ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-2024

By 2050, it is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s population will live in an urban environment. In many countries in the developing world, this is already a reality, with 80-90% of their populations living in cities, with increasing and rapid rates of urbanization. Increased urban population growth, paired with other socio-economic realities that are characteristic to cities, poses enormous challenges to ensure quality of life and wellbeing for everyone, leaving no one behind.

This course will focus on the linkages between gender, environment, economy, and human development. We will examine key contemporary environmental issues such as climate change, food security, the green economy, low-carbon development and degrowth; access to water, sanitation, and energy; pollution; and biodiversity conservation from the perspective(s) of gender equality. The course will explore how sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, colonialism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression have shaped and continue to shape environmental discourses, and how we might confront and subvert such hierarchies and inequalities. Course materials will include academic and non-academic literature (including policy and journalistic literature), activist texts, fiction, and film.

In this course we will apply teachings from Indigenous Perspectives on Environment & Development I in practice. Specifically, we will learn from Indigenous leaders (Elders & youth) working on the following topics: land repatriation & defense, environmental protection, food sovereignty, cultural continuity, gender and Indigenous research. To do so, we will have a suite of readings/resources from international Indigenous authors as well as those from Nations within Costa Rica. The latter readings (and from part I of this course) will help us understand our on the ground experiences and teachings. Specifically, we will learn directly from Huetar, Brörán, Cabécar, Bribri, Brunka leaders (both on campus and in their territories). These teachings will be used in our critical reflective dialogues in class and in students journaling project. Overall, the goal of our course is to honour Indigenous wisdom and Indigenous pedagogies and to learn how to do so in the framework of professional careers in the fields of environment and development.  

The Seminar on Indigenous Perspectives on Environment & Development take as a point of departure the fundamentals of who are Indigenous Peoples in Costa Rica and around the world. Next, the seminar will provide an overview of the legal frameworks at the universal, regional and national levels that protect Indigenous Peoples' rights. This will be contrasted with cases of the on-going challenges that Indigenous Peoples face in conservation initiatives, and the criminalization and violence that many face when defending their rights. The seminar will enable participants to understand and discuss traditional or indigenous knowledge systems, its relevance and relationship with the previous other themes of the seminar. 

This course looks into the role and application of sustainability frameworks, specifically safeguards frameworks/policies, in development projects, from a conflict lens. It examines how their implementation influences investment decisions, environmental and social practices, as well as local dynamics. During the course, students will be introduced to the basics of environmental and social risk and impact assessment, and the main international frameworks that are used by development finance institutions (DFIs), private sector development actors, and international organizations; these include: World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), IFC Performance Standards (PS), ADB Safeguards Policy, FAO’s Framework for Environmental and Social Management (FESM), among others. In addition to the frameworks’ design and application, the course also looks into the dynamics and drivers of conflict around development projects, and will discuss the role of accountability and grievance redress mechanisms designed to address complaints from affected stakeholders.

This is a practice-based and participatory course, where students are expected to actively contribute to class discussions, case studies and simulations.

This class is an opportunity to explore in-depth how different land-uses and conservation approaches intermingle in one particular region: the Southwest of Costa Rica. The purpose of the field trip is to obtain critical direct experience and knowledge of important natural resources management issues in a developing country, given the real political, economic, and natural resources context of the same. This course enables students to assess the contextual factors that affect natural resource management. Over the course of the trip, we will visit and be exposed to projects and issues with various resources, different actors involved in the management and different institutional settings. As such it will be a chance for you to integrate ideas from many of the classes you have taken over the course of your program, as well as a chance to learn from some of your peers about the topics to which you were not exposed during your program.

