【Course description】

Environment and development are two sides of the same coin. Many environmental degradations globally observed partly or majorly originated in human activities called “development.” Why and how do past economic and social systems often appear to result in contemporary environmental problems? How have power “in” balance and biased resources-distribution influenced the drivers and consequences of environmental change processes? Who decides or has decided how we should pursue sustainable development? Why is the concept of sustainability perceived so often as “contested”?

This course addresses a series of these issues and related questions that saddle the inter-and trans-disciplinary field of study. We also explore the concept of “development,” actors and agents involved in the management and governance of a wide range of environmental processes, divergent interests, and aims of them, which should lead us to a “sustainable” and resilient life with nature. The primary methodology comes from political ecology, development studies, and human geography.