Content

 

FIRST SEMESTER

 

PART 1. Theory and Practice of Interdisciplinarity in environmental science

Prof. Eduard Ariza

 

DAY 1, MONDAY 27 OF SEPTEMBER 2021 (15-18 h)

Eduard Ariza

The history and theory of interdisciplinarity in sustainability research

• Philosophical concepts and recent evolution
• The need to clarify hidden assumptions: The reflexive approach
• Sustainability science as a value laden research
• The difficult task of framing of wicked problems
• Epistemological pluralism

Mandatory reading: Lélé, S., and R. B. Norgaard. 2005. Practicing interdisciplinarity. Bioscience 55 (11): 967–975

 

DAY 2, TUESDAY 28 OF SEPTEMBER 2021 (15-18 h)

Eduard Ariza

The practice of Interdisciplinarity: the intellectual challenge

• Conflictual framings and search for answers
• Mismatches in methods and explanatory models of the epistemic communities
• How does an interdisciplinary project work?

Mandatory reading: Farrell, K., Luzzati, T., and S. van den Hove. 2013. What lies beyond reductionism? Taking stock of interdisciplinary research in ecological economics. In: Farrell, K., Luzzati, T. and S. van den Hove (eds). Beyond Reductionism: A passion for interdisiplinarity. Routledge, London.

 

DAY 3, WEDNESDAY 29 OF SEPTEMBER 2021 (15-18 h)

Eduard Ariza

Whole Systems Thinking

• From Environmental and Sustainability Education to Whole Systems Thinking
• Transformative learning theory
• Transformative learning practice

Mandatory reading: Sterling, S.R. 2010. Transformative learning and sustainability: sketching the conceptual ground. Learning and teaching in Higher Education 5: 17-33.

 

 DAY 4, THURSDAY 30 OF SEPTEMBER 2021 (15-18 h)

Eduard Ariza

The practice of Interdisciplinarity: the institutional challenge

• The disciplinary structure of knowledge production institutions
• The rhetoric of interdisciplinarity
• Disincentives/incentives and punishment for interdisciplinary research: funding, evaluation criteria and peer pressure.

 

 

PART 2: Introduction to ecological economics: debates and topics

Prof. Sergio Villamayor-Tomas

This block and Prof. Claudio Cattaneo’s block constitute an introduction to Ecological Economics. Prof. Cattaneo’s focuses on the foundations of Ecological Economics that have to with biophysical analysis and connections to growth. This block covers the foundations that have to do with heterodox economics, pluralism and activism.

The two blocks will be introduced in the session of the 4^th of October. Then, Prof. Cattaneo’s and this block will follow.

 In this block each of the sessions has two parts. In the first part we will discuss a transversal topic that is connected important to understand the tradition of ecological economics and the ecological economics work that we do at ICTA. In the second section we will know more about the work of specific groups at ICTA that carry ecological economics-related work beyond social metabolism and environmental justice (covered in Claudio Cattaneo´s block). These include climate economics (from a behavioral perspective), local ecological knowledge, and the commons.

 

 4th of October.: Introduction to Ecological Economics and the Barcelona School

The goal of this session is twofold: 1) introduce the basic history and tenets of Ecological Economics andthe particular take of scholars working at ICTA (recently referred to as the Barcelona School of Ecological Economics and Political Ecology); and 2) to have a firsthand introduction to the history of the Barcelona School by one of its founders.

 

Mandatory reading:

Martinez-Alier, J., & Muradian, R. (2015). “Taking stock: the keystones of ecological economics”, in J. Martinez-Alier & R. Muradian (eds.), Handbook of ecological economics, Edward Elgar Publishing (pp. 1-26).

 

11th of October: Frontiers and paradigm changes in science: the case of Ecological Economics?

The goal of this session is twofold: 1) to become familiar with the process through which scientific standards and programs evolve, using the example of ecological economics; and 2) to have a firsthand introduction to the work on climate behavioral economics carried in one of the Ecological Economics research groups at ICTA.

 

Mandatory readings:

Walker, T. C. (2010). The perils of paradigm mentalities: Revisiting Kuhn, Lakatos, and Popper. Perspectives on Politics, 433-451.

 

Optional reading:

Drews, S., & Van den Bergh, J. C. (2016). What explains public support for climate policies? A review of empirical and experimental studies. Climate Policy, 16(7), 855-876.

 

13th of October: Scientific uncertainty: a problem?

 The goal of this session is twofold: 1) Become familiar with the challenges and opportunities of doing research on complex environmental problems; and 2) to have a firsthand introduction to the work on local ecological knowledge carried in one of the Ecological Economics research groups at ICTA.

 

Mandatory reading:

Waltner Toews, D., Biggeri, A., & De Marchi, B. Post-normal Pandemics: Why COVID-19 Requires a New Approach to Science. STEPS Center, 25.03. 2020.

 

Optional Readings:

Reyes-García, V., García-del-Amo, D., Benyei, P., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Gravani, K., Junqueira, A. B., ... & Soleymani-Fard, R. (2019). A collaborative approach to bring insights from local observations of climate change impacts into global climate change research. Current opinion in environmental sustainability, 39, 1-8.

 

 28th of October: Transdisciplinary research and activism: what’s your take?

 The goal of this session is twofold: 1) to critically evaluate the concept of transdisciplinary research and related paradigms and confront students with their epistemological and normative positions as current/future researchers/professionals of sustainable development; and 2) to have a firsthand introduction to the work on commons carried in one of the Ecological Economics research groups at ICTA.

 

Mandatory reading:

Otero, I., Niewöhner, J., Krueger, T., Dogmus, Ö. C., Himmelreich, J., Sichau, C., & Hostert, P. (2017). The position of scientists in transformations of human-environment systems. An inquiry into IRI THESys research practices.

 

Optional Readings:

Villamayor-Tomas, S., & García-López, G. (2021). Commons Movements: old and new trends in the global South and Nort. Annual Review of Environment and Resources.

 

PART 3:

Prof. Claudio Cattaneo

This block of 4 sessions figures out hot topics in ecological economics that can offer valuable insights to industrial ecology and globalchange. The general framework of the biophysical limits to growth is then explored with a specific focus on climate change, extractivism and environmental conflicts (energy and materials) and a practical application to ecological urbanism is then introduced

Oct 5th: Entropy, environment, economics.

The biophysical roots of the economic process, the (im)possibility of the circular economy and its implications for growth and social justice.

Reading:
Georgescu-Roegen, N., 1975. Energy and Economic Myths. Southern Economic Journal, 41(3). http://www.uvm.edu/~jfarley/EEseminar/readings/energy%20myths.pdf

 

Oct 6th : Introduction to degrowth.

Reading:
Kallis, G., et al., 2018. Research on Degrowth, Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 43, 4.1-4.26

 

Oct 7th: Climate Scenarios, commodity Frontiers, environmental conflicts and degrowth.

Readings:
Koch, 2015: Climate Change, Capitalism and Degrowth Trajectories to a Global Steady-State Economy. International Critical Thought http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21598282.2015.1102078

Anderson and Peters, 2016. The trouble with negative emissions Science 354 (6309), 182-183. [doi: 10.1126/science.aah4567]

Conde, M. and Walter, M. (2015) Commodity Frontiers (Ch 13) Degrowth. A Vocabulary for a New Era.
Additional readings:
Patel, R., & Moore, J. W. (2017). Introduction. A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet. Univ of California Press.
Conde, M. (2017). Resistance to mining. A review. Ecological Economics, 132, 80-90.
Alimonda H., (2015) Mining in Latin America: Coloniality and Degradation, 149-162 In International handbook PE (Bryant (Ed.).

 

Oct8th: From ecological economics to industrial (urban) ecology: Barcelona Doughnut Economics

Reading: the City Portrait methodology

Additional reading: Rueda, S. et al., El Urbanismo Ecológico. Agencia de Ecologia Urbana de Barcelona. (lenlace a la teoria)

 

 

PART 4: Training stay in a natural space (14th, 15th and 16th oct)

 

Prof. Jordina Belmonte & Carles Barriocanal (jordina.belmonte@uab.cat; carlosalfredo.barriocanal@uab.cat)

 

The activities that we propose will take place in one of the natural spaces that the Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera (FC-LP) owns and devotes to teaching and research activities. For more information http://fundaciocatalunya-lapedrera.com/en/nature

UAB and FC-LP signed a contract in 2012 to facilitate the development of activities to UAB members, especially in Alinyà but not exclusively. This campus will offer us the opportunity to learn natural sciences and socio-ecological aspects and to assist to explanations on projects that are being run in the area, at the time that all students participating get to know better each other and begin to collaborate and work together.   

A detailed agenda on the travel to the space (that will be done by bus and organized by ICTA-UAB) and the activities will be provided at the beginning of the Master. The students will be asked to contribute to the expenses of the travel and stay. The amount required will be stablished later and will not exceed 100 €/person (for the 2,5 days that the training will last).

Aula activities, talks and debates related with the Knowledge and the sustainable use of the local environment. Main speakers: Jordina Belmonte (ICTA-UAB researcher & Dept. Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology), Carles Barriocanal (Dept. Geography), personnel from the FC-LP to be determined and all master students in the debate.

• Introduction to the space visited:  climatology, geomorphology, biodiversity, biogeography.
• Livestock and the management of pastures and forests
• Research projects
• Sustainable use of the local environment and practical interpretation of the landscape from a socioecological perspective.

Field activities:

• Adapted to the natural space visited.

