Module overview
In to order address any contemporary global challenge, it is vital that we understand the roots of the problem and its historical context. This module addresses energy and the environment, providing you with a broad overview of the history of energy use including coal, oil, and gas, as well as the rise of environmentalism in the twentieth century. It will explore how energy use has affected the Anthropocene in both broad and specific ways, such as the discovery of human-induced climate change and the impact of colonialism upon environmental challenges. Additionally, the module will consider the future of sustainable development considering this historical context and explore the ways in which future policy can approach these challenges.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the history of energy and the environment, in particular the effects of energy use on the Anthropocene.
- a wide variety of primary sources relating to the history of energy and the environment.
- a wide variety of secondary source material relating to the history of energy and the environment, including theoretical frameworks used in the field.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- research complex historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in assignments.
- use to good effect textual, visual and material culture sources, synthesising this material to develop cogent and persuasive arguments.
- utilise and develop your time-management skills.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- undertake a thorough critical analysis and assessment of a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.
- apply your developed knowledge, structuring your ideas and research findings into well-ordered assignments.
- engage with historiography and theoretical frameworks, contributing to the debates relating to the history of energy and the environment and its relationship to the future of sustainable development.
Syllabus
Topics to be explored on the module may include the history of coal, oil, and gas, climate change, sustainable development, nuclear energy, and environmentalism.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include lectures and seminars.
Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 12 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 50 |
| Lecture | 12 |
| Completion of assessment task | 50 |
| Wider reading or practice | 26 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Mike Davis (2001). Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World. Verso Books.
Naomi Oreskes and Eric M. Conway (2010). Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. Bloomsbury.
Nick Jenkins (2019). Energy Systems: A Very Short Introduction. OUP.
Amitav Ghosh (2016). The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. University of Chicago Press.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Written assignment | 40% |
| Essay | 60% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 60% |
| Written assignment | 40% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External