Introduction to Sustainable Development

• • The contested concept of sustainability;
  • 1960s: From Silent Spring to Limits to Growth;
  • 1980s: Global policy-­making for sustainable development;
  • 1990s: The rise and fall of sustainable development;
  • The state: The role of government in achieving Sustainability;
  • The market: Business and corporate sustainability and corporate solutions;
  • Civil society: Individual, household and collaborative political approaches;
  • North and South: Development perspectives;
  • Radical perspectives: Deep ecology, ecofeminism and subcultural radical elements;
  • The sceptics;
  • The role of the media;
  • Approach of the future

No eligibility requirements

Special requirements

No special requirements

This subject is a critical introduction to sustainability that traces the concept’s evolution and explores the political economy of sustainability. To this end, a range of different approaches to sustainability are introduced and compared, and analysis will be made of their respective effectiveness in addressing global sustainability problems.

Please Note: All students studying at Murdoch University will need to complete the compulsory unit, Murdoch Academic Passport (MAP100), which only takes 2-3 hours to complete online. Find out more: http://goto.murdoch.edu.au/MurdochAcademicPassport.

A 2000-word written assignment provides an opportunity to explore an important sustainability issue in depth in light of divergent sustainability perspectives. Teaching staff provide feedback on the written assignment. Five on-line quizzes testing student understanding of key concepts. Students' contributions to tutorials and online discussions are also assessed. There is also a final assessment. Marking rubrics are provided for all assessment work, providing detail on assessment criteria used.

• Participation (15%)
• Essay (30%)
• Online quizzes (25%)
• Final assignment (30%)