 

 

SECOND SEMESTER

 

PART 5 :  tools and methods of industrial ecology (2nd, 9rd, 16th i 23th february)

Prof. Laura Talens/ Carles Martínez Gasol

 

Block 1. Introduction to the circular economy, and the main tools of Industrial Ecology.

Introduction to Circular Economy:

• Introduction to the different schools of thought, with special emphasis on industrial ecology.

• Description of the various action plans in the Circular Economy in the EU.

• Linking the plans in Circular Economy with other EU strategies such as ecodesign regulations and critical materials.

• Understand the EU Ecodesign implementation process.

• Case study.

Introduction to Ecodesign

• Introduction to ecodesign

• Ecological design strategies

• Review of current ecodesign legislation.

• · Citizen science in the field of design and repair of electrical and electronic equipment. Case: restarters Barcelona.

Development of life cycle analysis (LCA)

• Introduction to LCA as a tool for evaluating products, services and projects.

• Environmental tools

• Case studies

Introduction to the carbon footprint applied to waste management.

• Introduction of the carbon footprint concept

• Use of the CO2ZW tool.

Perception and social conflict to selective waste collection systems as Door2Door that imply more proactivity by citizens. Case: Door to door in Sant Andreu a neighborhood of Barcelona.

 

Methodology

 

Block 1 (2ECT). Introduction to circular economy, and the main tools of industrial ecology

- 12 hours of class that include theory and practical exercises.

- 6 hours of Circular Economy, Ecodesign and theory applied to case studies

- 6 hours of stroke theory and theory applied to case studies

- 25 hours of readings (documents and case studies) and studies outside the classroom (individual and in groups)

Classroom hours: Theory classes will provide students with the necessary knowledge to understand the application of LCA and Ecodesign tools in the analysis and design of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), as well as conceptualize a project proposal in circular economy.

Work outside the classroom: The project of designing a project in circular economy will be carried out outside the classroom to ensure that the students have understood the theoretical classes and to learn to put the concepts into practice.

Group projects: The conceptualization and design of a project proposal based on circular economy issues such as:

• Circular supply: use of recycled and reusable materials, instead of new materials.

• Recovery of resources through innovative processes that allow a positive impact on the value chain.

• Extend product life through recovery, resale, or eco-friendly innovation and design.

• Products as services: offering payment services for a product while maintaining its ownership for the subsequent recovery of resources.

• Innovation in processes through closed-loop production, to maximize the use of resources and minimize environmental impact.

The project proposal will be presented as follows:

• A short video describing your project (max. 7 min). The video should highlight the main objective, the potential benefits in environmental, social and economic terms and the tentative methodological approach to evaluate it.

• A brief report with the following content:

• Section 1, general approach to the project:

o Description of the objective of the circular economy project.

o Methodological approach

o Possible benefits of the project.

• Section 2, evaluation of the potential impact project:

o Provisional environmental assessment of the project using tools that focus on a systematic and life cycle approach.

o Definition of the Functional Unit

o System and product description

o Discussion on the expected results of the evaluation using the selected environmental tool

The project proposals will be evaluated based on the following aspects:

• Speech and communication: clarity of the objective, the methodology and the results, and the correct use of vocabulary and terminology

• Time: adjusted use of time to important aspects

• Format and data: easy to understand and follow the discourse (good listening and reading of the information presented)

• Project: real applicability and replicability of the proposal, originality, and innovative nature of the idea. potential benefits on environmental, social and economic aspects. Existence of clear and measurable objectives and indicators of tracing.

 

PART 6: Communication and academic diffusion, also related to the Master’s thesis (1stnd oct, 22th oct, 15th feb, 22th feb, 9th marCH and 15th marCH)

 

Antònia Casellas     antonia.casellas@uab.cat

Course Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the fundamentals of writing and presentation in the context of academic work. The main course goal is to help master students with the specific requirements of graduate-level articles, reports, theses and presentations. To this goal, we will specifically work on academic practice of research design, summary-critique, synthesis and presentations.

Topics covered in the class include discussion of Critical/Academic Writing, Papers Structure, Abstracts, Introductions/Conclusions, Literature Review, Evidence, Citation Style, Sources and Quotations, Plagiarism, Academic Sources, and Library Resources. We will also address strategies for presenting information. The course provides opportunities for questions, discussion and exercises.

 

Content

The assignment requirements of the sessions include:

1) Readings:  We will do readings of journal articles selected by professor and students.  The readings will be discussed in class.

2) Short Writings: Throughout the classes students will complete several short writing assignments in class.  These pieces will be exercises in employing concepts learned in class/reading and will be incorporated into the short essays.

3) Short Essays: Students will write two individual short essays:

(a) The first essay is a Book Review: Students select a book from their fields of study and write a summary and critique of it.

(b) The second essay is a Synthesis Essay: Students write an Introduction for a topic they have worked on in their fields of study.

4) Class presentation: Students will present the Book Review Essay under the directions of the professor and will receive feedback from the class.