LNCE10417 Open Air Wisdom and Deep Ecology - Environmental Ethics and Politics (Spring 2023)

Higher Education Entrance Qualifications.

Applicants with Certificate of Upper Secondary Education from other than the Nordic countries can be granted dispensation from the requirement of proficiency in the Norwegian language on condition of documented proficiency in the English language, cf. Regulations for Admission to Study Programmes at Østfold University College, section 3.

Global and local environmental challenges, Environmental history, Environmental ethics, Green politics, Eco-theology and Eco philosophy. Environmental education, Outdoor Education, transformative practice.   

Climate change, environmental problems and globalisation have challenged traditional perspectives in politics, ethics and religion. This 'green enlightenment' sometimes referred to as 'an ecological cultural paradigm shift', has created new perspectives and new values in established worldviews and in ethics.  This 'global green enlightenment', and how scholars have and can contribute in it, is the object of this course. This course is interdisciplinary and addresses teachers, social workers and other professionals engaged in the greening of society. During the course, the students will experience both indoors academic discussions and outdoors education in Norwegian nature.        

Knowledge

The student

• knows how climate change and environmental changes have influenced worldviews, ethics and politics
• knows different models and approaches in environmental ethics and worldviews
• knows the ideas of Norwegian Deep-ecology
• knows how civil society and educational professionals can contribute to a more substantial thinking and praxis both at the individual level and in politics.
• knows outdoors education, wilderness camping and other methods used in environmental education (in Norway)

Skills

The student

• can recognize and display different ideas of ecological thinking and praxis in professional and civil life
• can conduct and analyse environmental discourses
• can teach Green worldviews, environmental ethics, and green political ideas.

General competence

The student

• can develope a critical and ecological awareness towards worldviews, ethics and political ideas.
• can recognize and use adequate language, models, methods as a tool to displaying ecological citizenship

Lectures, workshops, projects, assignments

Groups of varying sizes and individual work.

Outdoors education including camping in Norwegian wilderness.

In and out of classroom, projects in society (in public sector, non-governmental organisations, private sector, schools and religious institutions).

The following required coursework must be approved by teacher before the student can take the exam:

1. Approved attendence of minimum 80%.
2. Compulsory environmental trip and outdoor education excursion.
3. A written individual report (approximately 2000 words) on a given problem formulation.

Home exam (3 days, approximately 3000 words) on a chosen problem formulation on ecological citizenship (written in English or a Scandinavian language).

Marks A-F. A indicating excellent, and F indicating fail.