Climate change has been described as one of the biggest challenges humanity faces, since it has and increasingly will affect all human activities and life of all species. The way we organize our national and global society, our economy, will impact our potential for peace, development, wellbeing, and security, as well as all forms of life. A prime example of both global environmental change and global governance challenge, climate change continues to evade all past and present attempts of multilateral, national and local governance. Even though thousands of experts have been meeting annually over the last 30 years do discuss and negotiate, green house gas emissions have been growing at alarming rates. This course introduces key concepts of and the general state of knowledge on climate change science, and the debates around science, policy, and politics. Second, the course goes over the history of mainstream multilateral climate change governance institutions and analyzes the increasingly diverse actors in climate change governance networks, at local, national and regional levels. Third, this course analyzes the increasingly apparent shortcomings of multilateral mainstream governance institutions to recognize the urgency and to act in meaningful ways to address this global and local crisis. Finally, the course discusses proposals of vision and action towards a much-needed sustainability transformation in economic, social, political, and ecological terms.

The number of undernourished people in the world is on the rise even though we currently produce enough food to feed our global population. In this course we examine how this paradox relates to inequity. We analyze historical events that have shaped our current food security situation at different scales as well as frameworks and indicators to understand food security. We evaluate food crises and link these crises to the financialization of our food system. We also examine how different countries and actors have adopted food sovereignty to address economic and social inequity. Other key themes in this course include: sustainable agriculture, agroecology, shocks and our food system, food waste, nutritional transitions, food aid, & food culture.

In this course we will critically examine research methodology. Our course is designed to take student sequentially through the process of thinking about and designing research. Together, we will explore the basic structure of research and examine the philosophical origins of different research approaches. I will guide students as they learn to link different information-gathering methods to different research approaches. My emphasis will be on qualitative research methodology but we will introduce quantitative data gathering and sampling. To ensure that students gain hands on experience with the process of developing methodologies and implementing different information gathering procedures, I will complement lectures with workshops where students will learn by doing. Furthermore, I believe that learning about methods requires analyzing how these methods have worked (or not) in real-world case studies; thus, in class discussions of current case studies will complement workshops and lectures.

In this course we will critically examine research methodology. Our course is designed to take student sequentially through the process of thinking about and designing research. Together, we will explore the basic structure of research and examine the philosophical origins of different research approaches. I will guide students as they learn to link different information-gathering methods to different research approaches. My emphasis will be on qualitative research methodology but we will introduce quantitative data gathering and sampling. To ensure that students gain hands on experience with the process of developing methodologies and implementing different information gathering procedures, I will complement lectures with workshops where students will learn by doing. Furthermore, I believe that learning about methods requires analyzing how these methods have worked (or not) in real-world case studies; thus, in class discussions of current case studies will complement workshops and lecture

Deforestation is considered one of the main global environmental challenges of our times, because of its significant impact on biodiversity, on the livelihoods of millions of people and its important contribution to Climate Change. This course analyzes the way deforestation and forest degradation have been and are being explained by both mainstream and alternative narratives. It critically engages with the way deforestation is defined and measured and discusses the various attempts to stop or reduce it. We will look at a range of conservation approaches that go from traditional protected areas, community-based strategies, and market-based approaches, as well as how forests and forest conservation and restoration have been made more important in these times of climate breakdown. We will explore the forest transition theory and analyze forest restoration from a socioeconomic and environmental lens. Illegal logging and timber trade will be looked at as a specific topic of particular importance since it is linked to development, poverty, organized crime, and violent conflict. Additionally, this course looks at the links between poverty and forest cover dynamics, some of the possible strategies to reduce poverty through forest-based activities and analyzes and discusses the importance of forests for humans and the challenges faced by those who try to manage them sustainably

Around 40% of the world’s population currently lives within 100 km of the coast, and nearly all humanity benefits from the world’s coasts and oceans for a variety of cultural, economic, and environmental reasons. Despite, or perhaps because, of their value to social and ecological processes, marine resources face increasing pressures and conflicts over their utilization. Additionally, climate change acts as a main driver of major oceanic and coastal threats.  

As a response to the evident crises of coastal resources, we have been able to move away from an understanding of a proclaimed inexhaustibility of the ocean, predominant in Western societies in the 19th century, to the development of tools intended to help stakeholders, from the local to the national and international levels, to protect and to manage these resources more equitably, effectively, and sustainably. 

