UCIL32201 and UCIL33501
Climate Change and Society
- Semester 1
- Face-to-face delivery
- 10 or 20 credits
About
Why has climate change has attracted so much attention during the last 50 years?
This course, led by Dr Vladimir Jankovic, explores why climate change became the environmental and socio-economic problem of the century.
Why did it take so long after the discovery of the greenhouse effect for decision-makers to become aware of its cataclysmic potential, and who brought the issue to the policy arena?
The unit covers the issue from various perspectives: scientific, cultural, political, economic and media. The unit is suited to arts, humanities and science students interested in the scientific, social and policy aspects of climate change.
The unit sets recent - and future - developments in the context of the historic background. Using the latest studies, we will explore and discuss
- The role of climate science, the function of politics, and the promise of industry in bringing the problem under control and to the fore of public policy.
- How climate change features in the public sphere and whether the media works to be transparent in conveying scientific knowledge.
- The place of GenZ in the constellation of powers shaping public policy.
Unit details
What should I know about this unit?
UCIL33201 (10 credits) and UCIL33501 (20 credits)
- Level 3
- 10 or 20 credits
- Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine
This unit explores why climate change has attracted so much attention during the last 50 years. Is climate change changing everything? Is it changing anything? The unit covers the issue from various perspectives: scientific, cultural, political, economic and media. The unit is suited to arts, humanities and science students interested in the scientific, social and policy aspects of climate change.
On successful completion of the unit you will be able to:
- Describe the scientific, economic and cultural foundation and key concepts that underlie global climate change
- Discuss methods that are used to study climate change from different historical, cultural and social perspectives
- Identify how environmental issues emerge as social problems that require policy measures
- Evaluate climate policy and the politics of climate negotiation with reference to a wide range of stakeholders
In addition, for 20 credits:
- Research and write a literature-based review, integrating scientific, historical and social viewpoints
- What is climate change?
- What we know scientifically
- The formation of a consensus
- Politics of climate change
- Ethics of climate change
- Economics of climate change
- Climate change and security
- Climate Anxiety
- Climate change in the media
- Climate Apocalypse?
This unit offers face-to-face learning:
- 11 x lectures
- 11 x group debates
10 Credits
- 1500 word essay (50%)
- Expedition Photo Essay (1000 words plus images) (50%)
20 Credits
- 1500 word essay (25%)
- Expedition Photo Essay (1000 words plus images) (25%)
- 3500 word project report (50%)
Vladimir Jankovic
UCIL units are designed to be accessible to undergraduate students from all disciplines.
UCIL units are credit-bearing and it is not possible to audit UCIL units or take them for additional/extra credits. You must enrol following the standard procedure for your School when adding units outside of your home School.
If you are not sure if you are able to enrol on UCIL units you should contact your School Undergraduate office. You may wish to contact your programme director if your programme does not currently allow you to take a UCIL unit.
You can also contact the UCIL office if you have any questions.
How to enrol
UCIL units are designed to be accessible to undergraduate students from all disciplines. Depending on your School enrolment can be completed in one of two ways:
Enrolment using the Course Selection System
You may be able to enrol directly onto a UCIL unit using the Course Unit Enrolment System.
Enrolment via your School
If you cannot see the UCIL unit you wish to study or it is blocked out on the Course Unit Enrolment System you may need to request approval to study the unit directly from your School.
Please get in touch with the UCIL team at ucil@manchester.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Feedback
This course is particularly interesting because you get a bit of history, science, economics and ethics all pertaining to this topic. It's given me a much deeper understanding of the broader context of the issue which has encouraged me to apply for PhD's in climate science.
Hermione Warr
Physics student
