Political ecology(SP493)
| Course Code | Course Name | Semester | Theory | Practice | Lab | Credit | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP493 | Political ecology | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Prerequisites | |
| Admission Requirements |
| Language of Instruction | English |
| Course Type | Elective |
| Course Level | Bachelor Degree |
| Course Instructor(s) | Cemil YILDIZCAN cemilyildizcan@gmail.com (Email) |
| Assistant | |
| Objective | This course examines the relationship between society and the environment from critical and Marxist perspectives. It explores how power, politics, and ideology shape the ways in which people interact with nature and how these interactions affect both social and ecological systems. The course also focuses on the unequal distribution of environmental risks and benefits, the role of the state, and social movements in environmental governance. |
| Content | Overall, the course aims to provide students with a critical understanding of the relationship between society and the environment, and to equip them with the knowledge and skills to engage in environmental politics and advocacy from a critical perspective. |
| Course Learning Outcomes |
• To understand the basic concepts and theories of political ecology,including the relationships between society, politics, power, and the environment. • To analyze environmental issues and conflicts from critical and Marxist perspectives, including their historical and social contexts. • To critically examine the unequal distribution of environmental risks and benefits based on race, class, and gender. • To explore the role of the state, corporate power, and social movements in environmental governance and justice. • To analyze the connections between global capitalism, imperialism, and environmental degradation. • To develop critical thinking and analytical skills through reading, writing, and discussion. • To understand the relevance and application of political ecology to contemporary environmental issues, policies, and practices. |
| Teaching and Learning Methods |
Although the course includes regular lectures by the instructor in each session, it is mainly based on in-class discussions. The format of the course is designed to allow for instructor-student interaction, and students will be encouraged to participate in discussions. Students will be required to do readings before each class. Starting from the fourth week, each week will feature student presentations based on two different group projects. Following the presentations, a field visit related to the topic of waste, and additionally, practical activities such as compost production on campus will be organized, and the dates and details for these activities will be announced. Students will also be expected to undertake a project focusing on the topic of waste for their final assignment. Details regarding this project will be shared in the first week. There is no single correct format for these projects—each should reflect students’ engagement with the topic and their own creative approach. The aim is to experience the subject matter, experiment with different methodologies, and critically explore the intersections between waste and political ecology. |
| References |
Robbins, P. (2012). Political ecology: a critical introduction, Malden (MA), Wiley-Blackwell.* Borras Jr, S. M., Moreda, T., Alonso-Fradejas, A., & Brent, Z. W. (2020). (2018) Converging social justice issues and movements: implications for political actions and research, Third World Quarterly, 39:7, 1227-1246. Crutzen, P. and E. F. Stoermer (2000). "The 'Anthropocene'" Global Change Newsletter 41. D’Alisa, G., & Demaria, F. (2024). Accumulation by contamination: Worldwide cost-shifting strategies of capital in waste management. World Development, 184, 106725. Escobar, A. (1998). Whose knowledge, whose nature? Biodiversity, conservation, and the political ecology of social movements. Journal of political ecology, 5(1), 53-82. Ernstson, H., & Swyngedouw, E. (Eds.). (2018). Urban political ecology in the anthropo-obscene: Interruptions and possibilities, NY, Routledge. Foster, J. B. (1999). Marx’s theory of metabolic rift: Classical foundations for environmental sociology. American Journal of Sociology, 105(2), 366-405. Haraway, D. (2015). Anthropocene, capitalocene, plantationocene, chthulucene: Making kin. Environmental humanities, 6(1), 159-165. Huber, M. (2017). Reinvigorating class in political ecology: nitrogen capital and the means of degradation. Geoforum, 85, 345-352. Martinez-Alier, J. (2002). The Environmentalism of the poor: a study of ecological conflicts and valuation. Edward Elgar Publishing. Martínez-Alier, J. (2012). Environmental justice and economic degrowth: an alliance between two movements. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 23(1), 51-73. Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1978). The German ideology (Part I, Chapter 3). International Publishers. McMichael, P. (2009) A food regime genealogy, The Journal of Peasant Studies, 36:1, 139-169, DOI: 10.1080/03066150902820354 Moore, J. W. (2017). The Capitalocene, Part I: on the nature and origins of our ecological crisis. The Journal of peasant studies, 44(3), 594-630. Moore, J. (2015). Capitalism in the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital. Londres, Verso Books. Moragues-Faus, A., & Marsden, T. (2017). The political ecology of food: Carving ‘spaces of possibility’ in a new research agenda. Journal of rural studies, 55, 275-288. Roberts, J. T., & Parks, B. (2006). A climate of injustice: Global inequality, north-south politics, and climate policy. MIT press. Robertson, M. (2015). Environmental governance: Political ecology and the state. In The Routledge handbook of political ecology (pp. 457-466). Routledge. Scheidel, A. et al. (2020). Environmental conflicts and defenders: A global overview. Global Environmental Change, 63, 102104. Swyngedouw, E. (2011). Whose environment?: the end of nature, climate change and the process of post-politicization. Ambiente & sociedade, 14, 69-87. Swyngedouw, E. (2010). Impossible sustainability and the post-political condition. Making strategies in spatial planning: Knowledge and values, 185-205. Tilzey, M. (2018). Political ecology, food regimes, and food sovereignty: Crisis, resistance, and resilience. Cham, Palgrave. Watts, M. J. (2015). The origins of political ecology and the rebirth of adaptation as a form of thought. In T. A. Perreault, G. Bridge, & J. McCarthy (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of political ecology (ss. 19-50). London?; New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Zimmerer, K. S., & Bassett, T. J. (Eds.). (2003). Political ecology: an integrative approach to geography and environment-development studies. Londres – NY, Guilford Press. |
Theory Topics
| Week | Weekly Contents |
|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to the Course |
| 2 | Introduction to Political Ecology and Key Concepts |
| 3 | Critical and Marxist Perspectives on Nature and Society |
| 4 | The Anthropocene and the Environmental Crisis |
| 5 | Environmental Resistance |
| 6 | Environmental Governance and the State |
| 7 | (Post-)Politics of the Environment |
| 8 | Environmental Justice, Class, Race and Gender |
| 9 | Political Ecology of Energy and Extractivism |
| 10 | Political Ecology of Food and Hunger: Inequalities in Production, Distribution, and Consumption |
| 11 | Political Ecology of Waste Management: Capital Accumulation, Dispossession, (Un)sustainable Development |
| 12 | Field Trip (Location TBA) |
| 13 | Presentations |
| 14 | Conclusion and synthesis |
Practice Topics
| Week | Weekly Contents |
|---|
Contribution to Overall Grade
| Number | Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution of in-term studies to overall grade | 2 | 50 |
| Contribution of final exam to overall grade | 1 | 50 |
| Toplam | 3 | 100 |
In-Term Studies
| Number | Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments | 0 | 0 |
| Presentation | 1 | 30 |
| Midterm Examinations (including preparation) | 0 | 0 |
| Project | 0 | 0 |
| Laboratory | 0 | 0 |
| Other Applications | 0 | 0 |
| Quiz | 0 | 0 |
| Term Paper/ Project | 0 | 0 |
| Portfolio Study | 0 | 0 |
| Reports | 0 | 0 |
| Learning Diary | 0 | 0 |
| Thesis/ Project | 0 | 0 |
| Seminar | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 20 |
| Make-up | 0 | 0 |
| Toplam | 2 | 50 |
| No | Program Learning Outcomes | Contribution | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1 | Understanding the major theories, concepts, foundations, and methodologies used in the study of politics. | X | ||||
| 2 | Identifying the structure and operation of the political system in Turkey and other political systems in the world. | X | ||||
| 3 | Identifying and gathering information from credible primary and secondary sources; analyzing and synthesizing the acquired knowledge. | X | ||||
| 4 | Generating and testing empirically hypotheses about political processes, institutions, mechanisms and relationships. | |||||
| 5 | Designing, conducting and interpreting the results of original research in accordance with the scientific and ethical principles by using basic research methods. | X | ||||
| 6 | Showing awareness and sensivity towards issues related to democracy, human rights and social peace. | X | ||||
| 7 | Appraising the sources of societal conflict and how they can be resolved by political means. | X | ||||
| 8 | Examining critically the nature of change in the global political community, and the complex character of processes such as globalization. | X | ||||
| 9 | Taking a role in a teamwork in political science and general fields of other related disciplines. | X | ||||
| 10 | Following publications in foreign languages and communicating with the colleagues in the international environment by using French which is the language of education in Galatasaray University and English, the compulsory foreign language. | X | ||||
| 11 | Using required level of information and communication technologies. | X | ||||
| Activities | Number | Period | Total Workload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class Hours | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Working Hours out of Class | 13 | 4 | 52 |
| Assignments | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Presentation | 1 | 25 | 25 |
| Final Examinations (including preparation) | 1 | 18 | 18 |
| Total Workload | 147 | ||
| Total Workload / 25 | 5.88 | ||
| Credits ECTS | 6 | ||