In this course, we will identify major challenges and threats to the world’s oceans and coasts and their impact on coastal populations. We will look into different coastal ecosystems, their functions and importance. In addition to that, we will become familiarized with innovations, strategies, and management tools related to coastal resources management. Finally, through practical exercises, guest lectures, and field visits, students will be able to explore the complex nexus of relations between humans and coastal/marine resources as it applies to Latin America and the case of Costa Rica. 

This course explores local water security and the “ripple” effects on societies. Students will reflect individually on how water insecurity may threaten or reinforce positive peace, particularly at the local level.

 The course will consist of an introduction to variations in water resources and uses over space and time, followed by an exploration of local water security, an understanding of the different ways in which we use and value water, consequences of water insecurity, the role of intersectionality in water (in)security, and examples of how to reduce local water insecurity.

 The course will be interactive, consisting of presentations by the lecturer and students, readings, discussions, assignments, group work, and field trips.

In this course we will become familiar with contemporary issues in sustainable agriculture and critically analyse key debates in the field. To provide context to our discussions, we situate the emergence of sustainable agricultural practices within their historic contexts (e.g., green revolution and colonization) and we will examine key economic agreements that shape current agricultural markets and trade. We critically examine our global modes of production, industrial, agroecological, and we link our analysis to the most recent programs and policies regarding agriculture promoted by the FAO of the United Nations. In addition, we take on some of the most pressing agriculture issues including climate change, livestock, water, agricultural certifications, genetic engineering, markets, and gender/intersectionality. We mainstream social justice and intersectionality in our class to ensure that we understand how programs and policies affect countries, regions, territories and people differently.

This course analyzes the connections between environment, conflict, and security. After briefly going over some of the root causes of environmental and development crises, we will take a closer look at the different linkages between environmental change and human and national security, and armed or violent conflicts. We will discuss and analyze the initial understandings of environmental security, going from older frameworks of scarcity induced conflicts to natural resource abundance, and then move the discussion towards securitizing climate change, conservation conflicts, the increasingly visible violence suffered by environmental defenders, and end with the topic of environmental peacebuilding. Throughout the course we will be dealing with concepts like sustainability, ecological limits, limits to growth, globalization, and emphasize the importance of including power dynamics and historical, political, ecological, and economic perspectives when analyzing and discussing concepts like development, environment, and peace and conflicts.

The disproportionate level of impacts that communities around the world, who have contributed least to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions face, is one of the core injustices at the heart of the climate change reality. What’s more, the systems which are responsible for economic inequality and various forms of social and racial injustice, are also the systems which perpetuate the problem of climate change. It is of critical importance that in creating solutions going forward we not only acknowledge but also act to address and centre the complexity between climate change and injustice across the world.

Using climate adaptation as the starting point, this course is an exploration of the multifaceted ways that the climate justice lens can be applied to understand, address the root causes of the problem, and enhance the ways we support people to reorient to this quickly changing world. Recognising that there is a need for action, the goals of this course are centred around empowering students to feel they can act in a way that supports people to adapt to climate change while simultaneously addressing the complex web of social, racial, and environmental injustices that underpin many of the most vulnerable communities.  

The course is divided into four sections. The course begins with an introduction to key topics or notions such as climate adaptation, climate justice, resilience, power, and epistemology. Following this, section two guides learning to look at intersections and interconnections, beginning with an exploration of systems and interconnectedness of complex systems and ending with an exploration of our own intersectionality as part of a bigger interrogation of how intersectionality and climate and justice are inherently linked. The third section moves towards exploring tangible options for climate adaptation that are in line with a climate justice lens. Using 6 pillars of climate change students explore various case studies across different areas; from local adaptation, indigenous climate action to a just energy transition (and more), analysing and understanding what can be done better, and what can be taken forward. The final section of the course wraps all the learning together and gives students a chance to apply their own learning to create a project idea to take forward.