critical understanding of sustainability in the context of one or several SDGs and a specific case study. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Soziologie |