Environment, Development and Changing Rural Livelihoods

The course provide an overview of topics related to interactions between rural societies and the environment in Africa and Asia. Various analytical frameworks and approaches that can be used to analyse these relationships will be introduced and discussed. Among the issues and approaches covered by the course are: Introduction to political ecology. Social nature. Social constructivism and environmental narratives. Institutions, norms and collective action. Communities as basis for natural resource management. Conservation and development. Changing rural livelihoods and livelihood analysis. Hazards, vulnerability and resilience.

Knowledge: The candidate must have knowledge about current academic discussions so as to be able to make independent assessments of the benefits and relevance of various theoretical and empirical contributions.
Skills: The candidate will through practical exercises demonstrate ability to summerize and present and discuss critically the content of advanced research papers in the field.
General competence: The candidate should be able to compile and evaluate critically different approaches and theories that can be used to analyze and understand the relationship between nature, household and communities.

Lectures: 14 hours. Groupwork and presentations (compulsory).
It is expected that compulsories and examinations must be completed in English. Exceptions must be clarified with the lecturer responsible for the course.
Teaching will only be given if a sufficient number of students register for the course and if the Department has sufficient teaching resources. See www.ntnu.no/geografi/studentinformasjon for the most recent information on the courses not offered. Information will be made available no later than 10 January in the spring semester and 10 August in the autumn semester.