This course introduces the students to political ecology. It introduces fundamental concepts in science and technology studies (STS). It introduces critical political ecology, which integrates the approaches of STS within political ecology. It sketches the various approaches to study water within critical political ecology. It includes an in-depth analysis of the concept of efficiency in the scientific discourses concerning water development, especially irrigation, using empirical case studies mostly from North and South America, Africa and the Middle East. It links this to a reexamination of water governance and environmental justice. The course aims to equip the students with the conceptual tools necessary to apply critical theory to the understanding of human interactions concerning water.
This course will not provide you with recipes to apply once you work as a professional. It will equip you with the skills to analyse critically the environmental issues and conflicts you will face. It will equip you conceptually to elaborate solutions on a case by case basis.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Apply critical thinking to study water governance, including water tenure
2. Analyse water development as a systematic coproduction of the natural order and the social order
3. Integrate science and technology studies within the analysis of water policy decisions
4. Identify unexamined assumptions in scientific and political discourses on water
5. Create approaches to water development that integrate environmental justice concerns
Professional Skills:
- Critical Thinking
- Creative Thinking
- Research and Analysis
- Investigation
The course involves writing a policy brief on a water issue for the Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB is part of the ministry of environment in France)
The course involves writing a report on a water issue for this ministry
Julie TROTTIER
Séminaire
English
Course workload:
- In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 4 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 4 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
None
Autumn 2024-2025
The overall grade will be attributed in the following manner:
50% for an individual essay written on a water topic of your choice that must be approved by the 3rd lecture.
40% for the policy brief and report your subgroup will have produced for OFB
10% for your individual contribution to your group's progress
A session includes a one lecture which requires the students to have completed a set reading, followed by one hour of work within small groups (4 to 5 persons) to develop the report and policy brief ordered by the ministry of environment. Each small group produces a policy brief and a report on a water topic chosen from a list sent by the ministry.
1. Latour, B., 1987. Science in Action. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts