EDS349 Energi og Samfunn
English course information
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Viser emneinfo for studieåret 2022 - 2023.
Emneansvarlige: John Andrew Mcneish
Studiepoeng: 5
Ansvarlig fakultet: Fakultet for landskap og samfunn
Frekvens: Biannual. Next Course in 2023
Undervises på språk: EN
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
(NO=norsk, EN=Engelsk)
Begrensning antall plasser:
30
Undervises i periode:
Januarblokk
Første gang: Studieår 2016-2017
Undervises hvor?: Campus Ås
Emnets innhold:
The course provides an introduction to social science perspectives on the complex relationship between energy and society. At its foundation the course aims to reveal to students the fundamental reliance that exists between energy resources, human development and concepts of power and modernity. Direct connection is made in the course to the challenges of sustainable development and energy transition.
Læringsutbytte:
Students shall gain deeper insight into energy politics and the linkages between social and economic development and energy use. Students shall acquire the capacity to use theory to study concrete cases concerning energy politics and governance at the national and local level. The course makes explicit and critical use of theoretical approaches drawn from science and technology studies (STS), anthropology, economics, political science, political economy and political ecology. Students shall develop the capacity to undertake interdisciplinary analyses and obtain higher-level understanding of the ways in which society, resources and technology interact and influence the possibilities of human decision-making. The students will learn to connect theoretical perspectives and approaches to practical policy issues, and through analysis suggest political solutions where efficiency, legitimacy and political viability are considered important criteria. The use of digital storytelling as both an assessment and learning method assists students to form a strong personal and qualified connection with the themes of the course.
Students shall acquire the skills to study various strategies for the sustainable use of energy resources. Energy resources are studied individually within the context of international agreements, national policies and local politics. In relation to this, the inter-relationship between state, business and civil society is emphasized. Students shall, finally, be able to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of existing energy governance structures, and develop and evaluate ideas for alternative solutions. Given the importance of communicating to both specialists and the general public, the course encourages students to work collaboratively, to study both academic and policy-related documentation, and to present their opinions and ideas in plenum.
Through active participation in class discussions, student presentations, group work, visual and written assignments students develop their skills in critical thinking. The course aims to encourage reflection on both their own and other people's attitudes, values and norms and develop self-reflection around the relationships between society and nature as well as scientific and interpersonal relationships.
Læringsaktiviteter:
The course will employ a combination of standard lectures and "flip-the-classroom" problem-based learning and teaching methodologies. The course also includes a total of three workshops introducing students to digital storytelling. These workshops and associated story-circles are important elements of the course methodology, enabling a deeply contemplative connection between the individual student and the thematics of the course. As well as the only means of assessment, digital stories also represent a central element of the teaching methodology in the course. Through these workshops and story circles student have opportunity to both work and learn together, leading up to the delivery of an individually produced and complete digital story.
Læringsstøtte:
Three workshops will be run by the Learning Centre on digital story-telling on three separate occasions through the course. The Learning Centre will also provide both technical supervision and support outwith these workshops and throughout the course period. This is a continuance of the successful experience of using similar assessment methods in EDS348 Environmental Politics and Governance.
Pensum:
- Nikiforuk, A (2012) Chapters 1 & 2.
The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitude . Greystone Publications. - Sahlins, M (1972) Chapter 1: The Original Affluent Society.
Stone Age Economics . Aldine Atherton Publications. - Mintz, S (1986) Chapter 3.
Sweetness and Power: Place of Sugar in Modern History . Penguin Books. - Smil, V (2006) Chapter 3: Energy in Human History: muscles, tools and machines.
Energy . Beginners Guides. One World: Oxford.
- Mitchell, T (2011) Chapter 1 and 3.
Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil . Verso Publications. - Shulman, P (2015) Chapter 3: The Economy of Time and Space.
Coal and Empire: The Birth of Energy Security in Industrial America . John Hopkins University Press. - Ugo Bardi (2010) The dark side of coal - some historical insights on energy and the economy. See:
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2010-04-12/dark-side-coal-some-historical-insights-energy-and-economy - Le Billon, P (2007) Drilling in deep water: oil, business and war in Angola. In Lynn Karl, T & Said, Y (eds)
Oil Wars . Pluto Press.
- Stirling. A (2014) Transforming Power: Social Science and the Politics of Energy Choices.
Energy Research and Social Science . 1. pp83-95. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.02.001¿ - Anusus, M & Ingold, T (2015) The Charge Against Electricity.
Cultural Anthropology . Vol 30. Issue 4. pp 540-554. - Hornborg, A (2001) Chapter 1: The Machine as Emperor.
The Power of the Machine. Global Inequalities of Economy, Technology and Environment . Alta Mira Press. - Lomas, R (2013)
The Man Who Invented the 20th Century: Nokola Tesla, Forgotten Genius of Electricity . Create Space Independent Publishing.
- Gavin, F (2015)
Nuclear Statecraft: History and Strategy in America´s Atomic Age . Cornell University Press. - Nelson, C (2014)
The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era. Scribner: First Edition. - Campos, L. A (2015)
Radium and the Secret to Life. University of Chicago Press. - Film:
Pandoras Promise (Robert Stone)
- Watts, M (2010)
Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta . Powerhouse Books. - Zalik, A (2009) Zones of Exclusion: Offshore Extraction, the Contestation of Space and Physical Displacement in the Nigerian Delta and Mexican Gulf.
Antipode Vol41. No 3 pp557-582 - Sawyer, S (2015) Crude Contamination: Law, Science and Indeterminacy in Ecuador and Beyond. In Appel, Mason & Watts (eds)
Subterranean Estates: Lifeworlds of Oil and Gas . Princeton University Press.
- Kirsch, S (2014) Ch 2 and Ch4.
Mining Capitalism: The Relationship Between Corporations and their Critics . University of California Press. - Stirling, A (2014) Transforming Power: Social Science and the Power of Energy Choices.
Energy Research and Social Science . Vol 1 pp83-95. - McNeish, J (Forthcoming 2017) Throwing Stones at a Giant? Confronting the Extractive State through Popular Referenda and Resource Sovereignty.
Third World Quarterley . See Canvas.
- Logan, O & McNeish, J.A (2012) Ch1. Rethinking Responsibility and Governance in Resource Extraction. In McNeish, J.A & Logan, O (eds)
Flammable Societies: Studies on the Socio-Economics of Oil and Gas . Pluto Press. - Humphreys, M; Sachs, J & Stiglitz, J (2007) Ch1: What is the problem with Natural Resource Wealth? In Humphreys, Sachs and Stiglitz (eds)
Escaping the Resource Curse . Colombia University Press - Rosser, A (2006)
The Political Economy of the Resource Curse: A literature survey . Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Working Paper 268. See: http://www2.ids.ac.uk/futurestate/pdfs/wp268.pdf
- Klein, N (2014) Ch2 Hot Money. How Free Market Fundamentalism Helped Overheat the Planet. In Klein, N.
This Changes Everything. Capitalism Vs the Climate
. Allen Lane/ Penguin.
- UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2015. See: http://uneplive.unep.org/theme/index/13 - indcs
- International Energy Agency (IEA) (2015) Special Report: Energy and Climate Change. See: https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WEO2015SpecialReportonEnergyandClimateChange.pdf
- Whilhite, H (2013) Energy Consumption as Cultural Practice: Implications for the Theory and Policy of Sustainable Energy Use. In Strauss, Rupp & Loue (eds)
Cultures of Energy: Power, Practices and Technologies . Left Coast Press. - Jackson, T (2009) Ch2 The Age of Irresponsibility.
Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet . Earthscan Publication. - Yergin, D (2006) Ensuring Energy Security.
Foreign Affairs Vol 85. No 2. pp 69-82
- Klein, N (2014) Ch7: No Messiahs: The Green Billionaires Won´t Save Us.
This Changes Everything: Climate and Capitalism. Allen Lane - Pearce, G (2012)
Greenwash: Big Brands and Carbon Scams . Black Inc - The Guardian Newspaper Series on Greenwash and Fossil Fuels. See: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/series/greenwash+fossil-fuels
- Howe, C; Boyer, D & Barrera, E (2015) Wind at the Margins of the State: autonomy and renewable energy development in southern Mexico. In McNeish, Borchgrevink & Logan (eds)
Contested Powers: The Politics of Energy and Development in Latin America . Zed Books. - Behar, M (2010) Selling the Sun. In Nader, L (ed)
The Energy Reader . Wiley Blackwell. - Hornborg, A (2001) Ch. 8 Symbolic Technologies: Machines and the Marxian Notion of Fetishism.
The Power of the Machine: Global Inequalities of Economy, Technology and Environment . AltaMira Press.
Forutsatte forkunnskaper:
Basic knowledge of social theory. The course is particularly relevant to the Masters programmes in International Environmental Studies, Development Studies and International Relations
Anbefalte forkunnskaper:
Basic knowledge of social theory
Obligatorisk aktivitet:
Students are expected to take an active role in class discussions, group work and plenary presentations.
100% attendence (unless student´s circumstances require exceptions. This should be agreed with the course convener).
During the course students are expected to produce an individually produced digital-story in which personal experience and interests are combined with learned theory and course literature to analyze cases of energy development, conflict or transition.
Digital storytelling at its most basic is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. There are a wealth of other terms used to describe this practice, such as digital documentaries, computer-based narratives, digital essays, electronic memoirs, interactive storytelling, etc.; but in general, they all revolve around the idea of combining the art of producing a reflective narrative with a variety of multimedia, including graphics, audio, video, and Web publishing. In the case of this course these narratives are required to be well evidenced and argued.
Vurderingsordning:
EXAM ONLY IN ENGLISH.
Students will produce a digital story in which they analyze cases of energy development, conflict or transition. These are a min of 5 min/max 15 minutes in length.
The following elements are also considered essential in terms of their content i.e.
1.Empirical knowledge of the theme and context (based on existing credible secondary or primary sources)
2. Academic discussion and analysis (reviewing the current state of the art of an issue)
3. Positioning in response to these (your own position and argument).
Each of the student digital stories will be examined by the course leader together with an external examiner. Here a combination of both technical skill, delivery and the essential elements assessed above will be points of assessment.
Sensor:
Internal and External Sensor
Normert arbeidsmengde:
Opptakskrav:
Students enrolled in the International Environmental Studies, Development Studies and International Relations Masters Programmes will be given prioritized entry to the course. Students from other Masters programmes at NMBU are also encouraged to register for the course.
Eksamensdetaljer: Oppgave: Bokstavkarakterer